Assistant Vice President, HR Business Partner

SPH Media; Singapore; On-site; SGD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

SPH Media is seeking a Senior HR Business Partner to act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders and the C-suite. You will align people strategies with business objectives, drive organisational transformation, and build a high-performing, future-ready workforce in Singapore.

The successful candidate will influence leaders with data-driven insights, lead HR initiatives, manage change, and develop an HR team while ensuring compliant, sustainable people solutions across the organisation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in HR, Business, Psychology, or related discipline.
• Minimum 10 years of progressive HR Business Partnering experience with senior leaders.
• Proven experience leading and developing HR teams.
• Experience workforce/headcount budgeting and collaboration with Finance.
• Proven track record in leading organisational transformation and change management.
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders with confidence and credibility.
• Strong commercial/financial acumen; analyze HR metrics to drive decisions.
• Excellent stakeholder management, communication, and negotiation skills.
• Knowledge of employment legislation and HR best practices.
• Resilient, adaptable in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute people strategies with C-suite to support business growth.
• Act as trusted advisor on workforce planning, talent strategy, succession, and culture.
• Translate business strategies into actionable HR initiatives to drive performance.
• Influence leaders with data-driven insights and practical HR solutions.
• Build strong relationships across functions and collaborate with CoEs, Shared Services, and partners.
• Influence senior stakeholders and navigate competing priorities.
• Lead enterprise-wide transformation including restructuring and cultural change.
• Develop change management plans to adopt new structures and processes.
• Partner with leaders to assess impact, manage risks, and engage employees.
• Drive talent management: succession, performance, leadership development, reviews.
• Identify capability gaps and design targeted talent solutions with CoEs.
• Provide strategic guidance on complex employee relations, balancing legal and business needs.
• Advise on performance management, disciplinary matters, investigations, and conflict resolution.
• Ensure compliance with employment laws and governance.
• Lead annual workforce planning and manage headcount budgets with Finance.
• Advise on headcount optimization and resource allocation.
• Lead, coach, develop HR Business Partners to deliver high-quality support.
• Foster high-performance culture with clear expectations and career development.
• Allocate resources, manage workload, ensure delivery of HR objectives.

Job description

SPH Media’s mission is to be the trusted source of news and lifestyle content in Singapore and Asia. One of our core purposes is to produce credible, balanced, and objective news and analysis, always with a view to uphold the public good and fostering an informed, engaged citizenry.

We welcome talented individuals to join us and grow a career in a vibrant and collaborative environment built around a culture of respect and inclusivity. As an employer, we are committed to rewarding our people fairly and developing them in their careers.

About the role

• We are seeking an experienced and strategic Senior Human Resources Business Partner to serve as a trusted advisor to senior business leaders and C-suite executives. This role partners closely with business leadership to align people strategies with business objectives, drive organisational transformation, and build a high-performing, future-ready workforce.
• The successful candidate will be an accomplished HR leader with proven experience influencing senior stakeholders, leading complex change initiatives, and managing high-performing HR teams. The role requires a strong balance of strategic thinking, commercial acumen, and operational excellence to deliver impactful people solutions across the organisation.

Strategic Business Partnership

• Partner with C-suite executives and senior leadership to develop and execute people strategies that support business growth and organisational priorities.
• Act as a trusted advisor to leaders on workforce planning, talent strategy, succession planning, leadership effectiveness, and culture.
• Translate business strategies into actionable HR initiatives that drive organisational performance.
• Influence and challenge senior leaders through data-driven insights, sound commercial judgment, and practical HR solutions.

Stakeholder Management

• Build strong relationships across business functions and collaborate effectively with HR Centres of Excellence, Shared Services, and external partners.
• Influence senior stakeholders and navigate competing priorities to deliver pragmatic and sustainable people solutions.

Change Management & Organisational Transformation

• Lead and support enterprise-wide transformation initiatives, including organisational restructuring and cultural transformation.
• Develop and execute change management strategies that enable successful adoption of new structures, processes, and ways of working.
• Partner with leaders to assess organisational impact, manage change risks, and drive employee engagement throughout transformation initiatives.
• Drive talent management processes including succession planning, performance management, leadership development, and talent reviews.
• Identify critical capability gaps and partner with Centres of Excellence to design and implement targeted talent solutions.

Employee Relations & Workforce Management

• Provide strategic guidance on complex employee relations matters while balancing legal, operational and people considerations.
• Advise leaders on performance management, disciplinary matters, workplace investigations, and conflict resolution.
• Ensure compliance with employment legislation, company policies, and governance requirements.

Workforce Planning, Headcount Management & Budgeting

• Lead annual workforce planning exercises, ensuring organisational capability and headcount plans are aligned with business strategy.
• Partner with business leaders and Finance to develop, monitor, and manage headcount budgets.
• Provide strategic advice on headcount optimisation, organisational efficiency, and resource allocation while balancing business growth and cost management objectives.

Leadership & Team Management

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of HR Business Partners to deliver high-quality, consistent, and business-focused HR support.
• Foster a collaborative, high-performance culture by setting clear expectations, providing regular coaching and feedback, and supporting career development.
• Allocate resources effectively, prioritise workload, and ensure the team delivers against business and HR objectives.

Who are we looking for

• Bachelor's Degree in Human Resources, Business, Psychology, or a related discipline.
• Minimum 10 years of progressive HR Business Partnering experience, with significant experience supporting senior leadership teams and C-suite executives.
• Proven experience leading, managing, and developing HR teams.
• Demonstrated experience managing workforce planning, headcount planning, and manpower budgets in partnership with business leaders and Finance.
• Proven track record in leading organisational transformation and change management initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to influence and challenge senior stakeholders with confidence and credibility.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen, with the ability to interpret workforce data and align people investments with business priorities.
• Excellent stakeholder management, communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities with experience leveraging HR metrics and dashboards to drive decisions.
• Sound knowledge of employment legislation and HR best practices.
• Resilient, adaptable, and able to thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.