HR Manager

=DREAMS (SINGAPORE) LIMITED; Singapore; On-site; SGD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

=DREAMS (SINGAPORE) LIMITED is seeking an experienced HR Manager to shape our people function and culture as we scale from a small team to a larger, more structured organisation. You will own HR policy, compliance, and the end-to-end employee lifecycle while partnering with the Executive Director and leadership.

This hands-on leadership role combines strategic people development with day-to-day HR management, coordinating with Finance and Facilities to align processes and governance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree, preferably in Business, Human Resources, or a related field.
• 6+ years of progressive HR and operations experience across growth stages.
• Experience building HR practices and culture from the ground up.
• Experience managing shift-based or rostered teams; residential, education, or social service sector preferred.
• Highly organised, resilient, and able to manage multiple priorities independently under pressure and tight deadlines.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, able to engage effectively with colleagues and leadership at every level.
• Cross-functional collaboration experience.

Responsibilities

• Own and maintain DREAMS' HR policy framework, covering leave, expense and transport, disciplinary, and grievance matters.
• Ensure compliance with the Employment Act, MOM regulations, and TAFEP guidelines across all HR practice.
• Lead talent attraction, recruitment, job descriptions, and onboarding for all roles, including relief and volunteer staff.
• Manage payroll, compensation, increments and benefits, while ensuring fair, merit-based and compliant reward practices.
• Drive career progression, succession planning, and competency-building with structured performance reviews.
• Coordinate and administer learning and development activities, working with team leads to identify capability needs.
• Manage employee relations, offboarding, exit interviews, and related documentation with care.

Skills

HR policy

Recruitment

Payroll administration

Employee relations

Organisational development

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business or HR

Job description

ABOUT THE ROLE

DREAMS is entering its next stage of growth, scaling from around 70 to 150 resident scholars over the coming years. We are looking for a dynamic HR Manager to build our people function and organisational culture from the ground up -establishing the policies, practices, and rhythms that will carry us from an early-stage, informal team into a more structured organisation. This is fundamentally an organisation-building role: you will take full ownership of HR policy, compliance, and the employee lifecycle - attracting, developing, and supporting our people at every stage - while acting as a strategic partner to the Executive Director and senior leadership, engaging confidently across every level of the organisation to shape culture and the way we operate as we grow.

This is a hands-on HR leadership role, combining strategic people and organisational development with day-to-day HR management and administration. You will work closely with Finance and Facilities to ensure effective coordination of people ,administrative and organisational processes as =DREAMS grows.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. 1. HR Policy & Compliance

   • Own and maintain =DREAMS' HR policy framework, covering leave, expense and transport, disciplinary, and grievance matters
   • Ensure compliance with the Employment Act, MOM regulations, and TAFEP guidelines across all HR practice
   • Lead and administer disciplinary and performance management processes, ensuring consistency, procedural fairness and appropriate documentation
   • Manage and review staff rostering and working-hour arrangements to ensure statutory compliance, appropriate coverage and staff wellbeing
   • Lead HR governance, compliance and audit readiness, ensuring identified risks and actions are appropriately addressed

2. 2. Talent Attraction, Development & Employee Lifecycle

   • Lead talent attraction, recruitment, job descriptions, and onboarding for all roles, including relief and volunteer staff
   • Manage the administration of payroll, compensation, increments and benefits, while ensuring fair, merit-based and compliant reward practices
   • Drive career progression, succession planning, and competency-building - underpinned by structured performance reviews - to grow workforce capability as we scale
   • Coordinate and administer learning and development activities, while working with team leads to identify capability needs and strengthen workforce skills
   • Manage employee relations, offboarding, exit interviews, and related documentation with care

3. 3. Culture & Organisation Development

   • Build people practices and culture initiatives suited to =DREAMS' current stage of growth, evolving from an early-stage, informal team toward a more structured organisation
   • Engage the management team directly in shaping culture, engagement, and communication rhythms - this is a collaborative build, not a top-down rollout
   • Champion staff welfare and wellbeing, and design engagement and recognition practices suited to a residential, shift-based team

4. 4. Strategic Partnership & Governance

   • Act as a strategic partner to the Executive Director and senior leadership, bringing people insights into organisational planning and key decisions
   • Develop and steward the annual HR budget, aligning investment in people with organisational and HR priorities
   • Provide HR insights, reporting and recommendations to the HR Committee, Board and senior leadership to support organisational decision-making
   • Own the HR segment of the organisational risk register
   • Partner with the Executive Director on sensitive personnel matters, maintaining appropriate confidentiality

5. 5. Operations Integration

   • Work closely with Finance and Facilities to ensure effective coordination of people, administrative and organisational processes
   • Support cross-functional operational continuity, including providing reasonable cover for essential administrative matters across functions when required
   • Contribute to whole-organisation scholar and community events, recognising the importance of being connected to the =DREAMS community and residential environment

Experience & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree, preferably in Business, Human Resources, or a related field
• 6+ years of progressive HR and operations experience, having worked across different stages of organisational growth - from early-stage or scaling environments through to more established organisations
• Demonstrated experience building HR practices and culture from the ground up, not just administering existing systems
• Experience managing shift-based or rostered teams; residential, education, or social service sector experience strongly preferred
• Highly organised, resilient, and resourceful, able to manage multiple priorities independently under pressure and tight deadlines
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, able to engage effectively with colleagues and leadership at every level
• Comfortable working cross-functionall