People Director, MEA and APAC

Dow Jones & Company, Inc.; Singapore; On-site; SGD 240,000 - 360,000; Full time

Job summary

Dow Jones & Company, Inc. is seeking a People Director for MEA and APAC. The role blends strategic HR leadership with a data-driven approach to transform the employee experience across a matrixed, global environment.

The incumbent will mentor teams, drive collaboration with regional leaders, and promote a people-first culture. The position reports to the VP, People EMEA/APAC (London) and will work on a hybrid basis from the Singapore office, leading 8 HR professionals and partnering with COEs in

Qualifications

• 12+ years combined human resources & management experience.
• Experience building strategic HR programs in a global matrix organization.
• Strong data analytics and change management skills.

Responsibilities

• Identify, resolve and steer the strategic people plan for MEA and APAC across talent, training and tools.
• Act as ambassador for MEA/APAC and partner with regional leadership to drive engagement and retention.
• Partner with regional and executive leadership to align goals with business strategy.
• Advocate DEI initiatives across the employee life cycle and regional focus areas.
• Co-own HR governance, crisis management and business continuity with country leadership.
• Collaborate with COE and ensure governance, compliance and risk mitigation in regional entities.
• Lead regional all-hands and AMA sessions with global Communications teams.
• Manage, directly and indirectly, a team of HR professionals (8+), coordinating with COEs in the US.

Skills

HR leadership

Data-driven

Strategic planning

Diversity & inclusion

People management

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR / Business

Job description

About us:

Dow Jones is a global provider of news and business information, delivering content to consumers and organizations around the world across multiple formats, including print, digital, mobile and live events. Dow Jones has produced unrivaled quality content for more than 130 years and today has one of the world's largest news-gathering operations globally. It is home to leading publications and products including the flagship Wall Street Journal, America's largest newspaper by paid circulation; Barron's, MarketWatch, Mansion Global, Financial News, Investor's Business Daily, Factiva, Dow Jones Risk & Compliance, Dow Jones Newswires, OPIS and Chemical Market Analytics. Dow Jones is a division of News Corp (Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV).

About the Role

We’re looking for a People Director MEA and APAC that is smart, has high emotional intelligence, and possesses an appreciable sense of humour. You will have a track record of problem solving, understanding local compliance and practice in MEA and APAC and continuously driving efficiency and automation. You will have experience building strategic HR teams and programs in a matrixed, global environment and are able to streamline operational activities. With senior leaders you can quickly understand the business to influence at all levels and deliver positive change throughout the organization. As a leader you know how to mentor, coach and inspire the team, breaking down silos and walls to help them succeed. You will influence the team to live our values of Collaboration, Trust, Impact and Excellence through their work, delivering a people‑first approach to our client groups and to improve our own ways of working. A true proponent of data‑driven strategies, you advocate for change and build relationships.

Reporting to the VP, People EMEA/APAC based in London this role will work on a hybrid‑basis from our Singapore office.

You Will:

• Work with the VP to identify, resolve and steer the strategic people plan for the MEA and APAC region. This will include reviewing processes, talent, training and tools to build a more systematic and scalable way of working.
• Act as an international ambassador with a strategic mindset for transforming the employee experience in MEA and APAC and be the voice of specific countries and regions within the people team.
• You will develop an intimate understanding of the region you support and be a partner to the regional and executive leadership in MEA and APAC on initiatives and activities that drive and increase: employee engagement and retention. Bring the right people together to build new tools and improve the way we work.
• Align around clear goals, which helps connect us to the goals of the business and be a strategic partner to our leadership teams.
• Work with COE to advocate diversity, equity and inclusion within the organization, personally and programmatically. You will know how to talk about this concerning all areas of the employee life cycle, our internal programs and how we can have a positive change in each of the teams you support and take into account regional or country‑specific areas of focus.
• Take initiative and can use discretion and judgement to escape and/or make decisions, fail fast and learn from any mistakes. You achieve what you promise your clients, your colleagues and your team – thoughtfully and reliably. Business leaders and your team know they can rely on you to achieve their goals and they experience excellent partnership from you and your team.
• Advocate for and help create HR policies, practices and systems which help attract, retain and mobilize excellent talent, support business priorities and collective bargaining agreements, and promote competitive advantage.
• Co‑own country/Geo HR Governance, Crisis Management, Employee Relations & Business Continuity. Partner with country leadership teams to deliver crisis management as needed. Ensure readiness for rapid response in complex and geopolitically dynamic environments, with clear rhythms and escalation paths. Apply appropriate protocols to inform, consult, or accelerate across business units.
• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams and ensure oversight on regional legal entity management, maintaining strict adherence to governance standards, regulatory compliance, and risk mitigation protocols.
• Joint ownership of regional and global All‑Hands and Ask‑Me‑Anything (AMA) sessions together with the regional leadership and global Communications team.
• Communicate openly, assuming good intent when working with our business, our team and our partners. With courage, you can speak up and be honest, even when it’s hard.
• Manage, directly and indirectly, a team of 8 HR professionals. As well as working closely with COE’s in the US to roll out programs and get support for specific‑MEA‑APAC challenges.

You Have:

• 12+ years combined human resources & management experience
• Ability to position self as credible (garners respect, acts with integrity, keeps commitments); proactive (has a point of view, challenges assumptions, takes initiative); and a trusted thought partner (builds relationships, delivers results)
• Experienced manager and skilled at coaching team members through change as well as driving results and strategic operations
• Demonstrated experience and ability to balance business partnering skills with employee advocacy.
• Developed thoughtful, integrated approaches to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in talent attraction, development and retention
• Experience handling Employee Relations matters.
• Proven experience making recommendations for country‑specific challenges and able to mitigate risks to the business
• Ability to use data and analytics to develop recommendations and actions

Equal Opportunity Employer

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.

Reasonable Accommodation

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with disabilities in our job application and/or interview process. If you need assistance or accommodation in completing your application or participating in an interview due to a disability, email us at [e-mail]. Please put "Reasonable Accommodation" in the subject line and provide a brief description of the type of assistance you need. This inbox will not be monitored for application status updates.

Please refer to the privacy notice at the bottom of this page for submitting any data access, deletion, or other data subject rights requests, where permitted under your local laws and regulations.

Business Area: Dow Jones - People

Job Category: Human Resources

Union Status:

Non‑Union role

Dow Jones is a global provider of news and business information, delivering content to consumers and organizations around the world across multiple formats, including print, digital, mobile and live events. Dow Jones has produced unrivaled quality content for more than 130 years and today has one of the world’s largest newsgathering operations globally.

It is home to leading publications and products including the flagship Wall Street Journal, America’s largest newspaper by paid circulation; Barron’s, MarketWatch, Mansion Global, Financial News, Dow Jones Risk & Compliance and Dow Jones Newswires. Dow Jones is a division of News Corp (Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV).