Senior Manager, People Operations APAC

kerr dental; Singapore; On-site; SGD 180,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

Kerr is seeking a Senior Manager, People Operations APAC to oversee delivery of HR services across the Asia Pacific region. You will partner with HR, finance, IT, and business leaders to drive operational excellence and standardised processes, while leading a team supporting multiple APAC countries.

Responsibilities include lifecycle management, case handling, compliance, and data-driven improvement, with up to 25% travel within APAC and occasionally to other global sites.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in HR, Business Administration or related field.
• 8+ years in HR operations, shared services, or people operations.
• Experience leading regional/multi-country teams.
• Strong knowledge of employee lifecycle administration and HR service delivery.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Familiarity with core HR systems, preferably Workday.
• Experience managing service-level performance, operational controls, and governance.
• English fluency (C1).

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and continuously improve APAC People Operations in partnership with global teams.
• Lead HR service delivery across APAC ensuring high-quality support for employees, managers, and HR partners.
• Oversee onboarding, job changes, leave, org changes, and offboarding aligned with global systems.
• Manage HR inquiry and case management (Tier 0-2) with timely resolution.
• Ensure compliance with labour laws, policies, data privacy, and controls.
• Monitor metrics and drive continuous improvements."
• Build partnerships with HRBPs, payroll, finance, IT, and legal.
• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing regional team.

Skills

English (C1)

Stakeholder management

Leadership

Data & metrics

HR service delivery

Education

Bachelor’s degree in human resources or related field

Tools

Workday

ServiceNow HRSD

Job description

The Senior Manager, People Operations APAC leads the delivery of People Operations services across the Asia Pacific region, ensuring consistent, compliant, and employee-focused experience throughout the employee lifecycle. This role partners closely with HR, finance/payroll, HR technology, and business leaders to drive operational excellence, service delivery performance, process standardisation, technology adoption, and continuous improvement across the region. The position also leads a team of People Operations professionals supporting multiple APAC countries within a global operating model (e.g., CHN, JPN, IND, AUS, THA, TWN, HKG, SGP, NZL, IDN, KOR, MYS, VNM).

Key Responsibilities

• Drive the design, development, sustainment, and continuous improvement of People Operations function in APAC in partnership with global People Operations teams for consistency and aligned governance.
• Lead People Operations service delivery across APAC, ensuring high-quality support for employees, managers, and HR partners.
• Oversee employee lifecycle processes including onboarding, job changes, leave administration, organisational changes, and offboarding - aligned with global systems and standards.
• Manage HR inquiry and case management operations (Tier 0-2), ensuring timely and effective resolution of employee and manager requests.
• Ensure compliance with labour regulations, company policies, data privacy requirements, and operational controls across the region.
• Monitor service delivery metrics, operational performance, and employee feedback to drive continuous improvement.
• Build strong partnerships with HR business partners, centres of excellence, payroll, finance, IT, legal, and business leaders.
• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing regional People Operations team.

Key Capabilities

• Service Delivery Excellence - Ability to lead scalable HR operations that balance quality, responsiveness, compliance, and employee experience.
• Regional People Leadership – Can effectively lead teams and operations across multiple countries, cultures, and regulatory environments.
• Continuous Improvement – Process orientation and ability to improve operational efficiency and drive sustainable service improvements.
• Data & Operational Insight - Uses metrics and analytics to identify trends, manage performance, and build a story to support decision-making.
• Stakeholder Partnership - Builds trusted relationships across HR, business leadership, finance, payroll, and functional teams to achieve shared objectives.
• Compliance & Risk Management - Maintains strong operational governance while ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in human resources, Business Administration, or a related field.
• 8+ years of experience in HR operations, shared services, people operations, or related HR fields.
• Experience leading people and teams in a regional/multi-country environment.
• Strong knowledge of employee lifecycle administration and HR service delivery processes.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Familiarity with setup and functioning of core HR systems, preferably Workday.
• Experience managing service-level performance, operational controls, and process governance.
• English fluency (C1).

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting multiple countries across Asia Pacific.
• Operating in multinational organisations with 5,000+ employees.
• Experience with ServiceNow HRSD or similar case management platforms.
• Facilitation / leadership of kaizen, lean or process excellence.
• Implementation of automation, workflow optimisation, and digital HR solutions.
• Experience supporting organisational change, acquisitions, or large-scale business transformations.
• Other major regional language proficiency (e.g., Chinese, Japanese, Hindi, Thai, Indonesian/Malay, Korean).

Work Environment

• Operates within a global People Operations organisation supporting employees across APAC.
• Works closely with regional and global stakeholders across HR, finance/payroll, HR Technology, and business functions.
• Up to 25% travel within APAC, to Brea, CA and participation in other global initiatives may be required.
• High‑visibility role with significant impact on employee experience, operational performance, and service delivery outcomes.

Operating company: Kerr