HR Generalist

Confidential; Fatih; Hybrid; TRY 2,116,651 - 3,292,568; Full time

Job summary

Confidential in Turkey seeks a hands-on HR Lead to bridge HQ HR policy with Turkish labor regulations. You will own recruitment, payroll, benefits, and employee relations for the Turkey office, shaping a compliant, scalable local HR framework in a hybrid, Istanbul-based role.

You will collaborate with HQ to ensure alignment on global standards while adapting practices to local norms, building a strong local HR function from scratch and mitigating employment risk.

Qualifications

• Fluent Chinese language skills required for daily coordination with HQ
• Experience localizing HR processes to Turkish labor law and norms
• Ability to manage full HR operations: recruitment, payroll, benefits, relations
• Strong communication across local and HQ teams
• Independent problem-solving and proactive risk management

Responsibilities

• Own local recruitment and onboarding in Turkey
• Manage local employee relations and inquiries
• Run local payroll and social security administration
• Liaise between HQ HR programs and Turkey office
• Build and standardize local HR processes and admin support

Skills

Chinese language

Turkish labor law

HR operations

Communication

Problem-solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR / Business

Job description

We are a fast-growing global fintech company expanding our presence across multiple international markets, including a growing local presence in Turkey. As we scale our regional operations, we're building out the local infrastructure needed to support a rapidly expanding team.

Why This Role

Our Turkey office is in a phase of continued growth, and we currently lack a dedicated local HR presence to bridge the gap between HQ people policies and Turkey's local labor regulations, social security/payroll requirements, and workplace culture. This role exists to solve three core challenges:

• Localize global HR frameworks in line with Turkish labor law and workplace norms, closing compliance gaps
• Build a two-way communication channel between local employees, local management, and HQ HR, removing cross-border information gaps and execution misalignment
• Own the full spectrum of local HR operations — hiring, employee management, compensation & benefits, and performance — reducing the cross-border HR burden currently carried by HQ

As the local team continues to grow and employment scenarios become more complex, we need a dedicated HR presence to build a standardized, compliant local HR framework and mitigate labor dispute and compliance risk.

Location & Working Arrangement

• Based in Turkey (Istanbul preferred)
• Hybrid working arrangement

Responsibilities

• Own local recruitment channels in Turkey, managing the full cycle from resume screening and interview coordination through offer negotiation and onboarding
• Manage full-cycle employee relations for local staff, handling employee inquiries, leave, personnel changes, and labor disputes
• Run local payroll calculations, social security and statutory benefits administration, and implement performance management practices adapted to local policy
• Act as the liaison between HQ HR programs/policies and the local business, keeping HQ informed of local business conditions, employment risk, and employee feedback, and establishing a regular two-way communication cadence
• Build out HR processes and light administrative/office support infrastructure for the Turkey office, establishing local HR management standards

Requirements

• Strong proficiency in Chinese (spoken and written) is required — this role works directly with a Chinese-speaking HQ team on a regular basis, and Chinese fluency is essential for day-to-day coordination
• Must be based in Turkey
• Experience working within multinational company structures, able to balance global HQ standards with Turkish local culture and employment norms in a cross-border operating environment
• Strong independent problem-solving ability — comfortable resolving employment issues and policy localization challenges without needing constant external direction
• Excellent communication skills — able to work efficiently with the local team while clearly and professionally reporting issues and solutions to global HQ
• Strong attention to detail in core HR operations, with high sensitivity to local employment compliance, payroll, and social security risk, and a proactive approach to identifying issues before they escalation
• Self-starter mindset with the ability to build a local HR function from the ground up, independently owning all HR-related work for the Turkey office

What Makes This Role Attractive

• Lead HR for the Turkey office — full ownership of building the local HR framework from scratch, with strong room for growth
• Rare opportunity in a niche, fast-growing sector — global fintech / cross-border financial services — with a flexible hybrid working arrangement
• Build dual expertise in Turkish local labor compliance and global cross-border HR collaboration, a scarce combination in the market