Senior Manager, People & Culture

The Opportunity:
The Senior Manager, People & Culture serves as a strategic and operational HR leader for Mattel Malaysia, responsible for workforce planning, talent acquisition, foreign workforce management, industrial relations, compensation & benefits benchmarking, payroll oversight, and early career talent programs.
The role supports a workforce of approximately 3,500 employees at Mattel Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (MMSB) and 200 employees at Mattel Development & Tooling Sdn. Bhd. (MDT).
Leading a team of approximately 5-6 employees through 3 direct reports, this position is responsible for ensuring the organization attracts, develops, and retains the talent required to achieve business objectives while maintaining compliance with employment legislation, immigration requirements, ethical recruitment standards, and company policies.
As a key member of the Malaysia leadership team, this role partners closely with business leaders, government authorities, educational institutions, recruitment partners, and external stakeholders to drive workforce effectiveness, organizational capability, employee engagement, and operational excellence.
What Your Impact Will Be:
1. Workforce Planning & Talent Acquisition
Lead workforce planning and talent acquisition strategies to support manufacturing, technical, and corporate functions across MMSB and MDT.
Partner with business leaders to forecast workforce requirements and develop short- and long-term hiring plans.
Lead recruitment for Direct Labour, Indirect Labour, Staff, and critical positions.
Oversee sourcing, candidate assessment, selection, offer management, onboarding, and workforce integration.
Build sustainable talent pipelines through employer branding, employee referrals, recruitment campaigns, educational partnerships, and agency relationships.
Monitor recruitment metrics including time-to-fill, quality-of-hire, hiring costs, and retention.
Ensure recruitment activities comply with approved budgets, headcount plans, responsible hiring principles, and company standards.
2. Foreign Workforce Management
Lead the planning, recruitment, administration, and compliance of the foreign workforce to support operational requirements.
Develop foreign workforce strategies and intake plans aligned with approved manpower requirements.
Manage quota applications, workforce approvals, permit renewals, and immigration-related activities.
Oversee recruitment partners and service providers to ensure compliance with ethical recruitment and social compliance standards.
Monitor workforce utilization, retention, permit status, contract renewals, and associated costs.
Ensure effective onboarding, accommodation, transportation, welfare, and integration programs for foreign employees.
Maintain productive relationships with government agencies, embassies, recruitment agencies, and relevant stakeholders.
3. Industrial Relations & Workforce Compliance
Lead and oversee Industrial Relations matters to maintain a compliant, fair, and productive workplace.
Advise management on disciplinary matters, misconduct investigations, grievances, workplace disputes, and employment-related risks.
Lead investigations, Domestic Inquiries, and disciplinary actions in accordance with company policies and legal requirements.
Ensure compliance with Malaysian employment legislation, Industrial Relations practices, and regulatory requirements.
Partner with legal counsel, government authorities, labour departments, and employee representatives on workplace matters.
Represent the company in conciliation meetings, labour disputes, Industrial Court cases, and other official proceedings where required.
Monitor workforce trends, compliance risks, and employee concerns, implementing corrective and preventive actions.
Coach leaders and managers on effective people management and industrial relations practices.
4. Compensation, Benefits & Payroll Governance
Lead compensation and benefits benchmarking exercises to ensure market competitiveness and support talent attraction and retention strategies.
Partner with regional and global stakeholders on salary structure reviews, pay positioning, incentive programs, and workforce cost analysis.
Provide recommendations based on market data, internal equity, business objectives, and budget considerations.
Oversee annual salary review, promotions, and bonus administration processes.
Ensure payroll operations are executed accurately, timely, and in compliance with statutory, audit, tax, and company requirements.
Oversee payroll vendors and internal payroll processes to ensure service excellence and regulatory compliance.
Monitor payroll accuracy, governance controls, and process improvements.
Provide workforce analytics and reports relating to compensation, benefits, payroll costs, and labour spend.
5. Leadership, Governance & Operational Excellence
Provide leadership to the People & Culture team and ensure effective governance, compliance, and continuous improvement.
Lead, coach, and develop People & Culture team members.
Drive employee engagement initiatives, company events, CSR activities, and organizational programs.
Support internal and external audits and ensure timely closure of findings.
Ensure compliance with employment legislation, immigration regulations, company policies, and audit requirements.
Monitor HR operational metrics and deliver accurate reporting and workforce insights.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives, including Kaizen and process optimization.
Contribute as a member of the Malaysia management team and perform other duties as assigned.
What We’re Looking For:
Demonstrated a growth mindset by staying curious and continuously learning, embracing challenges, and improving themselves.
Minimum 15 years of progressive Human Resources experience within a manufacturing, industrial, or high-volume operational environment.
Strong expertise in Talent Acquisition, Workforce Planning, Foreign Workforce Management, Industrial Relations, Compensation & Benefits, and Payroll Governance.
Minimum 8 years of leadership experience managing managers and multi-disciplinary HR teams.
Proven experience supports large employee populations, preferably exceeding 2,000 employees.
Demonstrated experience working with government authorities, immigration processes, employment legislation, labour relations, and regulatory compliance.

Employment type
Full-time

Work arrangement
No