Sr. Manager, People & Culture Business Partner, South Asia

Company Description

CREATIVITY IS OUR SUPERPOWER. It’s our heritage and it’s also our future. Because we don’t just make toys. We create innovative products and experiences that inspire fans, entertain audiences and develop children through play. Mattel is at its best when every member of our team feels respected, included, and heard—when everyone can show up as themselves and do their best work every day. We value and share an infinite range of ideas and voices that evolve and broaden our perspectives with a reach that extends into all our brands, partners, and suppliers.

The Team:

At the heart of our company, the Global People & Culture (P&C) team partners with employees across the business to deliver a meaningful, end-to-end employee experience. We live our values every day and are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels they truly belong. As part of our team, you’ll be encouraged to challenge the status quo, bring fresh, progressive thinking, and help drive impactful change. With a presence in over 30 countries and supporting more than 30,000 employees globally, our work has real scale and influence. We’re passionate about building an environment that amplifies purpose, passion, and play in every aspect of the employee experience. We value meaningful work, personalized career growth, and the opportunity to shape a world-class People & Culture organization.

Everyday, our Global People & Culture team role models the following strategic pillars:

• Performance and Growth: Attract and retain the best of the best. Support and inspire them to grow and contribute at the highest level
• Leadership Development: Cultivate skills and capabilities that make exceptional, innovative leaders
• Total Rewards: Reward and incentivize our people when and how it matters
• People Systems: Create integrated systems and processes that are intuitive and effective, and that yield actionable insights, designed with our people at the center
• Operational Excellence: Execute with excellence, fostering a culture of collaboration while empowering our people

Job Description

The Opportunity: 

The Senior Manager, People & Culture South Asia (Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, India), will be a key member of the South Asia Leadership Team, responsible for driving the People & Culture strategy and ensuring alignment with both regional and global objectives across the South Asia markets. Reporting directly to the Regional Director, People & Culture APAC, this role will lead the People & Culture function for the South Asia cluster, supporting business growth, organisational effectiveness, workforce capability, and transformation initiatives while fostering a culture of high performance and employee engagement.

The role partners closely with regional Centres of Excellence, People & Culture Business Partners, business leaders, and external partners to deliver strategic and operational People & Culture support across multiple countries within South Asia.

What Your Impact Will Be: 

Leadership:

• Develop and implement People & Culture strategies, policies, and programs that support business objectives across the South Asia markets.
• Serve as a strategic partner to the South Asia Leadership Team, providing insights and recommendations on workforce planning, talent management, organisational design, and employee engagement.
• Support organisational transformation and change management initiatives aligned with business priorities.
• Manage people-related investments and compensation planning aligned with Annual Operating Plan (AOP) objectives.
• Communicate and embed company values and expected leadership behaviours across the organisation.

Talent Acquisition

• Partner with the Talent Acquisition Centre of Excellence (COE) to deliver effective talent acquisition strategies that attract, retain, and develop high-performing and diverse talent across South Asia.
• Collaborate with the Talent Acquisition COE and offshore support teams on recruitment delivery, workforce planning, sourcing strategies, employer branding, and transactional recruitment activities.
• Support hiring leaders in identifying talent needs, organisational capability requirements, and strategic workforce priorities aligned with business objectives.
• Ensure effective onboarding and integration of new employees while strengthening employer brand positioning in local markets.
• Drive workforce planning initiatives to ensure capability alignment with current and future business needs.
• Facilitate the annual performance management cycle, including goal setting, performance reviews, and talent calibration processes.
• Partner with business leaders to establish career development pathways, succession plans, and development plans for employees.
• Identify and develop high-potential talent and future leaders across the region.

Capability Development

• Partner with Regional Organisation Development and Learning teams to ensure regional and global learning offerings meet South Asia business needs.
• Identify capability gaps and oversee the implementation of local development initiatives where required.
• Facilitate leadership coaching and capability-building initiatives across the business.
• Ensure robust talent reviews and organisational talent planning processes are completed for South Asia markets.

Employee Relations & Engagement

• Foster a positive, inclusive, and high-performing workplace culture that supports employee engagement, wellbeing, and diversity.
• Provide guidance and support to leaders and employees on employee relations matters, performance management, investigations, and conflict resolution.
• Ensure compliance with local labour laws, employment regulations, and company policies across South Asia markets.
• Partner with internal legal counsel and external advisors on escalated employee relations matters and compliance issues.
• Lead employee engagement initiatives and utilise employee insights, dashboards, and data analytics to improve employee experience and retention.
• Facilitate annual compensation review, merit, and equity planning processes.
• Review and maintain local People & Culture policies and practices to ensure compliance and alignment with global standards.

Payroll

• Oversee payroll governance and People operations processes across South Asia, ensuring compliance with local legislation and internal audit requirements.
• Ensure employee lifecycle processes including onboarding, transfers, promotions, and separations are managed accurately and efficiently.
• Partner with payroll vendors and Finance teams to ensure timely and accurate payroll processing.
• Ensure statutory obligations, government payments, and reporting requirements are met across all applicable markets.
• Oversee sales incentive payment processes in partnership with Commercial Finance where applicable.

Team Leadership

• Provide leadership, coaching, and mentorship to People & Culture team members within the South Asia cluster.
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performing team environment.
• Build strong partnerships and effective communication across People & Culture and cross-functional teams.

Qualifications

What We’re Looking For: 

• Demonstrated a growth mindset by staying curious and continuously learning, embracing challenges, and improving themselves.
• Tertiary qualifications in human resources, or other related discipline. 
• Demonstrated success navigating complex, fast-paced, and matrixed multinational environments.
• Experience supporting multiple countries
• Strong business and commercial acumen.
• Broad People & Culture Generalist experience with ideally 10+ years in progressive People & Culture leadership roles.
• Proven experience leading organisational change and transformation initiatives with measurable business impact.
• Strong employee relations and labour law experience across multiple jurisdictions preferred.
• Experience influencing and partnering with senior business leaders.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work autonomously while managing multiple priorities and stakeholders.
• Strong problem-solving, agility, and decision-making capability.
• Fluency in English required

Additional Information

Don’t meet every single requirement? At Mattel, we are dedicated to an inclusive workplace and a culture of belonging. If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we still encourage you to apply. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

How We Work:
We are a purpose driven company aiming to empower generations to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential. We live up to our purpose employing the following behaviors:

• We collaborate: Being a part of Mattel means being part of one team with shared values and common goals. Every person counts and working closely together always brings better results. Partnership is our process and our collective capabilities is our superpower.
• We innovate: At Mattel we always aim to find new and better ways to create innovative products and experiences. No matter where you work in the organization, you can always make a difference and have real impact. We welcome new ideas and value new initiatives that challenge conventional thinking.
• We execute: We are a performance-driven company. We strive for excellence and are focused on pursuing best-in-class outcomes. We believe in accountability and ownership and know that our people are at their best when they are empowered to create and deliver results.

Our Approach to Flexible Work:
We embrace a flexible work model designed to empower a culture of growth, optimism, and wellbeing, where every employee can reach their full potential. Combining purposeful in-person collaboration with flexibility, our focus is to optimize performance and drive connection for moments that matter.

Who We Are:
Mattel is a leading global toy and family entertainment company and owner of one of the most iconic brand portfolios in the world. We engage consumers and fans through our franchise brands, including Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, American Girl, Thomas & Friends, UNO, Masters of the Universe, Matchbox, Monster High, MEGA and Polly Pocket, as well as other popular properties that we own or license in partnership with global entertainment companies. Our offerings include toys, content, consumer products, digital and live experiences. Our products are sold in collaboration with the world’s leading retail and ecommerce companies. Since its founding in 1945, Mattel is proud to be a trusted partner in empowering generations to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential.

Mattel’s award-winning workplace culture has been recognized by Forbes, Fast Company, Newsweek, Great Place to Work, TIME, and more.

Visit us at https://jobs.mattel.com/ and www.instagram.com/MattelCareers.

Mattel is an Equal Opportunity Employer where we want you to bring your authentic self to work every day. We welcome all job seekers, and all applicants will receive consideration for employment.

Videos to watch:
The Culture at Mattel
Corporate Philanthropy

Client-provided location(s): Serendah, Malaysia

Job ID: aa671b85-79de-43b0-b050-e3c777f0d8fa

Employment Type: OTHER

Posted: 2026-06-03T03:34:28