About the role
Our client is seeking an exceptional HR Director (Advisory, AI Innovation & Change) to lead organisation-wide HR transformation in the region.
This is a senior leadership opportunity for a strategic, commercially astute HR leader with a proven record of reshaping HR operating models, leading enterprise change, and delivering technology- and AI-enabled people innovation. Reporting directly to Group CHRO, the successful candidate will establish and lead the HR COE function, setting the standards, governance, and strategic direction for business-facing HR across the organisation.
The role will be central to translating business strategy into an integrated people agenda—strengthening workforce capability, organisational effectiveness, leadership, talent, rewards, and digital HR delivery.
The Role
As Regional HR Director (Advisory, AI Innovation & Change), you will lead the design and execution of a future-ready HR model, ensuring consistent, high-impact support to senior leaders and business teams.
You will drive complex, enterprise-wide HR change programmes, from operating model redesign and organisational transformation to digitalisation, AI-enabled HR innovation, and workforce evolution. Success will require the ability to combine strategic vision, influential stakeholder leadership, and disciplined execution across a complex, matrixed environment.
Summary of the Role and Key Responsibilities
As Regional HR Director (Advisory, AI Innovation & Change), you will:
- Establish and lead the HR COE and advisory function, defining organisation-wide standards, governance, capabilities, and service-delivery expectations.
- Serve as a trusted strategic advisor to Group C-suite, senior leaders, and HR leadership team on people, workforce, organisational, and transformation priorities.
- Lead major HR transformation programmes, including HR operating model redesign, organisation design, process simplification, digitalisation, and change adoption.
- Own and deliver AI-enabled HR innovation initiatives, identifying practical use cases that improve decision-making, employee experience, workforce insights, and HR productivity.
- Translate business strategy into integrated people plans covering workforce planning, talent, organisational development, leadership, performance, and rewards.
- Drive the adoption of common HR partnering practices and more effective ways of working across business lines and HR teams.
- Lead the governance, prioritisation, execution, and measurement of critical HR initiatives, resolving barriers and ensuring tangible business impact.
- Partner with senior stakeholders to shape organisational capability, succession, workforce deployment, and long-term talent strategy.
- Lead, develop, and inspire multi-functional HR teams across the region.
- Champion a data-led, digitally enabled, commercially focused, and collaborative HR culture.
Key Skills Required
The ideal candidate should possess:
- Strong progressive HR experience at senior HR leadership roles with responsibility for multi-functional teams.
- A strong record of leading enterprise-wide HR transformation, organisational change, and operating model redesign in complex, matrixed organisations.
- Deep expertise in HR business partnering, organisation design, workforce planning, talent strategy, organisational development, and total rewards.
- Demonstrated ownership of HR technology, digital transformation, people analytics, or AI-related HR innovation projects from strategy through implementation and adoption.
- The ability to identify high-value AI applications across HR while balancing employee experience, operational effectiveness, governance, and responsible implementation.
- Strong commercial judgement and the ability to convert business strategy into clear, scalable, and measurable people solutions.
- Extensive experience advising and influencing senior executives through significant organisational change.
- Proven capability to lead and align teams across the region
- Exceptional stakeholder-management, communication, presentation, and change-leadership skills.
- A strategic, entrepreneurial, resilient, and execution-oriented leadership style.
- Bilingual fluency in Chinese (Mandarin/Cantonese) AND English is mandatory.
Preferred Qualifications
The following experience will be viewed favourably:
- Leadership of skills-based workforce, performance, career, or rewards transformation.
- Practical experience deploying generative AI, automation, advanced people analytics, or AI-enabled employee and manager solutions within HR.
- Familiarity with enterprise HR technology & AI platforms, including SAP SuccessFactors, HR AI tools or comparable systems.
- Experience leading regional, cross-border, or large-scale organisational transformation programmes.
- An MBA, master’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organisational Psychology, Technology, or a related discipline.
- Relevant professional HR, change management, digital transformation, or people analytics certifications.
How to apply
If you are interested in discussing this role further, please apply for the position or contact Alice Cheung at ac@elliottscotthr.com (Job Code - AC/82301)
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Please note that only short-listed candidates will be contacted
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