Senior Manager, HR Business Partner, Korea

Position Summary

The Senior Manager, Human Resources, Korea is the HR leader for Korea and a member of the Korea Leadership Team. The role leads the Korea HR function and translates Korea business priorities into practical people plans across talent, organization effectiveness, leadership capability, culture and employee engagement.

As a trusted HR partner to the Korea Managing Director and Korea Leadership Team, the Senior Manager provides informed advice, brings people and organization insights into business discussions, and leads the execution of Korea HR priorities. The role directly manages and develops the Korea HR team and ensures effective HR delivery in partnership with subject-matter experts and shared services.

The Senior Manager contributes to East Asia HR agenda through active participation in cross-market initiatives, collaboration with East Asia HR partners, and sharing Korea insights and effective practices as the Korea representative and a defined workstream contributor.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Korea HR Leadership and Business Partnership

• Leads the Korea HR function and translates Korea business priorities into integrated annual people plans and actions.
• Serves as a trusted HR partner to the Korea Managing Director and Korea Leadership Team and contributes people and organization perspectives to business decisions.
• Provides practical advice and constructive challenge to leaders on talent, organization, leadership and employee matters.
• Uses business data, workforce insights and market context to identify people priorities, risks and opportunities.

Organization Effectiveness and Change

• Partners with business leaders and East Asia HR leadership on organization design, workforce planning and capability priorities for Korea.
• Leads the Korea execution of organization and people transformation, including impact assessment, stakeholder engagement, communication and adoption.
• Identifies organization effectiveness issues, recommends solutions and mobilizes the right HR and business resources.
• Coaches leaders and managers to improve team effectiveness, leadership capability and change readiness.

Talent, Leadership and Succession

• Owns the Korea talent agenda, including talent reviews, succession planning, critical role pipelines, retention and leadership development.
• Raises talent standards and strengthens leadership bench through differentiated development, mobility and talent acquisition strategies.
• Ensures robust succession plans for critical leadership roles and holds leaders accountable for talent outcomes.
• Monitors talent risks and provides clear recommendations to the Korea Leadership Team and East Asia HR leadership

Employee Relations, Compliance and Risk

• Leads employee relations for Korea and serves as the local escalation point for complex employee matters.
• Ensures compliance with Korean labor laws, company policies and global standards, escalating material risks appropriately.
• Manages investigations, disciplinary matters, litigation and dispute resolution in partnership with East Asia HR leadership, Legal and external counsel as required.
• Identifies recurring workplace issues and implements practical, sustainable interventions.

Culture, Engagement and Employee Experience

• Leads Korea employee engagement and culture action planning and holds leaders accountable for follow-through.
• Promotes a high-performance, inclusive and values-led culture grounded in trust, accountability and psychological safety.
• Partners with leaders and HR colleagues to improve the Korea employee experience and strengthen attraction and retention.
• Ensures people practices are consistently applied and relevant to the Korea business and labor environment.

Korea HR Team and Delivery Leadership

• Leads, coaches and develops the Korea HR team, with clear priorities, accountabilities and service expectations.
• Builds team capability and succession through feedback, coaching, delegation and meaningful development assignments.
• Coordinates HR delivery across HR business partnering, centers of expertise, HR operations and shared services.
• Drives reliable execution of annual HR processes and continuous improvement of HR services and employee experience.

East Asia Contribution and Development

• Contributes as an active member of the East Asia HR leadership community and brings Korea business and market perspectives into regional discussions.
• Leads selected East Asia people initiatives or workstreams that require cross-market alignment and execution
• Influences and supports HR leaders across East Asia through thought leadership, coaching, capability building and sharing of effective practices.
• Builds strong cross-market relationships and contributes to a consistent, enterprise-oriented HR approach across East Asia.

East Asia Contribution and Development

• Interprets people and business data, identifies root causes and presents clear recommendations to Korea leaders
• Establishes measures, governance and follow-through for Korea people priorities and annual HR plans
• Monitors organization health, talent risk, compliance and HR delivery and escalates significant issues in a timely manner.

Qualifications

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent required.
• Postgraduate qualification in Human Resources, business or a related field preferred.
• Relevant HR, coaching (Gallup Strength Coach) or change management certification preferred
• 12+ years of progressive HR or role-related experience required. Strong business-facing HR experience supporting complex client groups or a country organization.
• People leadership experience, including coaching and developing HR professionals.
• Strong working knowledge of Korean labor law, employment practices and employee relations.
• Business-level proficiency in Korean and English.
• Experience partnering with senior business leaders on talent, organization and workforce matters.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading a country HR team or serving as a senior HR business partner in a multinational organization.
• Experience in healthcare, medical technology or another regulated industry.
• Experience executing organization transformation, change management and organization design initiatives.
• Experience contributing to cross-market or regional HR initiatives.
• Experience across multiple HR disciplines or business groups.

Physical & Mental Requirements

• Exercise independent judgment and make sound decisions in complex, sensitive and ambiguous situations.
• Analyze business and people data, identify implications and communicate clear recommendations to senior leaders.
• Influence, challenge and build alignment across diverse senior stakeholders.
• Lead strategic and operational priorities in a fast-changing environment.
• Handle confidential information with discretion and integrity.
• Facilitate discussions and deliver communications to small and large groups.
• Use Workday, Microsoft Office and other relevant business systems effectively.
• Travel within Korea and East Asia/APAC as required.