The People Strategy Lead role is responsible for driving the end-to-end design, implementation, and successful delivery of strategic HR initiatives that support CIMB's transformation agenda. As part of the People Strategy team within Group HR, the role plays a pivotal part in translating HR strategies into practical, high-impact programmes that align with the Bank's broader ambitions.
This role demands strong programme and portfolio management capability and execution discipline, with a focus on proactive risk management, governance, compliance, and stakeholder engagement across Group HR initiatives. Working closely with the Group Chief People Officer (GCPO) and senior HR leaders, the individual helps shape strategic direction, ensure enterprise-wide alignment, and drive timely delivery across functions and businesses.
Success in this role requires structured thinking, strong analytical skills, and the ability to connect strategy with on-the-ground implementation at scale. A background in consulting or enterprise strategy is advantageous. The ideal candidate is intellectually rigorous, data-savvy, and able to craft compelling executive-level narratives, with a continuous improvement mindset and a passion for making meaningful impact on the organisation's people agenda.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Strategic Thinking & Thought Leadership
- Partner with the Head, People Strategy to co-lead the translation of Group HR's vision and priorities into a clear, integrated strategic roadmap.
- Drive strategic clarity across the team by connecting initiatives to the Bank's transformation goals, business needs, and future talent priorities.
- Shape and refine strategic narratives and business cases that influence senior decision-makers and stakeholders, including the GCPO.
- Strategic Project Leadership & Delivery Excellence
- Lead the end-to-end design, management, and execution of HR strategic initiatives, ensuring outcomes are impactful, scalable, and measurable.
- Translate complex ideas into executable project plans, including clear milestones, deliverables, resource requirements, and KPIs.
- Mobilise and align cross-functional teams to deliver against objectives with discipline, agility, and accountability. Champion strong execution discipline and drive timely, high-quality delivery across initiatives.
- Program and Project Management (HR PMO)
- Provide leadership oversight of the HR PMO approach, ensuring consistency, rigour, and transparency across strategic initiatives.
- Own project and programme lifecycle governance, including charters, timelines, risk mitigation, interdependencies, and outcome tracking.
- Apply project management best practices to monitor progress, resolve bottlenecks, and manage trade-offs across the portfolio.
- Drive proactive issue management, including escalation, resolution, and decision-making with relevant senior leaders.
- Governance, Risk & Compliance Oversight
- Ensure all initiatives adhere to internal governance protocols, regional HR policy standards, and regulatory or compliance requirements.
- Establish and maintain clear documentation, approval flows, and audit trails to support transparency and accountability.
- Identify, monitor and manage risks, controls, and escalation points across strategic programmes.
- Stakeholder Management & Engagement
- Serve as the strategic interface between People Strategy and key stakeholders across HR Centres of Excellence, country HR teams, and business leaders.
- Facilitate strong engagement, alignment, and collaboration to support effective delivery of cross-functional initiatives.
- Anticipate stakeholder needs and manage expectations through structured updates and executive-level storytelling
- Strategic Communication & Presentation
- Craft high-quality communication materials including Board papers, GEXCO updates, dashboards, and project packs for various audiences.
- Support the preparation of speeches, narratives, and strategic communication on behalf of HR leadership.
- Drive a culture of clear, concise, and compelling storytelling grounded in facts, logic, and business relevance.
- Continuous Improvement & Innovation
- Embed a learning mindset by driving structured reviews, post-mortems, and documentation of lessons learned.
- Recommend and implement improvements to tools, processes, and templates to enhance PMO effectiveness and delivery quality.
- Actively scan for new methodologies, digital tools, and practices to future-proof People Strategy and HR PMO's capabilities.
- Team Development & Capability Building
- Mentor and guide junior team members, role-modelling strong problem-solving, planning, and stakeholder engagement.
- Foster a high-performance team culture that embraces collaboration, ownership, execution excellence and resilience.
- Support the Head of People Strategy in team development, succession planning, and cross-functional capacity building.
RELEVANT WORK EXPERIENCE
- 812 years of experience managing strategic projects or initiatives, ideally within HR, organizational transformation, or management consulting environments.
- Proven ability to drive complex, cross-functional initiatives from design through execution, balancing structure, agility, and speed.
- Experience operating within governance, compliance, and risk frameworks while ensuring timely and high-impact delivery.
- Strong track record of stakeholder engagement and collaboration across multiple functions, regions, and seniority levels.
- Demonstrated ability to synthesize complex information into insights and deliver clear, data-backed recommendations to senior leaders.
- Experience applying change management and continuous improvement approaches to drive adoption, sustainability, and long-term impact.
REQUIRED COMPETENCIES & SKILLS
Technical/Functional skills
- Strong command of project management methodologies (e.g., Agile, Waterfall, hybrid models) and tools (e.g. MS Project), with a track record of managing full project lifecycles.
- Skilled in applying change management principles to drive stakeholder buy-in and adoption.
- Strong analytical capability with proficiency in Excel and data-driven reporting to support decision-making.
- Solid understanding of governance, compliance, and risk management in a transformation or PMO context.
- Familiarity with HR practices and frameworks is an advantage but not mandatory.
- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), particularly PowerPoint for executive communication.
Personal skills (Soft Competencies [Core/Leadership])
- Strong leadership presence with the ability to inspire and guide project teams toward shared goals even in the absence of formal authority.
- Clear, structured communicator with strong stakeholder engagement and decision-facilitation skills.
- Proactive, self-directed, and comfortable operating with ambiguity and high levels of ownership.
- Structured and systems thinker, able to translate strategy into executionable plans.
- Resilient, adaptable, and effective under pressure and competing priorities.
- Demonstrates integrity, curiosity, and a continuous improvement mindset.
