ABOUT THE ROLE
Our Client is a leading professional services firm with a strong presence across Southeast Asia. The Regional Talent & Performance Manager plays a critical role in driving an exceptional employee development experience for the firm's high-performing professional staff. This is a highly collaborative, stakeholder-facing role that sits at the intersection of talent strategy, performance management, and people operations.
The successful candidate will partner closely with senior leaders, HR counterparts, and regional stakeholders to optimize workforce development outcomes that directly impact business performance.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
Performance & Development Programme Management
As Regional Talent & Performance Manager, you will serve as the operational backbone and strategic thought-partner for the firm's performance management processes, including:
- Trusted advisor to senior HR and business leaders, equipping them with data and insights to lead robust performance calibration discussions
- Quality standard-bearer for performance advisors, ensuring rigorous evaluation and meaningful development plans for professional staff
- Close collaborator with Talent Partners, integrating holistic individual context into all people processes
- Subject-matter expert on performance policies, processes, and precedents across the SEA region
- Owner of end-to-end execution of talent review cycles and day-to-day operations
- Champion of regional strategic initiatives, translating global priorities into local execution
Day-to-Day Responsibilities
Performance Review Cycle Management:
- Setting agendas and managing readiness for performance review committee meetings
- Facilitating and actively engaging in calibration sessions — pressure-testing ratings, ensuring consistency and best practices
- Capturing key themes and patterns across cohorts and review cycles
Feedback & Evaluation Oversight:
- Driving timeliness and quality standards for upward and downward feedback processes
- Acting as the go-to resource on review process queries from staff and leaders
Leadership Enablement:
- Providing calibration recommendations to senior HR leaders and facilitating escalation discussions
- Leading pre-meeting deep dives and post-meeting debriefs
- Facilitating recurring check-ins on timely talent topics
- Overseeing onboarding of new performance advisors and newly promoted staff
Communications & Engagement:
- Leading onboarding sessions, training programmes, and cohort briefings
- Communicating key talent updates and process changes to professional staff
Other:
- Leading local strategic talent initiatives
- Supporting year-end compensation review processes
WHAT YOU BRING
- Bachelor's degree with 7+ years of relevant experience in talent development, performance management, HR business partnering, or people operations
- Prior experience in a professional services or knowledge-intensive firm strongly preferred
- Experience in a People-facing role, ideally working with high-calibre professional populations
- Strong critical thinking skills — able to apply guiding principles to complex, nuanced situations
- Ability to anticipate second- and third-order implications of talent decisions
- Proven ability to build trust and credibility with senior stakeholders
- Confident communicator — able to share a point of view and influence outcomes
- Excellent written communication skills; able to craft clear, compelling narratives
- Detail-oriented with the ability to maintain a strategic perspective
- Adaptable and comfortable managing shifting priorities in a fast-paced environment
- Tech-savvy and open to adopting new ways of working
- Demonstrated ability to develop and motivate others
- Highest standards of integrity and confidentiality
WHO YOU'LL WORK WITH
You will work closely with senior HR leadership, regional People & Performance teams across Southeast Asia, Asia Pacific and globally, as well as key business stakeholders across the firm.
