HR Business Partner

Roles and Responsibilities

1. Lead end-to-end HR operations for the Visa Application Centre, ensuring staffing, compliance, and employee engagement meet operational requirements.
2. Oversee recruitment, onboarding, and manpower planning in line with application volumes and Embassy SLAs.
3. Manage attendance, leave, overtime, and shift compliance for front-office, back-office, and support teams.
4. Ensure compliance with labour laws, visa sponsorship requirements, government regulations, and internal HR policies.
5. Lead performance management, KRAs, incentives, appraisal cycles, and employee development initiatives.
6. Oversee payroll inputs, benefits administration, and HR cost control.
7. Handle employee relations, grievances, disciplinary actions, investigations, and employee separation processes.
8. Drive training, certification, and competency development across all VAC roles.
9. Ensure accurate HR reporting, audit readiness, employee documentation, and maintenance of confidential HR records.

Indicative KRAs / Budgetary and Revenue Responsibilities

1. Achieve manpower fulfilment and attrition targets in line with approved HR plans.
2. Ensure 100% compliance with labour law, visa, government, Embassy, and HR audit requirements.
3. Maintain accurate attendance, payroll inputs, and incentive processing with zero avoidable errors.
4. Deliver timely mid-year and year-end performance appraisals and bonus recommendations.
5. Ensure achievement of training, certification, and competency development targets.
6. Control staffing costs, overtime, and HR budgets within approved limits.
7. Support VAC productivity and service targets through effective workforce planning and people management.

Desired Candidate Profile

Education

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Master’s degree or HR certification such as SHRM, CIPD, or equivalent is preferred.

Experience

• 8–12 years of HR experience, including 3–5 years in a managerial HR role.
• Experience in high-volume, SLA-driven environments such as Visa Services, BPO, government services, hospitality, or contact centres is preferred.
• Experience supporting multi-functional teams or growing organizations is preferred.
• Local experience or strong knowledge of the local labour market is required.

Knowledge & Key Skills

• Strong knowledge of local labour laws, employment regulations, and government / Embassy compliance requirements relevant to visa operations.
• Expertise in workforce budgeting, payroll control, shift planning, rostering, and manpower optimization.
• Strong capability in employee relations, disciplinary actions, investigations, and lawful employee separation.
• Understanding of data protection, confidentiality, and security requirements relating to visa and biometric information.
• Experience with HRIS, ATS, payroll, attendance, and performance management systems.
• Strong strategic workforce planning, high-volume recruitment, and performance management skills.
• Strong business, financial, and commercial acumen to support operational decision-making.
• Effective stakeholder management across Operations, Finance, Legal, Government, and Embassy clients.
• Ability to operate effectively in highly regulated, audit-driven, and high-pressure environments.
• Strong communication, leadership, analytical, and problem-solving skills.

Competencies / Personal Attributes

Behavioural Competencies

1. Leadership.
2. Executive Presence.
3. Persuasive Influence.
4. Ethical Decision-Making.
5. Agility in Fast-Paced Environments.
6. Service Excellence.
7. Conflict Resolution.

Functional Competencies

1. HR Strategy Formulation.
2. HR Analytics.
3. Culture Development.
4. Employee Engagement and Wellness Initiatives.
5. Workforce Planning.
6. Expansion Project Coordination.
7. HR Compliance and Governance.

Additional / Desirable Requirements

• Willingness to travel locally and internationally when required.
• Ability to manage cross-border teams and multicultural workforces.
• Experience working within highly regulated or government-facing environments is preferred.