Assistant Director, Policy & Planning, Office of Human Resources

• Operation
• Full Time
• Employment Type
• Manager
• Experience Level
• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent
• Education Level
• Singapore | Closing On 06 Mar 2026
• Country
• Hybrid
• Working Arrangement

About Us

Singapore Management University is a place where high-level professionalism blends together with a healthy informality. The 'family-like' atmosphere among the SMU community fosters a culture where employees work, plan, organise and play together - building a strong collegiality and morale within the university.

Our commitment to attract and retain talent is ongoing. We offer attractive benefits and welfare, competitive compensation packages, and generous professional development opportunities - all to meet the work-life needs of our staff. No wonder, then, that SMU continues to be given numerous awards and recognition for its human resource excellence.

Job Description

Policy Development & Governance:

• Shape and steward the University's overarching HR policy architecture, providing clear guidance and ensuring that all policies are coherent, futureready, and aligned with institutional priorities and longterm organisational strategy.
• Set enterprise-wide policy positions and governance standards for complex, crosscutting HR matters, providing decisive guidance where ownership spans multiple Centres of Expertise (COEs). Lead the resolution of ambiguities, overlaps, and structural tradeoffs to ensure clarity, consistency, and organisational alignment.

Research, Benchmarking & Analysis:

• Co-lead with COEs enterpriselevel research into emerging HR trends, market practices, and regulatory developments, generating insights that shape the University's longterm HR policy direction and inform evidencebased decisionmaking.
• Drive comprehensive benchmarking against leading highereducation institutions and relevant industry sectors, ensuring that the University's HR frameworks remain competitive, progressive, and aligned with global standards of excellence.

Stakeholder Engagement & Consultation:

• Lead highlevel engagements with senior academic, administrative and union stakeholders—including Deans, HODs, the Union, HR colleagues and broader employee groups—to socialise policy proposals, gather strategic feedback, and exercise sound judgment in reconciling competing priorities, institutional considerations and tradeoffs.
• Provide clear, wellgrounded guidance on policy interpretation and enable consistent organisationwide implementation, ensuring that policies are understood, applied appropriately, and embedded effectively across all units.

Project & Change Management:

• Oversee the design and execution of enterprisewide HR policy initiatives, including major policy rollouts, system and process redesigns, and other transformation efforts that strengthen institutional effectiveness and policy coherence.
• Lead organisationwide change management efforts, driving communication strategies, capabilitybuilding initiatives, and stakeholder alignment to ensure successful adoption, sustained behavioural change, and seamless implementation across all units.

Compliance & Risk Management:

• Ensure institutional compliance by overseeing the alignment of all HR policies and practices with statutory requirements and key organisational priorities, reinforcing the University's governance standards.
• Proactively identify emerging workforce, regulatory, and policyrelated risks, and develop forwardlooking mitigation strategies that safeguard the institution's operational resilience and HR governance integrity.

Reporting & Management Information:

• Develop highimpact reports, insights, and policy proposals on key manpower trends and HR analytics for senior management, governing boards, and key institutional committees, strengthening evidencebased decisionmaking at the enterprise level.
• Work in close partnership with HR leadership to shape, integrate, and consolidate the Universitywide HR workplan, ensuring coherence, prioritisation, and alignment with institutional strategy and longterm workforce needs.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• At least 8 to 10 years of relevant experience in HR, preferably with strategic workforce planning and policy experience.
• Familiarity with Higher Education and Public Sector HR policies and practices.
• Strong strategic and analytical thinking skills, good quantitative skills with fundamental understanding of analytics.
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills to engage spectrum of stakeholders, and ability to navigate diverse viewpoints and build consensus.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with ability to translate concept into concrete implementation plans, and communicate changes effectively to stakeholders.
• Proficiency with HR analytics tools, HR information systems, ability to use data visualization tools to generate insights for reporting.

Other Information

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Candidates who do not possess the stipulated qualifications but have relevant work experience may still apply. Remuneration and appointment terms shall commensurate with qualifications and experience. SMU reserves the right to modify the appointment terms where necessary.

Posted On 04 Feb 2026