Head of Human Resources, Korea

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Discover your opportunity with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), one of the world’s leading financial groups. Across the globe, we’re 150,000 colleagues, striving to make a difference for every client, organization, and community we serve. We stand for our values, building long-term relationships, serving society, and fostering shared and sustainable growth for a better world.

With a vision to be the world’s most trusted financial group, it’s part of our culture to put people first, listen to new and diverse ideas and collaborate toward greater innovation, speed and agility. This means investing in talent, technologies, and tools that empower you to own your career.

Join MUFG, where being inspired is expected and making a meaningful impact is rewarded.

The Head of HR serves as the primary HR leader the country, accountable for ensuring the safety, soundness, and compliance of all HR activities in alignment with local labour laws, regulatory requirements, and organisational standards, ensuring that global delivery meets local requirements. Operating within the GHR operating model, the Head of HR collaborates closely with business leaders, Global and Regional HR Business Partners, and Global Functions to ensure seamless, consistent delivery of HR support to clients in country.

The role provides strategic HR partnership at a country level to the senior leaders who are primarily focused on country-specific activity, balancing global consistency with local relevance. The role plays a critical part in fostering a compliant, engaged, and high-performing workforce that supports the company’s business objectives in country.

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1.     Serve as the main interaction point between Country Head (GM) and HR

• Act as the primary HR liaison for the Country Head, ensuring clear and consistent communication on people-related matters
• Gather and interpret local business and regulatory requirements, escalating these to business-aligned HR Business Partners (HRBPs) as needed
• Translate country-specific needs into actionable inputs for GBG (Global Business Group) people plans and HR strategies
• Collaborate with global and regional HR teams to embed local insights into broader talent, engagement, and workforce planning initiatives
• Maintain a thorough understanding of country-specific employment practices and ensure appropriate integration with global HR policies
• Facilitate proactive two-way communication between local leadership and the HR function to support business outcomes and workforce priorities
• Support the coordination and delivery of HR programmes and initiatives within countries, ensuring they are aligned with local needs and global direction

2.     Represent HR in both internal and external local boards and committees

• Provide HR representation to local boards, country governance committees, or equivalent bodies – preparing relevant papers, statutory submissions, reports, and regulatory attestations (e.g., renumeration disclosure statement)
• Monitor and report on people-related risk indicators (e.g., mandatory training compliance, regulated roles’ fitness and propriety, whistleblowing activity, etc.), ensuring governance materials are supported by accurate data and clear recommendations
• Coordinate annual certifications, license renewals, and statutory audit responses, liaising with regulators as appropriate and ensuring timely closure of any actions or findings
• Manage country risk culture measures and review culture dashboards

3.     Support local ER activity, including industrial relations and investigations

•  Collaborating closely with the Regional ER teams, support the management of complex employee relations cases – such as disciplinary matters, grievances, performance concerns, and terminations – to ensure all actions comply with local legislation and internal standards of fairness
• Develop constructive, trust-based relationships with trade unions, works councils, and employee representatives; prepare for and lead consultation or negotiation meetings on restructures, collective agreements, or policy changes
• Liaison with centrally coordinated external legal advisers and labour authorities, coordinating documentation, evidence, and hearings as required and embedding learnings into future practice

4.     Manage required legal, fiscal and regulatory steps outs in global processes

• Monitor employment legislation requirements and regulatory updates relevant to designated country or region, mapping any changes against the firm’s global HR processes
• Draft and secure approval for locally compliant process variations or workarounds, documenting the rationale, controls, and accountabilities, and tracking them through implementation to audit readiness
• Collaborate with HR Central Services, Legal, Finance, Compliance, and Risk to ensure that local deviations are accurately costed, correctly configured in HR systems / payroll, and reflected in procedural documentation and employee communication

5.     Embed the global people strategy at country level

•  Provide tailored, high-touch support to the executive committee of the country for sensitive or strategically significant HR processes, such as performance management, executive onboarding, complex ER cases, contract changes, relocations, and exits
• Act as a first-line triage point during the transition to the new GHR operating model, assessing employee and manager queries and directing them – via ticketing systems or warm handovers – to HR Central Services, CoEs, or HR Business Partners as appropriate
• Assess country engagement scores and lead country-level interventions to improve these as appropriate
• Anticipate and resolve potential friction points in key people processes involving senior leaders, ensuring confidentiality, discretion, and alignment with business priorities
• Apply safety and soundness standards and principles to the country
• Escalate issues and gaps in processes to the accountable GHR function

WORK EXPERIENCE

•  Extensive experience in an HR business partner or similar role, preferably at a global or regional level in a matrixed environment in the Banking & Financial Services Industry
• Proven track record of developing and implementing strategic HR initiatives that have demonstrably contributed to achieving business objectives and enhanced overall business performance.
• Experience of partnering with and influencing senior leaders and their leadership teams and working collaboratively with key stakeholders to create joint expectations and deliverables.
• History of delivering results in a high pressured, fast-paced, heavily matrixed environment.
• Collaboration and influence skills, with proven ability to address and manage stakeholder needs while prioritising competing objectives and achieving results.
• Proven ability to work effectively across cultures and in a global environment.

FUNCTIONAL/TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES

•  Deep understanding of generalist HR practices and experience of large-scale cyclical talent, performance management, and compensation activity.
• Exceptional discretion and tact to adeptly handle highly confidential and delicate information about peers and colleagues.
• Strong business acumen with an understanding of global and regional business dynamics
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with demonstrated ability to present effectively to the highest levels of global leadership.
• High degree of adaptability and resilience
• Highly numerate and comfortable navigating and analysing data to support HR strategy that serves business needs
• Strong knowledge of HR policies and procedures, employment/labour laws and current regulations
• Significant experience overseeing budgets and resources, as is required
• Proficiency with the full range of Microsoft Office applications (PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Outlook, and Teams)
• Clear ability to lead and manage a team of Business Partners in the execution of the Business Group people strategy including the effective communication and cascade of information, setting of performance goals and objectives, performance management and identifying personal and professional development opportunities for direct reports

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) is an equal opportunity employer. We view our employees as our key assets as they are fundamental to our long-term growth and success. MUFG is committed to hiring based on merit and organsational fit, regardless of race, religion or gender.