Regional HR Lead

Role Overview

• Bridge Global and Local
• Adapt and operationalise global People initiatives for the region, ensuring they're effective, locally relevant, and compliant.
• Pressure-test whether global approaches will land well in SEA, flag gaps early, and shape how changes are communicated and implemented on the ground.
• Feed regional trends, risks, and opportunities back to HQ so our global strategy stays grounded in local reality.
• Provide targeted People Partnering support to a defined client group within the region.
• Support local org design and reorgs, total rewards benchmarking, country expansion, and the rollout of people initiatives and programs.
• Be the in-timezone, trusted partner for sensitive people matters and complex regional challenges.
• Own regional employment compliance and people risk in partnership with Location Partners and Employment Legal.
• Be the regional subject matter expert on local legislation, regulation, and cultural nuance across SEA's diverse markets.
• Act as the escalation point for complex employee relations matters and lead the response to critical regional events such as natural disasters, safety incidents, or major regulatory shifts.
• Deeply understand the benefit offering across each country consulting on local benefit gaps that impact talent attraction and retention where COEs may not have full visibility.
• Help scale Canva’s culture in a way that feels locally authentic and inclusive.
• Monitor engagement and organisational health across the region, using people data and insights to improve engagement, retention, and employee experience.
• Support regional connection, events, and leadership presence.
• Lead and develop a team of four across People Partnering, People Relations, and Location Partners.
• Set regional priorities, ensure clear ownership across the People ecosystem, and coach your team to thrive in a matrixed, global environment.
• Provide leadership and connection for the local People team, drive alignment and connection across different People functions to ensure cohesive delivery.

Requirements

• Proven experience as a senior HR Business Partner in a complex, global environment
• Deep knowledge of the Philippines, and ideally South East Asia, employment landscape including regulatory requirements, cultural nuance, and local market dynamics
• Track record of leading and developing People teams, including across dotted-line and matrixed relationships
• Strong judgement in navigating ambiguity and complex, sensitive people decisions
• Ability to influence without authority and build trust with senior leaders
• Comfortable operating with significant autonomy while knowing when to bring others in
• A pragmatic, thoughtful approach with a genuine bias for action

Benefits

• Equity packages — we want our success to be yours too
• Inclusive parental leave policy that supports all parents & carers
• An annual Vibe & Thrive allowance to support your wellbeing and personal growth
• Flexible leave options to recharge and be a force for good
• Exposure to global teams and cross-functional leaders as we scale toward 1 billion users