About the Company:

YCP is a Singapore-headquartered management consulting and professional services firm founded in 2011. The firm operates with 700+ professionals across 24 offices globally, spanning Japan, Greater China, Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas.

Across its six divisions – Management Services, Digital Transformation, Interactive Solutions, Supply Chain Solutions, Sustainability Solutions, and Operational Transformation – the firm brings end-to-end capability from strategy through execution. With a track record of 2,000+ projects and 500+ clients across Asia-Pacific, it serves Fortune 500 companies and Asian conglomerates across 12 industry sectors, including Automotive & Mobility, Healthcare, Consumer & Retail, Energy & Materials, Financial Services, TMT, and Industrials.

What sets YCP apart is its execution-first culture, balancing strategic depth with on-the-ground delivery. Rather than relying on standardized frameworks, teams are lean, senior-led, and deeply embedded in local markets, bringing the cross-border expertise that global firms cannot easily replicate. This commitment to moving from insight to impact is captured in the firm's tagline: "YCP: your Strategy Delivered."

About the Division:

The Talent & Culture Division (TCD) is YCP's global talent function, responsible for the full talent lifecycle across all regions and business divisions – from talent acquisition and onboarding through to development, performance management, and retention.

TCD operates with a global mandate under the Group CHRO, with regional teams in Japan, Southeast Asia, India, and coverage across Europe and the Americas. Each regional team is built around an HR Business Partner (HRBP) model, owning end-to-end talent management for the professionals within their region and working in close partnership with Regional CEOs and Business Unit Managers.

The division is actively transforming – from a process-focused function toward a full-spectrum HR partner model. Key initiatives include a firmwide L&D architecture, a Development Manager Program, and a new Assignment Management function. Underpinning this is a deliberate shift toward AI-driven, data-informed talent management – from recruitment and onboarding to L&D and retention analytics – supported by the global rollout of core HR systems to create an integrated foundation for holistic people strategy.

Underpinning all of this is a clear ambition: to build a lean, strategic HR function that is an indispensable partner to the business – not a support function, but a driver of growth. As TCD continues to evolve, we are looking to work with people who genuinely share this mindset; those who are energized by the opportunity to use technology and data to raise the bar, and who see HR not as administration, but as a lever for building the firm's competitive edge.

Position Overview:

This is a senior leadership role responsible for Japan people strategy across the four core TCD pillars – Recruitment, Employee Experience, Assignment Management, and Labor & General Affairs – while partnering closely with the Holdings leadership to operationalize global frameworks locally.

Reporting directly to the Japan Management Committee chaired by the Japan Regional CEO, as well as the Group CHRO, this individual will lead the Japan TCD team, owning end-to-end talent management including recruitment, onboarding, performance management, learning & development, employee relations, culture, and more. The role carries direct management responsibility for the Talent Management team, Human Resources team, and General Affairs team in Japan, serving as the primary talent partner to the Japan Regional CEO, Business Unit Managers and functional leaders across all Japan-based business units.

Japan is one of YCP's largest and most complex regions, with multiple business divisions, a diverse professional workforce, and a significant organizational transformation already underway. TCD Japan is actively evolving, moving away from a process-heavy, recruitment-centric model toward a genuine HRBP function that can serve as a strategic advisor to the business. The Head of TCD Japan will be at the center of this transformation, both driving the change internally and holding the business accountable to it.

We are looking for an experienced HR leader who brings both the strategic thinking to design scalable people systems and the hands-on execution capability to get things done in a fast-moving, lean environment. The ideal candidate combines deep knowledge of Japanese employment practices with a global mindset, is highly credible with senior stakeholders, and can inspire and develop a team that is capable but in need of direction and uplift. A track record of driving HR transformation in a professional services, consulting, or knowledge-industry context is strongly preferred.

Key Responsibilities:

1. HRBP Leadership & Business Partnering

• Serve as the primary HR Business Partner for all Japan-based divisions
• Build trusted, advisory-level relationships with the Japan Regional CEO, Business Unit Managers, and functional leaders
• Provide proactive, data-informed HR counsel on workforce planning, organizational design, employee engagement, and talent risk
• Act as a key escalation point for employee relations matters, ensuring fair and compliant resolution in line with Japanese labor law

2. Talent Acquisition & Onboarding

• Oversee end-to-end recruitment for Japan, from role design and sourcing through to offer and onboarding, across all seniority levels
• Drive recruiting process optimization, automation, and AI utilization.
• Develop succession pipeline and management capability within Japan TCD team.
• Strengthen partnerships with recruiting vendors and external talent ecosystems.
• Manage any RPO or agency relationships supporting Japan-based talent acquisition

3. Talent Development & Performance Management

• Champion the Performance Review and Development Manager Program in Japan, overseeing DM assignments, calibration sessions, and Review cycle execution
• Drive local L&D programs in partnership with the business as well as coordinate Japan's participation in firmwide L&D initiatives
• Partner with the CHRO to define and implement Japan-specific capability-building plans, both for business and the TCD Japan team
• Drive the semi-annual performance review cycles, ensuring consistency, fairness, and developmental focus for all Japan professionals

4. Assignment Management & Organizational Effectiveness

• Support rollout and operationalization of Assignment Management capabilities in partnership with regional/global TCD leadership.
• Partner with business leaders to align talent deployment with employee growth opportunities and business needs.
• Drive organization design, workforce planning, and talent allocation discussions.
• Improve cross-functional coordination between business, delivery, and TCD organizations.

5. Organizational Transformation, Team Leadership & Culture

• Lead Japan TCD transformation toward a Culture-focused organization.
• Strengthen employee experience, organizational culture, and leadership capability across the business.
• Lead and develop the Japan TCD team, fostering a proactive, data-driven, and business-oriented culture.
• Drive organizational change and represent TCD Japan in regional/global TCD initiatives.

Candidate Profile:

Required Experience & Capabilities

• - 8+ years of progressive HR experience, with at least 3 years in a senior HRBP or HR leadership role
• - Demonstrated expertise in the full HR lifecycle – recruitment, onboarding, performance management, L&D, and employee relations
• - Proven track record of leading HR transformation initiatives in a complex, multi-stakeholder environment
• - Deep knowledge of Japanese labor law, employment regulations, and HR compliance requirements
• - Strong stakeholder management skills – able to influence senior business leaders and build credibility at the executive level
• - Proven people management capability – experience developing and leading an HR team

Target Background

We are particularly interested in candidates who combine:

• - HR generalist / HRBP background in a professional services, consulting, or knowledge-intensive industry (management consulting, financial services, technology, etc.)
• - Hands-on experience driving organizational change – restructuring, function redesign, or capability transformation – in a Japan operating context

Language Requirement

• - Native-level Japanese required
• - Business-level English required (regular communication with global TCD team and corporate senior leadership)

Location

• - Tokyo, Japan (hybrid)

Ideal Leadership Traits

• - Strategic thinker with a bias for action: able to move fluidly between vision-setting and hands-on execution
• - Highly credible and commercially minded: understands the business and earns trust as an advisor, not just an administrator
• - Strong coach and people developer: invests in the growth of the team and holds them to high standards
• - Comfortable operating in ambiguity and navigating organizational complexity with composure
• - Culturally sensitive and globally minded: can bridge Japanese operating norms with YCP's international culture

Why Join Us:

• - Shape the future of Talent & Culture at one of YCP's largest and most strategically important regions – this is a genuine transformation mandate, not a maintenance role
• - Direct access and influence – direct-line to Japan's Regional CEO and the Group CHRO, and close partnership with senior leadership
• - Work at the intersection of consulting, technology, and people strategy – one of the most dynamic HR environments in Asia
• - Build and develop your own team with strong foundational talent and real room to grow
• - Be part of a firm that takes talent seriously. TCD is a board-level priority and this role is central to YCP's next phase of growth