Associate Director - HR Risk

Main Purpose

Plan and oversee HR risk and compliance management across all HR departments. Drive proactive identification, assessment, and mitigation of people-related risks to assure audit readiness and compliance with legal, ethical and regulatory standards. Build robust compliance frameworks, escalation protocols, and a risk-aware culture to protect workplace integrity and resilience.

Scope/Responsibilities

Risk and Compliance Oversight

• Plan and manage proactive risk and compliance monitoring throughout the HR value chain, enabling early detection and alignment with legal, ethical and internal standards.
• Oversee regular audits, enforce policies and test control measures to maintain audit readiness.
• Ensure HR activities comply with labor laws, data privacy regulations, ethical requirements and company governance, reducing exposure to legal violations, fraud, and systemic escalations.
• Authorize and review investigations, grievances, and disciplinary matters in coordination with internal audit, legal, and business leaders to deliver compliant resolutions.
• Monitor and report adherence to employment policies, privacy requirements, and ethical standards to promote accountability, minimize risks and uphold workplace integrity.

Risk Register and Reporting

• Develop, maintain, and optimize the central HR risk register and data repository, systematically documenting risks, controls, KRIs and remediations, ensuring effective risk management and compliance.
• Build and test control measures within the risk register, coordinating periodic reviews and scenario exercises to ensure ongoing effectiveness and relevance.
• Track and analyze KRIs, regularly sharing critical insights with Legal & Compliance for governance decision-making.
• Evaluate risk assessments, audits and gap analyses on HR processes to identify vulnerabilities and prioritize corrective actions for enhanced compliance and operational resilience.

Policies, Controls, and Escalation Frameworks

• Define escalation protocols and incident response frameworks, ensuring readiness to address legal exposure, fraud, repeated violations and high-risk events.
• Champion the collaboration with legal, audit and compliance teams to manage escalated employee relations and disciplinary matters, supporting audit and regulatory engagement.

Risk Awareness Culture Enablement

• Plan and oversee delivery of compliance and ethics training for HR employees, embedding risk awareness and responsible behaviors across the team.
• Support and advocate company-wide risk awareness programs and communications to promote vigilance and ethical decision-making.

Requirements

Minimum Qualification

• Master’s degree in Human Resources, Law, Business Administration, or equivalent

Professional Certification

• SHRM-SCP, CIPD Level 7 (recommended)

Years of Relevant Experience

• 12+ years in HR risk management, compliance, audit, or related strategic HR roles

Nature of Experience

• Leading risk and compliance oversight across HR in large or complex organizations