As Head of Employee Relations for India and APAC, you will provide strategic leadership and expert advice to business divisions and corporate functions across the region. You will be responsible for the effective management of complex employee relations matters and associated legal, financial, and reputational risks.

The Employee Relations function plays a critical role in supporting organisational performance by advising on workplace issues and addressing employee concerns. In this role, you will deliver pragmatic, commercially focused solutions while building manager capability and strengthening employee engagement.

This position is suited to a senior Employee Relations professional with deep regional expertise across India and APAC and a proven ability to operate in a complex, global environment at both an operational and strategic level.

Role Purpose

The Head of Employee Relations - India & APAC is a senior leadership role responsible for providing strategic, operational, and people leadership across Employee Relations for India and the broader APAC region.

This role serves as the primary regional escalation point for complex and high-risk employee relations matters, ensures consistent application of ER standards across jurisdictions, and builds a scalable regional model aligned with global frameworks, local requirements, and evolving data- and technology-enabled ways of working.

Reporting into Head of Employee Relations – International, the role leads a team of ER professionals across APAC and India and partners closely with HR, Legal, Compliance, Conduct Standards, Ethics, Corporate Audit, Global Security, and business leadership to identify, manage, and mitigate employee-related risk.

Key Responsibilities

Regional ER Leadership & Strategy

·         Provide end-to-end leadership for Employee Relations across India and APAC, ensuring alignment with global ER strategy and standards.

·         Partner with the Managing Director, Head of International Employee Relations, to shape and execute the regional ER operating model, including governance, escalation pathways, capability building, and technology-enabled process and service improvements.

·         Act as a trusted advisor to senior business and HR leaders on complex, sensitive, and high-risk employee relations matters.

·         Provide leadership across diverse APAC jurisdictions with varying employment law frameworks, regulatory obligations, and cultural considerations, balancing global consistency with local requirements and business needs.

Case Oversight, Conduct & Risk Management

·         Provide oversight and direction on complex investigations, grievances, employee misconduct matters, executive employee matters, and other high-risk employee relations issues.

·         Oversee employee misconduct and conduct-related matters in partnership with Conduct Standards, Ethics, Legal, Compliance, and Global Security, ensuring consistent, fair, and risk-appropriate outcomes.

·         Serve as the primary escalation point for significant employee conduct matters, sensitive investigations, and issues presenting legal, regulatory, reputational, operational, or cultural risk.

·         Ensure matters are handled in a consistent, fair, and risk-aware manner, balancing legal, regulatory, cultural, and reputational considerations.

·         Support regional governance and risk management activities, including audit reviews, regulatory inquiries, employee-related risk reporting, and senior leadership forums.

Leadership & Team Management

·         Lead, develop, and coach a team of VP/AVP/Officer level Employee Relations consultants across India and APAC.

·         Build a high-performing Employee Relations leadership team and succession pipeline through coaching, talent development, learning agility, knowledge sharing, and consistent decision-making.

·         Set clear expectations, promote accountability, and foster a collaborative, inclusive team culture.

·         Create a cohesive regional Employee Relations function that delivers consistent, high-quality support while effectively navigating local market and jurisdictional differences.

·         Develop senior Employee Relations practitioners and sustainable regional capability by promoting continuous learning, adaptability, and readiness for emerging technologies and evolving workforce expectations.

Stakeholder Partnership

·         Establish strong partnerships with HR Business Partners, COEs, and regional leadership teams.

·         Provide guidance and challenge to stakeholders to drive appropriate outcomes while protecting the organisation and its employees.

·         Support restructurings, integrations, transformation programs, and other organisational change, helping leaders adopt new ways of working effectively.

·         Maintain strong relationships with internal and external counsel and relevant industry networks to anticipate legal, regulatory, and market developments across APAC.

Governance, Standards & Continuous Improvement

·         Ensure regional ER practices align with global policies, local labour laws, and regulatory expectations.

·         Use Employee Relations metrics, case data, trend analysis, and thematic reporting to identify emerging risks, generate actionable insights, inform proactive interventions, and enable evidence-based senior leadership decisions.

·         Report on Employee Relations activity, conduct-related concerns, organisational trends, and key risk indicators across the region.

·         Contribute to the evolution of ER policies, frameworks, and manager capability initiatives.

Required Experience & Capabilities

Experience

·         Significant senior-level experience in Employee Relations / Employment Law / HR Advisory, ideally within a complex, global organisation.

·         Proven experience leading regional or multi-country ER teams.

·         Strong track record managing high-risk, high-profile, and senior-level ER matters.

·         Experience operating in regulated environments and partnering with Legal and Compliance.

Skills & Attributes

·         Strong judgment and decision-making capability in complex and ambiguous situations.

·         Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills at senior leadership level.

·         Ability to balance global consistency with local nuance and cultural sensitivity.

·         Proven people leader with experience developing senior professionals.

·         Commercial, pragmatic approach with a strong risk and conduct mindset.

·         Ability to use data, technology, and innovative approaches to improve Employee Relations outcomes and processes.

About State Street

Across the globe, institutional investors rely on us to help them manage risk, respond to challenges, and drive performance and profitability. We keep our clients at the heart of everything we do, and smart, engaged employees are essential to our continued success.

We are committed to fostering an environment where every employee feels valued and empowered to reach their full potential. As an essential partner in our shared success, you’ll benefit from inclusive development opportunities, flexible work-life support, paid volunteer days, and vibrant employee networks that keep you connected to what matters most. Join us in shaping the future.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we consider all qualified applicants for all positions without regard to race, creed, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, age, disability, genetic information, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, citizenship, marital status, domestic partnership or civil union status, familial status, military and veteran status, and other characteristics protected by applicable law.

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