ISoftStone Hiring! Full Time Human Resources Specialist in Federal Territory - Ricebowl

About the Role:

We are looking for a hands-on and independent HR Specialist to support our growing workforce in Malaysia.

This is a core HR Operations role with primary ownership of payroll, employee lifecycle management, and outsourced workforce/vendor operations. You will work closely with employees, business leaders, regional stakeholders, and external service providers to ensure HR processes are delivered accurately, efficiently, and in compliance with Malaysia's employment requirements.

The ideal candidate is someone who is comfortable working independently, taking end-to-end ownership, identifying issues proactively, and driving matters through to resolution in a fast-paced and regional environment.

Experience working in or with an EOR, HR outsourcing, payroll, staffing, or manpower services provider will be highly advantageous.

Key Responsibilities

1. HR Operations & Employee Lifecycle

• Manage the end-to-end employee lifecycle, including onboarding, probation, transfers, employee movements, performance processes, and offboarding.
• Serve as a key HR point of contact for employees and business stakeholders, providing timely and practical HR support.
• Ensure HR processes are executed accurately, efficiently, and in accordance with company policies and Malaysia's employment requirements.
• Maintain accurate and confidential employee records, HR documentation, and employee data.
• Identify process gaps and proactively recommend improvements to enhance operational efficiency and employee experience.
• Take ownership of assigned HR matters from initiation through to resolution, escalating issues when appropriate.

2. Payroll & HR Administration

Payroll ownership is a core requirement of this role.

• Own and coordinate the monthly payroll process, working closely with payroll vendors, Finance, and internal stakeholders to ensure accurate and timely salary payments.
• Validate payroll inputs, including salary changes, allowances, deductions, overtime, leave, new hires, transfers, and terminations.
• Conduct payroll reconciliation and quality checks to identify and resolve discrepancies before payroll is finalized.
• Liaise with external payroll providers on payroll processing, statutory contributions, and payroll-related matters.
• Ensure payroll processes comply with Malaysia's statutory requirements and company policies.
• Handle employee payroll and compensation queries and drive issues through to timely resolution.
• Maintain proper payroll documentation, records, and controls to support audit readiness and data accuracy.

3. Outsourced Workforce & Vendor Management

• Serve as the HR focal point for outsourced employees and contractors.
• Manage relationships with EOR, outsourcing, payroll, staffing, and manpower service providers to ensure service quality, operational efficiency, and compliance.
• Coordinate the onboarding and offboarding of outsourced employees, ensuring a smooth and compliant employee experience.
• Manage payroll inputs, invoicing, payment validation, contracts, employee documentation, and other workforce-related matters with vendors and internal stakeholders.
• Monitor vendor performance against agreed KPIs and SLAs, including payroll accuracy, hiring turnaround time, attrition, compliance, and service quality.
• Identify vendor-related issues proactively, coordinate corrective actions, and follow through until resolution.
• Maintain effective vendor relationships while ensuring alignment with business requirements, internal policies, and service standards.

4. Employee Relations, Performance & Workforce Support

• Provide day-to-day HR guidance to managers and employees on performance, probation, grievances, workplace concerns, and other employee-related matters.
• Support performance evaluation processes and coordinate with managers and vendors on performance-related matters involving outsourced employees.
• Assist with employee relations, investigations, and disciplinary matters in accordance with company policies and applicable requirements.
• Prepare regular workforce reports and analyze key HR metrics, including headcount, attrition, hiring progress, payroll accuracy, and workforce trends.
• Translate HR data into clear and practical insights to support stakeholder decision-making.

5. Compliance & HR Governance

• Ensure HR operations comply with Malaysia's employment legislation, statutory requirements, company policies, and internal governance standards.
• Maintain and update HR policies, SOPs, and process documentation where required.
• Support internal and external audits by ensuring HR records, payroll documentation, and employee data are complete, accurate, and properly maintained.
• Monitor relevant changes in Malaysia's employment legislation and HR practices and assess their potential operational impact.
• Partner with relevant stakeholders to identify compliance gaps and implement appropriate corrective actions.

6. Other HR Operations

• Support recruitment and resourcing activities when required, including coordination with recruitment and manpower vendors.
• Coordinate HR-related training and employee development activities where required.
• Participate in regional HR initiatives, projects, and process improvement activities as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related discipline.
• 1–2 years of hands-on HR experience, preferably in HR Operations, Payroll, or Employee Lifecycle Management.
• Strong hands-on payroll experience in Malaysia is mandatory, including payroll processing, validation and reconciliation, statutory contributions, and handling payroll-related employee queries.
• Demonstrated experience managing the end-to-end employee lifecycle, from onboarding through offboarding.
• Good understanding of Malaysia's employment practices and statutory requirements.
• Able to work independently with minimal supervision, take ownership of deliverables, and proactively drive issues through to resolution.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to work effectively with employees, managers, senior stakeholders, and external service providers.
• Strong attention to detail, particularly in payroll, employee data, documentation, and compliance.
• Strong problem-solving skills with a practical, execution-focused, and solution-oriented mindset.
• Comfortable working with HRIS, Microsoft Excel, and HR reporting tools.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English and Mandarin, with Mandarin required for regular communication with regional stakeholders and vendors.

Advantageous/ Plus Points:

• Experience working in or with an EOR, HR outsourcing, payroll, staffing, or manpower services provider.
• Experience managing outsourced employees, contractors, or vendor-led HR services.
• Experience managing vendor KPIs, SLAs, and service performance.
• Regional or APAC HR Operations experience.
• Recruitment or resourcing experience, particularly in managing vendor-led hiring.
• Experience preparing HR dashboards, workforce reports, and HR analytics.