HR Business Partner

The HR Business Partner – Commercial plays a strategic and hands-on role in delivering HR solutions that enable commercial success in a dynamic FMCG environment. This position partners closely with leaders across Sales, Trade Marketing, Key Accounts, Category Development, and Channel Management, providing HR expertise to enhance performance, develop talent, and drive organizational effectiveness. The HRBP is the critical link between people strategy and business execution—ensuring commercial teams are agile, aligned, and future-ready. This role will be reporting to Country HR, Professional Solutions Malaysia. 

Main Responsibilities:  

Strategic Business Partnering 

• Act as the primary HR partner to Commercial leadership (Sales, Trade, Category, and Channel Heads) and Functional leaderships (Finance, IT, and Marketing). 

• Align HR strategy with commercial goals such as revenue growth, route-to-market changes, execution excellence, and channel development. 

• Anticipate talent and capability needs arising from commercial priorities and translate them into actionable HR initiatives. 

Sales Force Effectiveness & Capability 

• Collaborate with Sales and L&D to develop capability programs for frontliners, territory managers, and key account executives. 

• Support the implementation of performance-based incentive plans, sales KPIs, and coaching frameworks. 

• Partner with Sales Ops to optimize territory structures and field force productivity through workforce planning. 

Organizational Development & Change Management 

• Support business transformation initiatives including organizational design, restructuring, and process optimization. 

• Guide leaders through change, ensuring effective communication, alignment, and employee engagement. 

Talent Management & Succession Planning 

• Drive talent pipeline strategies for commercial roles, identifying high-potential employees and succession risks. 

• Facilitate talent reviews with leaders and support internal mobility programs across regions and channels. (E.g. Performance review, Succession Plan, etc.) 

Performance & Culture 

• Promote a high-performance culture through effective performance management, coaching, and feedback systems. 

• Support managers in addressing underperformance fairly and constructively while recognizing top achievers. 

Employee Engagement & Field Relations 

• Act as a voice of the field: gather insights from frontliners and regional teams to shape people initiatives and engagement plans. 

• Partner with Regional Sales Managers to ensure fair treatment, policy adherence, and strong morale in the field. 

HR Analytics & Workforce Insights 

• Use HR and sales performance data to influence business decisions (e.g., attrition in key regions, incentive effectiveness, span of control). 

• Deliver commercial-focused HR dashboards and workforce planning metrics. 

• Ensuring accuracy of Employee data & management  

Main Requirements 

• Bachelor's Degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field (Master’s or HR certification is a plus). 

• Minimum 5–8 years HR experience, with at least 3 years in a business partnering role, preferably in FMCG or European related industries. 

• Strong understanding of Sales structures, distributor management, and trade execution. 

• Proven ability to coach commercial leaders and collaborate in fast-paced, target-driven environments. 

• Strong communication, analytical thinking, and relationship-building skills. 

• Ability to travel regularly to support field teams and regional operations. 

Key Competencies: 

• Commercial Acumen & Customer Orientation 

• Influence Without Authority 

• Execution Agility in a Dynamic Market 

• Talent and Capability Development 

• Change Management & Transformation Support 

• Data-Driven Decision Making 

• Employee Advocacy & Engagement