Senior Manager, People & Culture

CREATIVITY IS OUR SUPERPOWER. It’s our heritage and it’s also our future. Because we don’t just make toys. We create innovative products and experiences that inspire fans, entertain audiences and develop children through play. Mattel is at its best when every member of our team feels respected, included, and heard—when everyone can show up as themselves and do their best work every day. We value and share an infinite range of ideas and voices that evolve and broaden our perspectives with a reach that extends into all our brands, partners, and suppliers. The Team: At the heart of our company, the Global People & Culture (P&C) team partners with employees across the business to deliver a meaningful, end-to-end employee experience. We live our values every day and are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels they truly belong. As part of our team, you’ll be encouraged to challenge the status quo, bring fresh, progressive thinking, and help drive impactful change. With a presence in over 30 countries and supporting more than 30,000 employees globally, our work has real scale and influence. We’re passionate about building an environment that amplifies purpose, passion, and play in every aspect of the employee experience. We value meaningful work, personalized career growth, and the opportunity to shape a world-class People & Culture organization. Everyday, our Global People & Culture team role models the following strategic pillars: • Performance and Growth: Attract and retain the best of the best. Support and inspire them to grow and contribute at the highest level • Leadership Development: Cultivate skills and capabilities that make exceptional, innovative leaders • Total Rewards: Reward and incentivize our people when and how it matters • People Systems: Create integrated systems and processes that are intuitive and effective, and that yield actionable insights, designed with our people at the center • Operational Excellence: Execute with excellence, fostering a culture of collaboration while empowering our people The Opportunity: The Senior Manager, People & Culture is responsible for leading Talent Acquisition, Internship & MGIP programs, foreign workforce management, Industrial Relations, and Employee Relations for Mattel Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (MMSB). The role also oversees the overall delivery of People & Culture functions and services for Mattel Development & Tooling Sdn. Bhd. (MDT). The incumbent leads and manages the recruitment of Direct Labour (DL), Indirect Labour (IDL), and Staff employees, including foreign worker recruitment, quota applications, workforce intake planning, work permit renewals, and related workforce administration. The role also oversees the Internship and MGIP programs, including recruitment, placement, onboarding, coordination with educational institutions, program administration, and engagement with participating departments. In addition, the role is responsible for maintaining positive employee and industrial relations, managing disciplinary and workplace matters, and ensuring compliance with applicable employment legislation, Company policies, statutory requirements, and audit standards. As a senior member of the People & Culture team, the incumbent partners closely with business leaders, government authorities, educational institutions, recruitment partners, and other key stakeholders to meet workforce requirements, develop future talent pipelines, strengthen employee experience, and support overall organizational performance. What Your Impact Will Be: 1. Talent Acquisition – Local Direct Labour • Lead local Direct Labour recruitment to meet operational and production manpower requirements. • Develop short- and long-term hiring plans and sourcing strategies based on approved headcount and business needs. • Partner with Production and business leaders to forecast manpower requirements and identify workforce risks. • Oversee sourcing, screening, selection, documentation, and onboarding activities. • Develop effective recruitment channels, including career fairs, community partnerships, recruitment campaigns, walk-in interviews, and employee referral programmes. • Monitor recruitment performance, quality of hire, new-hire retention, recruitment cost, and time to fill. • Ensure recruitment practices comply with Company policies, budgets, responsible hiring standards, and applicable requirements. • Provide regular workforce updates and recruitment recommendations to management. 2. Foreign Workforce Management • Lead foreign worker recruitment and workforce planning to meet operational and production requirements. • Manage applications for new quotas, replacement quotas, and other required manpower approvals. • Develop foreign worker intake plans based on approved headcount and business needs. • Maintain effective relationships with government authorities, embassies, recruitment agencies, and service providers. • Oversee work permit, passport, employment contract, insurance, medical examination, and statutory document renewals. • Monitor foreign worker headcount, quota utilization, permit expiry dates, contract status, retention, and related costs. • Ensure the effective arrival, onboarding, accommodation, transportation, and integration of foreign workers. • Ensure recruitment agencies and service providers meet Company, ethical recruitment, social compliance, and audit standards. • Monitor foreign workforce KPIs and implement improvement actions where required. 3. Staff and Indirect Labour Recruitment • Lead the end-to-end recruitment of Staff and Indirect Labour employees for MMSB and MDT. • Partner with hiring managers to identify workforce needs, define job requirements, and establish recruitment plans. • Oversee candidate sourcing, screening, interviews, assessments, offer management, and onboarding coordination. • Ensure vacancies are filled within approved headcount, budget, and agreed timelines. • B…