Head of Staffing (HK)

Company:

Description:

Head of Staffing

About Oliver Wyman

Oliver Wyman is a global leader in management consulting. With offices in more than 70 cities across 30 countries, Oliver Wyman combines deep industry knowledge with specialized expertise in strategy, operations, risk management, and organization transformation.

The firm has 7,000 professionals around the world who work with clients to optimize their business, improve their operations and risk profile, and accelerate their organizational performance to seize the most attractive opportunities. Oliver Wyman is a business of Marsh McLennan [NYSE: MMC].

For more information, visit www.oliverwyman.com. Follow Oliver Wyman on X @OliverWyman.

Job Overview:

The APR Head of Staffing will collaborate closely with the APR Talent Management, Core Consultant Group (CCG) Staffing team and business leaders to implement and execute the staffing strategy for the APR region. A primary focus is delivering premium service for strategically critical projects, especially those aligned with APR’s strategic priorities and swiftly resolving staffing escalations across business areas. This role serves as a key liaison between the business, Affiliated Consulting Group (ACG) Talent Management and CCG staffing teams and Executive Director of Talent, APR overseeing regional utilization, staffing reporting, and resource management to minimize trapped capacity.

This role will be responsible for leading a team of 1 Talent Coordinator and 2 Staffing advisors based in Malaysia.

Regional Staffing

• Take ownership for the full cycle of staffing across APR to fully understanding supply and demand to ensure smooth allocation of CCG staffing across all APR projects, collaborating closely with ACG TM leads to balance business needs and consultant availability.
• Advise on staffing, confirm staffing decisions, and manage required escalations. Act as a challenger in staffing decisions to ensure APR business needs and strategic focus are met.
• Oversee regional utilization, ensure that trapped capacity is limited.
• Oversee the APR-wide beach process to allocate consultants to non-billable projects according to regional priorities, collaborating closely with ACG Talent Managers, Market Leaders and Practice Heads.
• Lead on all cross-regional staffing with India Middle East & Africa, Europe, and  Americas Talent Management teams and oversee international staffing logistics, including visas, the Golden Passport program, and long-haul assignments.
• Act as the regional point of contact for internal project resource requests (e.g., High Priority Internal projects, Social Impact projects).
• Flag and actively plan for periods of tight capacity and take responsibility to pull all available levers such as Long-Haul staffing, contractors and redeployment of staff from non-strategic work.
• Use a data driven approach to continually diagnose staffing challenges across all Practices, Capabilities and Markets and alter / streamline processes.
• Drive forward the implementation of staffing infrastructure projects.

Core Consultant Group (CCG) staffing

• Set direction for the CCG Staffing team to maintain an accurate pipeline of open CCG needs.
• Ensure weekly staffing processes are followed and timely options are provided.
• Collaborate with ACG TM and Practice Heads to resolve resource allocation conflicts, managing escalations as necessary.
• Clearly communicate staffing decisions to CCG consultants, providing transparent explanations.
• Promote transparency and understanding throughout the CCG staffing process.

Staffing processes and systems

Own all staffing systems and processes with a continuous improvement mindset, ensuring data accuracy and timely staffing report is shared with insights. With the support of a Talent Coordinator, these responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Enforcing adherence to weekly staffing processes and agreed staffing rules, escalating issues to Director of Talent and regional leadership as needed.
• Managing Certinia system data updates and audits in collaboration with ACG TMs.
• Overseeing timesheet reporting, chasing, and variance checking.
• Producing weekly APR availability and utilization forecast reports, to be shared with Partner and APRLT.
• Managing project extension tracking and long-haul assignment reporting/policies.
• Collaborating with the Director of Talent and the Finance, Planning & Analysis team on capacity planning and capacity relief processes (e.g., assisted LOA).
• Tracking consultant skills and bios for the CCG population.
• Supporting the PRC and consultant mid-year and year-end performance review processes.
• Facilitate the Business Process Accountability (BPA) cycle, including the timely submission of project reviews and timesheets.
• Respond to ad hoc TM data requests (utilization, availability, etc.) and Talent Management processes as needed (e.g., OW balance submissions)
• Partner with ACG TM and FP&A teams to manage headcount/ Financial investment processes.
• Maintain accurate records of all TM processes (beach, extensions, escalations) and evolving processes under Catalyst.

Team management/ Leadership

• Lead the CCG staffing team, assuming direct line management responsibilities for 2 Staffing Advisors and 1 Talent Coordinator, all based in Malaysia
• Role model great leadership by setting a clear direction, and promoting a culture of teamwork, continuous learning, and a sense of belonging
• Collaborate with Practice TM leads and serve as an active member of the APR HC leadership team.

Additional responsibilities

• Prepare and present to the APR and global leadership teams on staffing/ resource management topics as needed.
• Lead on any global initiatives relating to staffing/ resource or capacity management.
• Provide leverage to the Executive Director of Talent with ad hoc staffing-related tasks and data requests and act as deputy as when required.

Experience Required:

• 8 to 10 years of relevant professional experience in a fast-paced, dynamic client services environment; Staffing experience required.
• Please note this is not a recruitment role

Skills and Attributes:

• Proven ability to lead and manage geographically dispersed teams effectively.
• Exceptional consensus-building skills, with clear and impactful communication across diverse business units.
• Creative, proactive, and adaptable, with a strong track record of driving and leading change initiatives.
• Open-minded and resilient, viewing change as an opportunity for growth rather than a challenge.
• Strong customer focus combined with a keen sense of urgency to deliver results.
• Equally comfortable working independently or collaboratively within high-performing teams.
• Results-driven with outstanding analytical and problem-solving capabilities.