Southeast Asia · Recruitment
Recruit in Vietnam
Vietnam is absorbing manufacturing moved out of China, so most mandates are industrial. Electronics and precision assembly cluster in Bac Ninh, Bac Giang and Hai Phong; footwear, textiles and furniture around Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Long An; consumer, pharmaceutical and services headquarters sit in Ho Chi Minh City. The constraint is depth: few Vietnamese managers have run a plant of more than a few hundred people and can also report in English.
We source through direct approach, VietnamWorks and TopCV, and referrals from engineers inside comparable foreign-invested plants. Every senior shortlist is screened in English, and in Japanese, Korean or Mandarin when the parent company requires it. Interviews mix Ho Chi Minh City meetings with site visits to the industrial park. Notice is 30 days on indefinite contracts, and Tet bonuses hold candidates until February. ArkTalents can employ staff through in-country employment while an investment registration certificate is pending.
Roles
Roles we search most
General management
Country general manager
Foreign investors setting up in Vietnam need a general manager who can handle provincial authorities and a young workforce.
Local, with some expatriates · first shortlist 15-25 working days
Finance
Country CFO / finance head
Vietnamese statutory accounting differs from IFRS, so the finance head must run both books and manage the annual audit.
Local, with some expatriates · first shortlist 15-20 working days
Manufacturing
Plant director
Plants in Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Bac Ninh need directors who can scale headcount fast and hold quality.
Local, with some expatriates · first shortlist 18-28 working days
Operations director
Multi-site operations across northern and southern industrial parks need one director owning output, cost and labour stability.
Local hire · first shortlist 15-25 working days
EHS manager
Fire safety approvals and labour inspections in Vietnamese industrial zones make an EHS manager essential before production starts.
Local hire · first shortlist 12-18 working days
Supply chain head
Import duty, customs clearance at Cat Lai and local supplier development sit with the supply chain head here.
Local hire · first shortlist 15-25 working days
Regulatory
Regulatory / product-registration lead
Ministry of Health and Ministry of Industry and Trade registrations gate market entry, so this lead is hired early.
Local hire · first shortlist 25-35 working days
Government relations
Government relations lead
Investment certificates, land leases and incentives are negotiated province by province, which needs a Vietnamese government relations lead.
Local hire · first shortlist 25-35 working days
FMCG & commercial
Commercial director
Vietnam splits between modern trade in the cities and general trade through wholesalers, and one commercial director covers both.
Local, with some expatriates · first shortlist 15-25 working days
Sales head
Distributor coverage across 34 provinces means the sales head manages regional managers rather than selling directly.
Local hire · first shortlist 12-20 working days
Volume and shared services
Production operators (volume)
Factory ramps in Vietnam hire operators in the hundreds, with attrition around Tet built into the plan.
Local hire · first shortlist 5-10 working days
Technicians (volume)
Maintenance, electrical and automation technicians are scarce in Vietnam, so we recruit from vocational colleges and rival plants.
Local hire · first shortlist 10-15 working days
Customer-service agents (volume)
Ho Chi Minh City service centres hire agents in batches for Vietnamese, English and Japanese language queues.
Local hire · first shortlist 5-10 working days
Field sales (volume)
Field sales representatives cover provincial distributors and traditional retail outlets, and headcount is replaced steadily through the year.
Local hire · first shortlist 8-12 working days
Local vs expatriate
Who we shortlist
Plant, EHS, HR, supply chain and sales roles are filled by Vietnamese nationals, increasingly by returnees from Japan, Korea and Australia. Expatriates remain common as country general managers and technical directors at Japanese and Korean plants. They need a work permit plus a temporary residence card, and the employer must first show the role could not be filled locally.
Search
How a search runs
01
Job briefing
Align on role scope, must-haves, and the target candidate profile.
02
Talent mapping and benchmark
Map the local market and benchmark compensation levels.
03
Phone screening
Screen motivation, language, salary, and availability.
04
Interview with our project manager
In-depth competency interview by our project manager.
05
CV and interview report
A structured written report is delivered with every CV.
06
Interview coordination
Scheduling, logistics, and feedback management with candidates.
07
Offer negotiation
Manage expectations on both sides and close the offer.
08
Background check
Verify employment history, qualifications, and references.
09
Probation follow-up
Regular check-ins with both parties through the probation period.
Questions
FAQ
- How long to a first shortlist?
- Fifteen to twenty working days for plant, supply chain and commercial roles in Ho Chi Minh City and the southern industrial parks. Regulatory leads for Ministry of Health registrations and government relations candidates take longer, closer to twenty-five to thirty-five, because the pool is genuinely small.
- Do you search local and expatriate candidates?
- Yes. Vietnamese nationals and returnees make up most shortlists, and they are the practical choice for anything involving labour relations or provincial authorities. Expatriates are presented for country general manager and technical director roles where a Japanese, Korean or European parent requires them.
- Which roles do you run most often here?
- Plant directors, operations directors, EHS managers and supply chain heads for factories in Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Bac Ninh and Hai Phong. On the commercial side, sales heads and trade marketing managers for consumer brands building modern-trade and general-trade coverage.
- Can you run this as RPO as well as retained search?
- Yes. Retained search handles country general manager, plant director and finance head mandates. RPO is where volume sits: production operators and line technicians for a new factory ramp, customer-service agents in Ho Chi Minh City, and field sales covering provincial distributors.
Pay bands for Vietnam sit on the 2026 salary page. Labour-law detail is on the hiring guide.
Other markets
Other recruitment pages
Reviewed 11 September 2026
This is a hiring briefing for multinational employers, not legal advice. Statutory rates move by city, province, and sector. Confirm the place of work before you issue an offer.
Sources
- ArkTalents 2026 recruitment briefs for multinational employers
- Reviewed 11 September 2026
Brief a search in Vietnam
Tell us the city, the role, and whether this is a single retained hire or volume RPO.