Dubai, UAE | Global Remit | Confidential Executive Search

THE OPPORTUNITY

A rapidly growing, privately backed international business is seeking an exceptional Head of Human Resources to join its senior leadership team in Dubai.

This is a newly created global HR leadership position within an organisation experiencing significant international growth and transformation.

The business is scaling rapidly across multiple markets, creating the need for a strong, commercially minded HR leader who can help shape the organisation, its culture and its people strategy through the next stage of growth.

This is not a role for someone looking to inherit a mature HR function. The successful candidate will be expected to build, influence and deliver in an environment that is fast-moving, entrepreneurial and at times challenging.

The remit covers all strategic and people-facing aspects of HR outside of Talent Acquisition and HR Operations, including HR strategy, business partnering, organisational design, compensation & benefits, performance, career development, L&D, succession, engagement, culture and organisational change.

THE ROLE

The Head of HR will work closely with senior leadership to develop and execute the people strategy across the global organisation.

A key priority will be to establish the frameworks and approach required to support rapid international growth, while ensuring HR remains closely aligned to commercial and operational priorities.

The role will initially be highly hands-on, with the expectation that the successful candidate will build the function, establish credibility and create impact personally before developing the wider strategic HR organisation.

You will need to be comfortable operating with senior stakeholders, navigating complexity and determining where HR can make the greatest difference.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

HR Strategy & Business Partnering

Develop and execute a global HR strategy aligned to business objectives.

Act as a trusted advisor and challenger to senior leadership.

Partner with leaders on organisational design, workforce planning and organisational effectiveness.

Establish a strong strategic HR Business Partnering model as the organisation scales.

Translate business priorities into practical people strategies and interventions.

Organisation & Change

Shape organisational structures and capabilities to support rapid growth.

Partner with leadership on organisational effectiveness and workforce planning.

Support significant organisational change and transformation.

Help build the leadership capability required for a rapidly scaling global organisation.

Provide insight and challenge around organisational performance, leadership and people risks.

Reward, Performance & Career

Develop global compensation and benefits frameworks.

Establish salary structures, incentives and reward philosophy.

Introduce effective performance management frameworks.

Develop career architecture, progression and internal mobility.

Establish succession planning and talent review processes.

Develop approaches to retain critical and high-performing talent.

Learning & Development

Develop a global L&D and leadership development strategy.

Build management and leadership capability.

Establish high-potential and succession programmes.

Identify future organisational capability requirements.

Create meaningful career and development opportunities for employees.

Culture & Engagement

Help shape and evolve the organisation's culture as it scales.

Establish employee engagement, listening and recognition initiatives.

Strengthen leadership accountability and employee experience.

Support leaders in creating a high-performance culture.

Help create greater consistency in culture and people practices across international markets.

International Growth

Support expansion into new markets and the establishment of new teams.

Develop scalable global people frameworks.

Advise leadership on people implications of international growth and organisational change.

Support the integration of new teams, businesses or organisational structures where required.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

We are looking for a tough, resilient and highly credible HR leader who is comfortable operating in a complex, fast-moving environment.

The ideal candidate will have experience in a high-growth organisation where HR has had to evolve quickly alongside the business.

Relevant backgrounds could include technology, infrastructure, telecommunications, engineering, energy, financial services, large promoter-led businesses or other complex international organisations.

Experience building or transforming an HR function is particularly important.

You will need to be someone who can operate effectively where not everything is clearly defined, processes may need to be challenged and change does not always happen in a linear fashion.

WHAT WILL MAKE YOU SUCCESSFUL

This is an environment where resilience, judgement and personal impact matter as much as technical HR expertise.

The successful candidate will:

Be comfortable operating with senior, demanding stakeholders.

Have the resilience and maturity to operate through ambiguity and pressure.

Know when to challenge, when to influence and when to adapt.

Be politically astute without becoming political.

Understand where HR can genuinely create business impact.

Be highly dynamic and comfortable moving quickly between strategy and execution.

Be prepared to roll up their sleeves and personally solve problems.

Have the confidence to introduce better ways of working while understanding the environment they are operating within.

Be commercially minded and focused on outcomes rather than HR process for its own sake.

Be capable of building trust and credibility in a challenging organisational environment.

Have the energy and ambition to build something rather than simply manage what already exists.

This is a role for an HR leader who wants to make a difference, not simply run an established function.