Head of Human Resources UAEN

Head of HR Business Partnering Location: Abu Dhabi, UAE Level: Head / Senior Leadership Language: Arabic & English fluency required Role Purpose The Head of HR Business Partnering will lead the HRBP function across the organisation, ensuring the people agenda is closely aligned with business priorities. This role will act as a senior advisor to executive leadership and business heads, providing strategic and commercially focused HR guidance across workforce planning, organisational effectiveness, talent, performance, employee relations and change. The successful candidate will lead a team of HR Business Partners and play a key role in strengthening HR's partnership with the business, while ensuring consistent implementation of people practices across the organisation. Key Responsibilities HR Business Partnering & Leadership • Lead and develop the HR Business Partnering function, establishing a high-performing and commercially focused HRBP model. • Act as a trusted advisor to senior executives and business leaders on organisational and people matters. • Translate business priorities into practical people strategies and workforce plans. • Coach and guide HRBPs to strengthen their capability, stakeholder management and business understanding. • Ensure consistent HRBP service delivery across business units and functions. Workforce Planning & Organisational Effectiveness • Lead strategic workforce planning in partnership with business leadership. • Identify current and future capability requirements, critical roles and workforce gaps. • Support organisational design, restructuring and operating model changes. • Advise leadership on organisational structures, spans of control, role clarity and workforce optimisation. • Partner with Talent Acquisition and Talent Management teams to ensure workforce requirements are addressed effectively. Talent & Succession • Partner with leadership on talent reviews, succession planning and identification of high-potential employees. • Support the development of succession pipelines for critical and leadership positions. • Work closely with Learning & Development and Talent Management teams to address capability gaps. • Support leadership development and career progression initiatives across the organisation. Performance & Employee Relations • Oversee the implementation and effectiveness of the performance management cycle across business units. • Coach leaders on performance management, employee engagement and difficult people decisions. • Provide senior-level guidance on complex employee relations matters. • Ensure employee matters are managed consistently, fairly and in accordance with UAE labour legislation and internal policies. • Identify recurring people issues and recommend organisation-wide interventions where required. Change & Transformation • Act as a key HR partner during organisational transformation, restructuring and major business change. • Develop people and change plans to support successful implementation of business initiatives. • Support leaders in communicating and managing organisational change effectively. • Assess the people impact of transformation programmes and proactively address workforce risks. Emiratisation & National Talent • Partner with relevant stakeholders to support the organisation's Emiratisation and national talent objectives. • Strengthen the attraction, development, progression and retention of UAE National talent. • Work with leadership to identify suitable career pathways and succession opportunities for UAE Nationals. HR Governance & Analytics • Ensure HR policies, processes and practices are implemented consistently across the organisation. • Use workforce data and HR analytics to identify trends, risks and opportunities. • Provide leadership with meaningful insights on turnover, engagement, workforce capability, performance and succession. • Ensure HRBP activities comply with internal governance requirements and applicable UAE employment legislation. Candidate Profile • Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Management or a related discipline. Master's degree or professional HR qualification is advantageous. • Significant HR experience with strong depth in HR Business Partnering. • Previous experience leading an HRBP function or managing a team of senior HR Business Partners. • Strong experience partnering with C-suite, executive and senior leadership stakeholders. • Experience within a large, complex organisation is strongly preferred. • Exposure to manufacturing, industrial, engineering, energy, infrastructure or other large operational environments would be highly advantageous. • Strong knowledge of UAE labour law and regional HR practices. • Demonstrated experience in workforce planning, organisational design, talent management, succession planning, performance management and employee relations. • Strong commercial understanding with the ability to connect people decisions to business outcomes. • Excellent stakeholder management, influencing and leadership capabilities. • Fluent Arabic and English communication skills are essential. Key Competencies • Strategic HR Business Partnering • Executive Stakeholder Management • People Leadership • Workforce Planning • Organisational Design • Talent & Succession Management • Performance Management • Employee Relations • Change & Transformation • Emiratisation & National Talent Development • HR Analytics & Data-Driven Decision Making • UAE Labour Law & HR Governance Show more Show less

Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Management or a related discipline. Significant HR experience with strong depth in HR Business Partnering. Previous experience leading an HRBP function or managing a team of senior HR Business Partners. Strong experience partnering with C-suite, executive and senior leadership stakeholders. Strong knowledge of UAE labour law and regional HR practices. Fluent Arabic and English communication skills are essential. Demonstrated experience in workforce planning, organisational design, talent management, succession planning, performance management and employee relations.

Lead and develop the HR Business Partnering function, establishing a high-performing and commercially focused HRBP model. Act as a trusted advisor to senior executives and business leaders on organisational and people matters. Translate business priorities into practical people strategies and workforce plans. Coach and guide HRBPs to strengthen their capability, stakeholder management and business understanding. Ensure consistent HRBP service delivery across business units and functions. Lead strategic workforce planning in partnership with business leadership. Identify current and future capability requirements, critical roles and workforce gaps. Support organisational design, restructuring and operating model changes. Advise leadership on organisational structures, spans of control, role clarity and workforce optimisation. Partner with Talent Acquisition and Talent Management teams to ensure workforce requirements are addressed effectively. Partner with leadership on talent reviews, succession planning and identification of high-potential employees. Support the development of succession pipelines for critical and leadership positions. Work closely with Learning & Development and Talent Management teams to address capability gaps. Support leadership development and career progression initiatives across the organisation. Oversee the implementation and effectiveness of the performance management cycle across business units. Coach leaders on performance management, employee engagement and difficult people decisions. Provide senior-level guidance on complex employee relations matters. Ensure employee matters are managed consistently, fairly and in accordance with UAE labour legislation and internal policies. Identify recurring people issues and recommend organisation-wide interventions where required. Act as a key HR partner during organisational transformation, restructuring and major business change. Develop people and change plans to support successful implementation of business initiatives. Support leaders in communicating and managing organisational change effectively. Assess the people impact of transformation programmes and proactively address workforce risks. Partner with relevant stakeholders to support the organisation's Emiratisation and national talent objectives. Strengthen the attraction, development, progression and retention of UAE National talent. Work with leadership to identify suitable career pathways and succession opportunities for UAE Nationals. Ensure HR policies, processes and practices are implemented consistently across the organisation. Use workforce data and HR analytics to identify trends, risks and opportunities. Provide leadership with meaningful insights on turnover, engagement, workforce capability, performance and succession. Ensure HRBP activities comply with internal governance requirements and applicable UAE employment legislation.