HR & Culture Manager

About the Role
This position leads the Group’s HR & Culture function, encompassing recruitment, employee relations, performance, development, culture, people operations, and client HR services. You will act as a trusted partner to the CEO, COO, and business leaders, taking responsibility for understanding the organization, assessing talent quality, identifying capability gaps, and proactively driving actions needed to enhance the workforce and culture. This role is not primarily administrative but requires a deep understanding of the business and its people to independently drive necessary people actions aimed at improving organizational performance.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership Partnership & Organizational Insight

• Act as a trusted HR and people adviser to the CEO, COO, and business heads.
• Maintain a strong understanding of each business function, its objectives, team quality, and capability gaps.
• Stay close enough to the organization to identify changes in morale, culture, performance, or team dynamics early.
• Provide honest and evidence-based views on individuals, teams, and organizational risks, including when those views may be uncomfortable.
• Anticipate people's requirements rather than waiting for management to identify them.
• Translate business plans into practical workforce, structure, and talent requirements.

Talent Quality & Recruitment

• Own the quality of hiring across the Group, not simply the completion of vacancies.
• Develop a strong understanding of what high performance looks like in different functions and use this to assess candidates effectively.
• Challenge hiring managers where role requirements, seniority, or candidate quality do not appear appropriate.
• Independently identify role requirements and prepare or improve job descriptions based on business needs and capability gaps.
• Assess candidates for capability, judgment, attitude, cultural fit, and future potential rather than relying solely on experience or CV credentials.
• Lead senior and critical hires, including final-stage assessment with the CEO and COO where appropriate.
• Track quality of hire through probation performance, first-year retention, and manager feedback.

Performance, Capability & Development

• Identify where individuals have further potential and work with managers to develop them.
• Identify capability gaps, underperformance, and poor role fit early and drive appropriate action.
• Build clear development and progression plans for high-potential employees.
• Coach managers on performance management, feedback, delegation, and developing their teams.
• Ensure promotions and increased responsibility are based on demonstrated capability and potential rather than tenure alone.
• Build succession plans for important roles and reduce dependency on individual employees.

Culture & Standards

• Actively shape and protect the culture the group is trying to build.
• Understand the informal culture of teams, not only what appears in surveys or formal HR processes.
• Reinforce humility, accountability, ownership, collaboration, and high standards through hiring, performance management, and leadership behavior.
• Identify behaviors or individuals that may negatively affect team culture and address them early.
• Ensure company values translate into observable behaviors rather than becoming statements on paper.
• Help leadership maintain high standards while preserving a fair and positive working environment.

Employee Relations & Escalations

• Lead complex and sensitive employee relations matters through to resolution.
• Oversee disciplinary, grievance, and investigation processes to ensure fairness, consistency, and compliance.
• Coach managers to handle difficult conversations confidently rather than unnecessarily transferring people management responsibility to HR.
• Apply company standards consistently regardless of seniority or individual relationships.
• Exercise strong judgment when balancing employee considerations, business needs, and legal risk.

Team Leadership & HR Delivery

• Lead and develop the HR and Recruitment team.
• Set clear standards, objectives, and accountability for delivery.
• Delegate routine delivery while maintaining oversight of quality and judgment.
• Run regular one-to-ones, performance reviews, and development plans.
• Ensure the team understands the businesses it supports rather than operating as a disconnected administrative function.
• Review important HR output and decisions before release where appropriate.

Stakeholder & Client Management

• Serve as the senior HR & Culture contact for business heads and relevant client leadership teams.
• Manage client HR relationships, scope, expectations, and escalations.
• Ensure client HR services are commercial, practical, and delivered to agreed standards.
• Raise people's risks early with clear recommendations rather than simply identifying problems.

Documentation, Compliance & Governance

• Ensure HR policies, processes, and records are documented and consistently applied.
• Maintain appropriate knowledge of UAE employment law and identify when specialist legal advice is required.
• Protect employee information and confidential matters with strict access controls.
• Ensure no critical HR process or knowledge depends on one individual.
• Keep organizational structures, job descriptions, grading, and role expectations current as the group evolves.

Requirements

• 10+ years’ HR experience, including 4+ years managing people.
• Generalist HR background across the full employee lifecycle.
• Experience partnering with CEOs, founders, or senior leadership.
• Strong interviewing and candidate assessment experience.
• Experience managing employee relations and sensitive matters.
• Client-facing or multi-business-unit HR experience.
• Working knowledge of UAE labor law.
• A degree in a relevant field or equivalent.

Nice to Have

• CIPD Level 5 or above, SHRM, or equivalent.
• Experience in fast-growing or founder-led businesses.
• Shared services, outsourced HR, or consultancy experience.
• Manager coaching or leadership development experience.
• Experience with billable hours, utilization, and service reporting.

Benefits
At the company, we value each team member and believe in building high-performing teams within a collaborative, close-knit scale-up environment that encourages ownership, accountability, and long-term growth.

With European roots and operations across six countries, we have an established presence in Dubai and are now actively expanding our footprint in the region. As we grow, we focus on strengthening our culture with people who are driven, commercially minded, and committed to building strong working relationships and a shared team spirit.

Our global team delivers a wide range of technology, operational, and consulting solutions to clients. In an increasingly complex and tightly regulated environment, our clients need more than just world-class technology; they need experienced partners who can guide them through regulatory, operational, and compliance challenges.

Why Join Us?

• Make an Impact: Your work will directly contribute to our organizational growth and financial health.
• Collaborate Globally: Work with dynamic teams across multiple countries.
• Innovative Environment: We value ideas and move fast to implement improvements.
• Great Culture: We work hard, support each other, and enjoy what we do.

What We Offer

• Premium Medical Insurance: Your health and well-being are our priority.
• Performance-Based Bonuses: Annual rewards based on your contribution and impact.
• Corporate Benefits: Including gifts for special occasions and team-building activities.