Contract Type:

Unlimited / Full-Time

Country / City:

United Arab Emirates / Dubai

Company:

Beiersdorf Middle East FZCO

Job Function:

Human Resources

Role Purpose

We are seeking a commercially astute and strategically minded Head of HR – MENA to act as a true business partner to the General Manager, Country Manager and local leadership team. This role goes beyond traditional HR delivery, requiring a leader who can shape the organisation for future success, guide it through complexity and transformation, and actively influence business outcomes in a highly matrixed, multinational environment. The successful candidate will operate as a trusted advisor and sparring partner to the GM/CM —contributing to key strategic decisions while building a resilient, high performing, and psychologically safe organisation across the ME/NA region.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic Business Partnership

• Act as a trusted advisor to the GM/CM and leadership team, contributing to critical business decisions

• Provide constructive challenge, using data, insight, and sound judgment to influence outcomes

• Develop deep understanding of commercial priorities, growth ambitions, and cost dynamics

• Align people strategy with business objectives to drive sustainable performance

2. Organization Design & Future Readiness

• Design and continuously evolve organisational structures to support long-term growth

• Ensure clarity in roles, optimal spans and layers, and effective governance frameworks

• Translate global HR frameworks into pragmatic, locally relevant solutions

3. Change & Transformation Leadership

• Lead the people agenda through change, ambiguity, and business transformation

• Support leadership transitions, restructuring initiatives, and capability building

• Foster a unified, high-performing Middle East leadership team

• Communicate transparently and credibly during periods of uncertainty

4. Culture, Engagement & Psychological Safety

• Champion a psychologically safe, inclusive, and high-performance culture

• Enable open dialogue, upward feedback, and healthy challenge within teams

• Partner with leaders to strengthen leadership capability, trust, and engagement

5. Talent, Careers & Capability Building

• Develop robust career pathways and talent development strategies

• Drive succession planning and build a strong leadership pipeline

• Balance expatriate and local talent development, with a strong localisation focus

• Strengthen organisational capability to meet future business needs

• Seasoned HR professional with 10 - 15 years of relevant experience

• Fluent in English (written and spoken)

• Proven HR leadership experience in UAE and Saudi Arabia

• Strong understanding of Middle East HR landscape, including:

o Labour laws and compliance

o Cultural and business context

• Experience within a global FMCG or comparable multinational organisation

• Demonstrated success operating in complex matrixed environments with multiple reporting lines

• Arabic language proficiency

• Experience supporting senior management or regional leadership teams

• Strong track record of influencing stakeholders without formal authority

• Exposure to North Africa markets (Egypt, Morocco)

• Commercially savvy and credible at senior leadership level

• Calm, resilient, and effective under pressure

• High emotional intelligence with strong cultural awareness

• Courageous in challenging decisions, balanced with sound judgment

• Able to balance performance focus with empathy and care

• Experience leading a small HR team (hands-on leadership style)