Associate Director - HRBP

Client of WhiteCrow Research; Dubai; On-site; AED 279,000 - 446,000; Full time

Job summary

Client of WhiteCrow Research seeks an HR leader to guide enterprise people strategy, workforce planning, and leadership development across its business units.

You will partner with executives to align human capital with growth objectives, lead performance management and culture transformation, and ensure UAE labor compliance. Strong English communication and cross-functional collaboration are essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in HR, business, psychology or related field.
• Master's degree or MBA preferred.
• 8–10 years HR experience with at least 3–5 years in a business partnering or HR leadership role.
• Proven experience supporting senior leadership and driving strategic HR initiatives.
• Proficient with MS Office; familiarity with Teams/SharePoint preferred.
• Strong verbal and written communication in English; Arabic an advantage.

Responsibilities

• Act as trusted advisor to executive leadership influencing business strategy through human capital insights.
• Lead development and execution of enterprise people strategy aligned with growth objectives.
• Drive workforce planning and operating model effectiveness across multiple business units.
• Oversee succession planning and leadership pipeline development for critical roles.
• Drive enterprise talent reviews ensuring alignment with long-term business needs.
• Shape and sponsor leadership development initiatives with COEs.
• Lead the performance management framework ensuring alignment with priorities.
• Define and track organizational performance metrics and drive continuous improvement.
• Champion culture transformation and drive engagement and high-performance behaviors.
• Lead change management initiatives including restructurings and transformations.
• Provide strategic counsel on people implications, risk mitigation and stakeholder alignment.

Skills

Strong verbal and written comms

Interpersonal Skills

Employee Relations

Organizational Development

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR/Business/Psychology

Master's degree or MBA preferred

Tools

Microsoft Office Suite

Microsoft Teams

SharePoint

Job description

Responsibilities

Strategic HR Leadership Act as a trusted advisor to executive leadership influencing business strategy through human capital insights Lead the development and execution of enterprise-wide people strategy aligned with business growth objectives Drive workforce planning organizational design and operating model effectiveness across multiple business units Talent Strategy amp Leadership Development Oversee succession planning and leadership pipeline development for critical roles Drive enterprise talent reviews ensuring alignment with long-term business needs Shape and sponsor leadership development and capability-building initiatives in partnership with COEs Organizational Performance amp Effectiveness Lead the performance management framework ensuring alignment with business priorities and outcomes Define and track organizational performance metrics and ensure continuous improvement initiatives are implemented Culture Engagement amp Transformation Champion culture transformation initiatives fostering engagement inclusion and high-performance behaviors Drive employee engagement strategies leveraging insights from surveys and analytics to influence leadership action planning Change amp Transformation Leadership Lead enterprise-level change management initiatives including restructuring integration and transformation programs Provide strategic counsel on people implications risk mitigation and stakeholder alignment during major business changesEmployee Relations amp Governance Ensure governance compliance and risk management in line with company policies and UAE labor laws Provide oversight on complex employee relations cases investigations and escalations HR Analytics amp Business Insights Drive data-led decision-making leveraging workforce analytics to inform strategy Present insights on talent trends productivity engagement and organizational health to senior leadershipCollaboration with HR Centers of Excellence Ensure alignment and integration of HR services across Talent Acquisition Total Rewards L amp D and other COEs Lead the localization and execution of group-wide HR initiatives across company Leadership amp Team Development Lead and develop HRBP teams ensuring capability building and succession readiness Foster a high-performing collaborative HR function aligned to business needs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Psychology, or a related field.
• A Master s degree or MBA is preferred.
• 8 10 years of progressive HR experience, with at least 3 5 years in a business partnering or HR leadership role.
• Proven experience supporting senior leadership and driving strategic HR initiatives.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Familiarity with systems and collaboration platforms (e.g., Microsoft Teams, SharePoint) is preferred.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills in English.
• Interpersonal Skills.
• Employee Relations.
• Organizational Development.
• Additional languages (e.g., Arabic) is an advantage.