Group HR Director

J. Awan & Partners; Dubai; On-site; AED 400,000 - 800,000; Full time

Job summary

JAP Group in Dubai seeks a Group HR Director People & Culture to design and lead end-to-end talent strategies across jurisdictions. You will own hiring pipelines, employer brand, and talent systems, aligning with business growth through data-driven performance and strong governance.

You will drive quarterly KPI reviews, implement Topgrading, develop an EVP, and coach line managers in KPI setting and performance conversations. Fluent English required; Arabic is a plus.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's in HR, business administration, or related field; Master's preferred.
• 8–15 years of hands-on HR leadership in professional services, consulting, or financial services with end-to-end hiring ownership.
• Topgrading certification experience strongly preferred.
• Strategic/policy advisory experience alone may not satisfy requirements.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end hiring pipelines with live job scorecards and accountable hiring managers.
• Implement Topgrading methodology as standard across jurisdictions and train managers.
• Deploy and operate an ATS with AI-assisted sourcing and structured assessments.
• Develop JAP's employer brand and talent pipelines across universities and professional bodies.
• Lead quarterly KPI reviews and ensure live KPI scorecards and PIP processes are completed.

Skills

Leadership

HR analytics

Stakeholder management

Effective communication

HR dashboards

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR or related field

Master's degree preferred

Tools

ClickUp

WebHR/HRIS

MS365

Job description

The Role

The Group HR Director People amp Culture is accountable for ensuring JAP Group has the right people in the right roles performing at the right level This is a senior leadership role combining strategic design with direct operational execution across all JAP jurisdictions Recruitment and retention are the primary mandate As the business scales across multiple jurisdictions the role-holder personally owns end-to-end hiring pipelines employer brand and the talent systems that make growth possible This is not a policy or advisory position candidates must demonstrate a track record of measurable hiring outcomes performance systems that have been enforced and cultures that can be evidenced through data Performance is tracked quarterly in ClickUp against the mission outcomes below with variable compensation directly tied to results green status across all areas required for full bonus no discretionary adjustments

12 18 Month Mission Outcomes

• 12 18 Month Mission Outcomes1 Talent Acquisition amp Recruitment Primary Mandate Qualified candidate pipeline in place within 14 days of headcount signoff for all approved roles
• Time to offer 30 days or fewer
• Time to productive 60 days or fewer
• A Player hire rate of 80 at 90-day assessment hiring manager scorecard 4 5
• Zero approved roles open beyond 60 days without a CEO-signed escalation plan
• Offer acceptance rate above 85 candidate experience score 4 0 5 at offer stage
• JAP EVP documented and live across all sourcing channels within 90 days of appointment
• 2 Performance Management100 of employees have a signed live KPI scorecard by end of Q1 each year
• All four quarterly review cycles completed in full and on time zero missed reviews
• Underperformers on formal PIPs within 30 days of the relevant review outcome documented within 90 days
• Line managers trained in KPI setting and performance conversations minimum one calibration session per review cycle
• 3 Culture amp RetentionVoluntary attrition below 10 annually reported quarterly by office tenure band and role familyeNPS or equivalent score of 85 in each biannual pulse survey
• Written action plan delivered to ExCo within 14 days of any sub-threshold pulse score
• Exit interview completion rate of 100 root cause report to CEO within 5 days of each departure
• All new hires complete structured onboarding within 30 days with 30 60 90-day manager check-ins
• 4 HR Operations amp TechnologyGroup HRIS selected implemented and live by end of Q2 with all core HR processes migrated and zero manual workarounds
• All HR workflows automated via HRIS or connected firm systems exceptions documented and remediated within 30 days
• Weekly timesheet compliance at 100 monthly payroll processed on time at 99
• 5 accuracyQuarterly HR technology health check delivered to ExCo employee records at 98 data accuracy at each audit

Key Accountabilities

• Talent Acquisition amp RecruitmentOwn all Group hiring end to end every approved role has a live job scorecard an active sourcing campaign and a named hiring manager accountable for interview completion within 5 business days of a qualified submission
• Implement Topgrading s 12-step methodology as the firm s standard hiring process across all jurisdictions train all hiring managers within 60 days conduct tandem interviews for all Director-level roles
• Deploy and operate an ATS alongside AI-assisted sourcing and structured assessment tools
• Own and develop JAP s employer brand build and sustain talent pipelines through universities professional bodies and executive search partnerships
• Performance ManagementOwn the quarterly KPI review cycle end to end set the calendar brief all line managers quality-check every completed review report completion to the CEO
• Ensure every employee has a live SMART KPI scorecard signed off before each review cycle begins
• Identify and elevate underperformers within 5 days of the relevant review own the PIP process through to documented outcome
• Train all line managers in KPI setting and performance conversation skills

Skills and Knowledge

• Proven ability to lead and develop distributed HR teams
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills
• Proficient in workforce analytics attrition analysis hiring metrics and HR dashboards
• Comfortable with ClickUp WebHR or successor HRIS and MS365 tools
• Strong capability managing competing priorities across multiple time zones

Education & Experience

• Education amp ExperienceEducation Bachelor s or Master s in HR Business Administration or related field Master s preferred
• Experience 8 15 years of hands-on HR leadership in professional services consulting or financial services including direct ownership of end-to-end hiring pipelines personal operation of a quarterly KPI review cycle and HRIS implementation at scale
• Topgrading certification experience strongly preferred
• Candidates whose experience is primarily strategic policy-focused or board-level advisory will not satisfy this requirement

Certifications

• Certifications preferred CIPD Level 7
• SHRM-SCP
• Topgrading Certified Professional or equivalent

Languages

• Fluent English mandatory
• Arabic an advantage