Head of HR, Abu Dhabi Schools

Nord Anglia Education Group; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 300,000 - 420,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading education group seeks a strategic Head of HR to deliver high-quality HR services across its Abu Dhabi campuses. This pivotal role involves managing HR functions, ensuring compliance with local laws, and fostering employee engagement. The ideal candidate will possess significant HR experience, preferably in education, along with a strong understanding of UAE labour regulations.

Qualifications

• Significant HR experience, ideally within education or a complex sector.
• Strong knowledge of UAE labour law and HR best practices.
• Experience leading a team and working across multiple sites.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the HR function across both Abu Dhabi campuses.
• Partner with school leadership for effective workforce planning.
• Ensure compliance with local labour laws and regulatory requirements.

Skills

HR Management

Leadership

Employee Relations

Compliance with UAE Labour Laws

Talent Acquisition

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

CIPD qualification or equivalent preferred

Job description

School : The British International School Abu Dhabi

We are seeking an experienced and dynamic HR leader to join our team as Head of HR for our Abu Dhabi schools. This is a key role responsible for delivering a high-quality, strategic HR service across two campuses. You will lead a small team and work closely with Principals, senior leaders, and the regional HR team to support all aspects of the employee lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities :

• Lead and manage the HR function across both Abu Dhabi campuses
• Partner with school leadership to deliver effective workforce planning and talent acquisition strategies
• Support employee relations, performance management, and HR policy implementation
• Ensure compliance with local labour laws and regulatory requirements, including ADEK and ADGM frameworks
• Oversee onboarding, payroll coordination, and HR data accuracy
• Drive employee engagement, wellbeing, and inclusion initiatives
• Act as a key point of contact for the regional HR team and participate in cluster-wide HR projects

About You :

• Significant HR experience, ideally within education or a similarly complex, customer-facing sector
• Strong working knowledge of UAE labour law and HR best practices

A collaborative approach and ability to build effective relationships at all level

• Experience of leading a team and working across multiple sites
• A proactive mindset with a focus on continuous improvement
• Educated to Bachlors level or equivalent

CIPD qualification or equivalent is preferred

About Nord Anglia

Each Nord Anglia Education school is unique in character and designed to meet the needs of its community. We are united by our philosophy, to be ambitious for our students, our people and our family of schools. We believe that being part of our family of 82 schools gives them a special advantage. Working together, we can achieve more than we can individually. Our schools have access to a wide range of resources and support to enhance their success.

As an employer, our aim is to create an environment where colleagues are welcomed and are able to bring talents, skills, backgrounds and experiences to their roles in an open and inclusive workplace where people from all backgrounds work together with dignity and respect.

Selection Process

Applicants should submit a CV and letter of application with details of two referees. Ideally, we are seeking candidates already based in the UAE.

Safeguarding

At Nord Anglia Education we are committed to providing a world-class, safe, happy environment in which children and young people are able to thrive and learn. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all our pupils irrespective of race, ability, religion, gender or culture. All post holders having regular unsupervised contact with children are subject to appropriate national and international vetting procedures including satisfactory criminal record checks from both their Country of residence / birth and any Country of residence within the last 10 years.

J-18808-Ljbffr