People & Culture Manager

Calvin James Recruitment; Dubai; On-site; AED 279,000 - 502,000; Full time

Job summary

Tanqeeb is seeking an experienced People & Culture Manager to lead the HR function within a growing professional services business in Dubai. The role combines day-to-day people management with strategy, aiming to build a high-performing and inclusive workplace culture while ensuring robust HR processes.

You will partner with senior leaders to drive engagement, recruitment, performance development and employee relations in a fast-paced environment, balancing employee experience with business

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, Psychology or related discipline.
• Progressive HR experience, ideally in professional services or corporate environments.
• Experience in standalone or broad HR/People & Culture role.
• Strong knowledge of UAE employment legislation and HR best practices.
• Experience partnering with senior stakeholders and advising managers on people matters.
• Strong employee relations and performance management experience.
• Experience developing and implementing HR policies, processes and people initiatives.
• Strong communication, interpersonal and stakeholder management skills.
• Commercially minded with the ability to understand and support business objectives.
• Highly organised, proactive and able to manage multiple priorities.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to use HR data to identify trends and inform decisions.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement the people strategy aligned with business objectives.
• Partner with senior leadership to identify key people priorities.
• Drive initiatives for employee engagement, retention and culture.
• Support development of a high-performance and collaborative environment.
• Act as trusted advisor to managers and employees on people matters.
• Oversee recruitment and workforce planning.
• Manage full employee lifecycle from onboarding to exit.
• Develop onboarding processes for successful integration.
• Support succession planning and high-potential talent.
• Work with leadership to identify future skills and workforce needs.
• Own and improve performance management processes.
• Assist with goal setting, reviews and performance issues.
• Identify learning and development requirements.
• Develop and implement training initiatives and career development.
• Provide guidance on HR policies, employee relations and workplace matters.
• Ensure compliance with UAE labour regulations and maintain records.
• Oversee contracts, probation, leave, benefits and offboarding.
• Collaborate with payroll and finance on payments and benefits.
• Monitor HR metrics and report insights to senior leadership.
• Develop wellbeing initiatives and internal communications.

Skills

Communication

Stakeholder management

Analytical skills

Organised

Commercial awareness

People & Culture experience

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR/Business/Psychology

Tools

HRIS

Payroll software

Job description

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced and commercially minded People & Culture Manager to lead the people function within a growing professional services business.

This is a broad HR role, combining day-to-day people management with longer-term people strategy. You will work closely with senior leadership and managers across the business to build a high-performing, engaged and positive workplace culture, while ensuring robust HR processes and practices are in place.

The successful candidate will be comfortable operating in a fast-paced, professional environment and will have the ability to balance employee experience with the commercial needs of the business.

Key Responsibilities

People Strategy & Culture

• Develop and implement the people strategy in alignment with the company's overall business objectives.
• Partner with senior leadership to identify and address key people priorities.
• Drive initiatives that strengthen employee engagement, retention and company culture.
• Support the development of a high-performance and collaborative working environment.
• Act as a trusted advisor to managers and employees on people-related matters.

Talent & Recruitment

• Partner with hiring managers on recruitment and workforce planning requirements.
• Oversee the full employee lifecycle, from attraction and onboarding through to development and exit.
• Develop effective onboarding processes to ensure new employees integrate successfully.
• Support succession planning and the identification of high-potential talent.
• Work with leadership to identify future skills and workforce requirements.

Performance & Development

• Own and continuously improve the company's performance management process.
• Support managers with goal setting, performance reviews and addressing performance issues.
• Identify learning and development requirements across the organisation.
• Develop and implement appropriate training and development initiatives.
• Support career development and internal progression.

Employee Relations

• Provide guidance to managers and employees on HR policies, employee relations and workplace matters.
• Manage employee relations issues fairly, consistently and in line with UAE employment legislation.
• Support disciplinary, grievance and performance processes where required.
• Promote a positive, inclusive and respectful workplace environment.

HR Operations & Compliance

• Ensure HR policies, procedures and processes are effective, consistent and compliant with UAE labour regulations.
• Maintain accurate employee records and HR documentation.
• Oversee HR administration, including contracts, onboarding, probation, leave, benefits and offboarding.
• Work closely with payroll and finance to ensure accurate and timely employee payments and benefits.
• Monitor HR metrics and provide regular reporting and insights to senior leadership.

Employee Engagement & Wellbeing

• Develop initiatives to improve employee engagement, wellbeing and retention.
• Gather employee feedback and translate insights into practical initiatives.
• Organise employee engagement activities and internal communications.
• Help foster a culture where employees feel valued, supported and motivated.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, Psychology or a related discipline.
• Progressive HR experience, ideally within professional services, consulting, financial services, legal, accounting or another corporate environment.
• Previous experience in a standalone or broad HR/People & Culture role.
• Strong knowledge of UAE employment legislation and HR best practices.
• Experience partnering with senior stakeholders and advising managers on people matters.
• Strong employee relations and performance management experience.
• Experience developing and implementing HR policies, processes and people initiatives.
• Strong communication, interpersonal and stakeholder management skills.
• Commercially minded with the ability to understand and support business objectives.
• Highly organised, proactive and comfortable managing multiple priorities.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to use HR data to identify trends and inform decisions.