People Operations Lead - Scale & Payroll (UAE)

Opus; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 201,000 - 357,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Visa sponsorship for international and

Job summary

AppliedAI in Abu Dhabi is seeking an HR Operations Manager to lead People Operations for a fast-growing AI technology company. You will own end-to-end HR operations across onboarding, contracts, probation tracking, employee changes, leave, and exits, while guiding a small HR ops team and overseeing payroll governance.

The role emphasizes introducing automation, standardizing processes, and ensuring UAE labour law compliance across global contexts, with visa support for international hires and

Qualifications

• 6-8+ years in HR Operations, including team leadership.
• Experience in fast-paced, high-growth tech environments.
• Experience overseeing payroll functions (not necessarily processing).
• Understanding of HR foundations for scale: processes, documentation, data discipline, automation.
• Experience working within UAE employment context.
• Strong organization, prioritization and communication skills.
• Ability to operate at both hands-on and strategic levels.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end HR operations across the employee lifecycle (onboarding, contracts, probation, changes, leave, exits).
• Lead and develop a small HR operations team, setting priorities and building capability.
• Ensure HR activities are accurate, on time, and consistent in high-volume or changing conditions.
• Act as escalation point for complex or sensitive HR operational matters.
• Oversee payroll processing governance, audits and issue resolution (without direct payroll processing).
• Identify opportunities to automate and improve HR systems, processes and templates.

Skills

HR operations

Team leadership

Payroll governance

Automation & process improvement

UAE labour law

Data reporting

Project management

Tools

HRIS

Payroll software

Job description

AppliedAI in Abu Dhabi is seeking an HR Operations Manager to lead People Operations for a fast-growing AI technology company. You will own end-to-end HR operations across onboarding, contracts, probation tracking, employee changes, leave, and exits, while guiding a small HR ops team and overseeing payroll governance.

The role emphasizes introducing automation, standardizing processes, and ensuring UAE labour law compliance across global contexts, with visa support for international hires and