Senior Manager HR

Adidas Group; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 350,000 - 700,000; Full time

Job summary

Adidas Group in the United Arab Emirates seeks an experienced HR Business Partner to deliver strategic HR partnership for UAE leaders, driving talent, DEI initiatives and lifecycle support. You will coordinate talent processes across markets and collaborate with EM C HR teams to ensure leadership pipeline and development culture.

The role requires a strong track record in international HR settings, with the ability to balance hands-on HR partnering and strategic governance across a matrix

Qualifications

• University degree in related fields
• 10+ years of progressive HR experience in international/matrix organizations
• Experience leading cross-functional HR projects and governance processes
• Leadership experience is an advantage

Responsibilities

• Act as a strategic HR Business Partner to leaders of non-commercial functions based in the UAE.
• Advise leaders on people, organization, culture, talent, performance and DEI priorities.
• Provide coaching and guidance to leaders; embed HR tools to enable a high-performance culture.
• Build relationships with internal customers to translate business needs into people priorities.
• Manage core HR processes including development, recruitment, mobility, compensation, promotions and workforce planning.
• Lead EMC Talent agenda coordination across markets and collaborate with HRBPs and business leaders.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Strategic HR partnership

Executive communication

Education

University degree in related fields

Job description

Job description

Purpose
Provide one-stop HR Business Partnering service and support to respective functions based in the UAE, ensuring that leaders and employees receive consistent, high-quality HR support throughout the employee lifecycle. In parallel, play a double-hat role by driving cluster-wide Talent processes and projects to strengthen consistency and talent outcomes across the EMC HR organization. Act as the EMC Talent SPOC, leading talent agenda coordination across markets and functions to ensure a strong leadership pipeline, succession readiness and development culture.

Key Responsibilities

HRBP

• Act as a strategic HR Business Partner to leaders of non-commercial functions based in the UAE, building, cascading and executing functional people agendas aligned with business priorities and the adidas people strategy.
• Act as a member of relevant Functional Leadership Teams and advise leaders on people, organization, culture, talent, performance and DEI priorities.
• Provide trusted coaching and guidance to leaders and managers; articulate and embed HR and tools that enable great line management and an employee-oriented, highperformance culture.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with internal customers to understand business needs, translate them into people priorities and ensure the requirements of global functions in the UAE are represented in the EMC overarching people agenda.
• Provide HR Business Partnering support across the employee lifecycle and work closely with HR Centres of Excellence, HRS and country HR teams to deliver a consistent employee experience and position adidas as an employer of choice.
• Manage core HR processes for the supported UAE functions, including people development, recruitment, mobility, compensation, promotions and workforce planning in partnership with relevant Centres of Excellence and line managers.

Talent Management

• Serve as the EMC Talent SPOC and primary liaison between EMC, Emerging Markets and Global Talent teams on all talent-related initiatives and priorities.
• Lead the EMC talent management agenda, ensuring consistent execution of talent reviews, succession planning, leadership assessment, development planning and high-potential programs across markets.
• Drive EMC-wide talent calibration processes and facilitate alignment on talent decisions, succession pipelines and organizational capability priorities.
• Partner with HRBPs and business leaders to identify critical capability gaps and develop talent strategies that support current and future business needs.
• Monitor and analyze talent metrics, succession health, leadership bench strength, internal mobility and retention trends, translating insights into actionable recommendations.

Key Relationships

• Function Leaders and Functional Leadership Teams based in the UAE
• EMC Senior Leadership Team and EMC HR Leadership Team
• HR Business Partners and Country HR teams across EMC
• Global and Emerging Markets HR teams
• HR Centres of Excellence
• HRS, Finance, Data and Analytics and other enabling functions
• External business partners

Knowledge Skills and Abilities

• Strong leadership, influencing and stakeholder management skills
• Strategic HR partnership capabilities and strong business acumen
• Ability to balance hands-on HR Business Partnering with cluster-level strategic, governance and project responsibilities
• Strong analytical capabilities with the ability to translate data and insights into clear recommendations and actions
• Excellent organization, prioritization and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment
• Collaborative and inclusive attitude with a growth mindset
• Strong work ethic, integrity and sound judgment
• Excellent written, verbal, presentation and executive communication skills

Requisite Education and Experience

• University degree in related fields
• 10+ years of progressive HR experience, preferably in an international and matrix organization, with strong HR Business Partnering exposure
• Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional HR projects, governance processes and strategic initiatives
• Experience in a leadership role is an advantage