Strategic Rewards & Workforce Operations Lead

NMC; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 480,000 - 600,000; Full time

Job summary

NMC Head Office in Abu Dhabi is seeking a senior Rewards & HR Analytics lead who blends financial analysis with rewards expertise and people leadership. You will oversee manpower and salary planning across Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai and the Northern Emirates, manage a team of 3, and coordinate with a wider network across rewards, payroll, medical insurance and HR data management.

The role focuses on improving controls, simplifying processes and designing affordable recognition and incentive

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in HR, Finance, or related field is mandatory.
• Master's degree or MBA preferred; CCP/GRP or equivalent rewards qualification advantageous.
• 10–15 years of relevant progressive experience across rewards, compensation and benefits, workforce planning, HR operations or people cost management, including team leadership.

Responsibilities

• Own the consolidated workforce budget control framework, partnering with Finance and HRBPs to track approved manpower, people costs, actuals, forecasts, variances and corrective actions by facility, cluster and job family.
• Maintain group wide position management governance using Position Classification Numbers (PCNs); oversee creation, approval, activation, vacancy tracking, closure and reconciliation of budgeted and unbudgeted positions against authorized establishment and funding.
• Lead budgeting, workforce planning and phasing of existing employees, joiners, leavers, replacements and approved pipeline; reconcile recruitment plans, onboarding dates and expected payroll impact with budget and forecast assumptions.
• Manage annual salary planning, increment and adjustment cycles, and the Annual Review Cycle (ARC) budget, including allocation, utilization, approval controls, scenario modelling and financial impact reporting.
• Analyze payroll and people cost trends with Finance and operational stakeholders, explaining drivers such as staffing mix, vacancies, increments, allowances, overtime and incentive expenditure.
• Administer and continuously improve group wide performance management processes, including goal setting, review cycles, calibration support, reporting, governance and linkage to recognition and reward decisions.
• Design and evaluate affordable employee recognition initiatives and support financially sustainable clinical and nonclinical incentive or bonus schemes, including eligibility, performance metrics, cost simulations, controls and post-implementation evaluation.
• Oversee job evaluation, grading, salary structures, market benchmarking, pay equity and grade linked benefits; review business unit practices for consistency with approved policies and commercial constraints.
• Develop frameworks for inter business unit transfers across job families, grades, allowances and benefits, ensuring employee terms, position approvals and receiving/sending unit budgets are properly aligned.
• Maintain and periodically review reward, grading, mobility and workforce policies, tracking relevant UAE federal and emirate-specific employment requirements and coordinating with Legal/Compliance on regulatory interpretation.
• Deliver accurate management dashboards and periodic reporting on attrition, headcount, recruitment progress, vacancy ageing, position utilization, workforce movements, reward spending and forecast to budget performance.
• Improve data quality and reporting controls across HRIS, position management, payroll and planning systems; drive Excel/Power BI automation and responsible AI enabled process improvements with appropriate data confidentiality safeguards.
• Prepare concise, financially grounded business cases, executive presentations and recommendations for HR and business leadership, challenging unsupported requests and identifying sustainable alternatives.
• Lead, coach and develop 3 direct reports, allocate responsibilities, maintain service standards and collaborate effectively with the broader Rewards & HR Operations network across NMC entities.
• Support organizational restructuring, new facilities and service changes through position, grade, workforce and cost impact assessment.

Skills

Advanced Excel

Power BI

HRIS systems

Oracle

Financial forecasting

Workforce budgeting

People management

Stakeholder management

Cost to company

Data visualization

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR/Finance/Business

MBA or Master’s degree

CCP/GRP or equivalent rewards qualification

Tools

Excel

Power BI

Oracle

Job description

NMC Head Office in Abu Dhabi is seeking a senior Rewards & HR Analytics lead who blends financial analysis with rewards expertise and people leadership. You will oversee manpower and salary planning across Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai and the Northern Emirates, manage a team of 3, and coordinate with a wider network across rewards, payroll, medical insurance and HR data management.

The role focuses on improving controls, simplifying processes and designing affordable recognition and incentive