Talent Director

Michael Page; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 27,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

Michael Page is seeking a Senior Head of Talent to drive talent acquisition, learning and development, succession planning and leadership initiatives across the business in Abu Dhabi. You will lead a large team, oversee executive hiring, and transform talent platforms including ATS, LMS and AI-enabled tools, while championing nationalisation and workforce diversification with budget discipline.

This leadership role requires a hands-on, resilient leader who can influence senior stakeholders,

Qualifications

• Proven senior Talent Acquisition leadership experience (essential).
• Background leading high-volume and executive recruitment functions.
• Success improving recruitment processes, systems and service delivery.
• Experience implementing or optimising ATS, LMS and talent technology platforms.
• Strong transformation and change management experience.
• Exposure to Learning & Development, succession planning and leadership development.
• Experience leading sizeable teams and influencing senior stakeholders.
• Strong analytical, budgeting and workforce planning capability.
• Experience within hospitality, aviation, retail, healthcare, education or other service-driven environments preferred.
• Regional experience within the Middle East highly advantageous.
• Hands-on leader with resilience, agility and results-driven mindset.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the overall talent strategy aligned to business growth objectives.
• Lead end-to-end talent acquisition across corporate and operational functions.
• Drive executive and senior leadership recruitment initiatives.
• Manage and develop a large team with 5 direct reports.
• Enhance recruitment effectiveness, governance, service levels and hiring metrics.
• Reduce time-to-hire while maintaining quality, compliance and budget control.
• Lead transformation of talent technology platforms, including ATS, LMS and AI-enabled solutions.
• Oversee succession planning, leadership assessment and talent pipeline programmes.
• Guide learning and development initiatives, leadership development and performance-related projects.
• Support organisational change, workforce planning and business transformation projects.
• Manage talent-related budgets, analytics and executive stakeholder reporting.
• Champion nationalisation initiatives and workforce diversification strategies.

Skills

Talent acquisition leadership

Executive recruitment

Change management

Budgeting analytics

Stakeholder management

Job description

This senior leadership role is responsible for driving the talent agenda across talent acquisition, learning and development, succession planning, leadership development and talent technology. The successful candidate will lead a large team, oversee executive hiring, and deliver transformation initiatives that enhance talent processes, systems and organisational capability.

Client Details

A rapidly growing, service‑focused organisation undergoing significant transformation and expansion.

Description

• Develop and execute the overall talent strategy aligned to business growth objectives.
• Lead end-to-end talent acquisition across corporate and operational functions.
• Drive executive and senior leadership recruitment initiatives.
• Manage and develop a large team with 5 direct reports.
• Enhance recruitment effectiveness, governance, service levels and hiring metrics.
• Reduce time-to-hire while maintaining quality, compliance and budget control.
• Lead transformation of talent technology platforms, including ATS, LMS and AI‑enabled solutions.
• Oversee succession planning, leadership assessment and talent pipeline programmes.
• Guide learning and development initiatives, leadership development and performance‑related projects.
• Support organisational change, workforce planning and business transformation projects.
• Manage talent‑related budgets, analytics and executive stakeholder reporting.
• Champion nationalisation initiatives and workforce diversification strategies.

Profile

Key prerequisites include:

• Proven senior Talent Acquisition leadership experience (essential).
• Background leading high‑volume and executive recruitment functions.
• Demonstrated success improving recruitment processes, systems and service delivery.
• Experience implementing or optimising ATS, LMS and talent technology platforms.
• Strong transformation and change management experience.
• Exposure to Learning & Development, succession planning and leadership development.
• Experience leading sizeable teams and influencing senior stakeholders.
• Strong analytical, budgeting and workforce planning capability.
• Experience within hospitality, aviation, retail, healthcare, education or other service‑driven environments preferred.
• Regional experience within the Middle East highly advantageous.
• Passionate, hands‑on leader with resilience, agility and a results‑driven mindset.

Job Offer

There is a competitive package of up to 45,000 AED + Benefits.