Reporting To: Group Chief Executive Officer
About the Role
A diversified and growing business group in Qatar is looking to appoint a senior Group HR leader to oversee and strengthen its people, HR governance, employee services, compensation and benefits, and government-related HR operations across multiple business units.
This is a strategic leadership position suited to an HR professional who has operated in a multi-business or multi-entity environment and can combine strong strategic thinking with hands-on understanding of HR operations, local regulatory requirements, and government processes.
The successful candidate will work closely with the Group CEO and senior business leadership to build a more integrated and professional HR platform, support organizational growth, strengthen talent and leadership capabilities, and ensure robust HR governance across the organization.
Experience within FMCG/consumer-facing businesses is strongly preferred, while exposure to sectors such as hospitality, retail, property, or other diversified businesses would be an advantage.
Key Areas of Responsibility
- Develop and execute a Group‑level people strategy aligned with business priorities and future growth plans.
- Establish consistent HR frameworks, policies and processes across different businesses while allowing for operational differences between entities.
- Serve as a trusted HR advisor to the Group CEO and senior business leadership.
- Support organizational design, manpower planning, succession planning and leadership development.
- Introduce appropriate HR metrics, dashboards and management reporting.
- Drive greater consistency, professionalism and accountability across the Group's HR practices.
- Ensure HR initiatives contribute directly to business performance and organizational effectiveness.
2. Talent & Organizational Development
- Develop workforce planning and talent strategies across the Group.
- Oversee hiring strategies for senior, specialist and business‑critical positions.
- Strengthen succession planning and internal talent development.
- Build sustainable talent pipelines through local and international recruitment.
- Support leadership development and management capability‑building initiatives.
- Advise senior management on organizational structures, key appointments and workforce requirements.
- Develop initiatives to improve employee engagement, retention and career progression.
3. Compensation, Benefits & Rewards
- Lead the development and ongoing review of Group‑wide compensation structures.
- Establish appropriate salary bands, grades and reward frameworks.
- Conduct market benchmarking across Qatar and relevant GCC markets.
- Develop annual salary review and incentive processes.
- Review senior management and executive compensation in partnership with leadership.
- Ensure remuneration practices maintain appropriate levels of market competitiveness and internal equity.
- Oversee policies relating to allowances, benefits, insurance, end‑of‑service provisions and other employee benefits.
4. Performance & Employee Development
- Introduce or enhance a structured performance management framework.
- Establish measurable objectives and KPIs across functions and business units.
- Support leadership and management development programmes.
- Identify high‑potential employees and develop appropriate career pathways.
- Promote a culture focused on accountability, performance and continuous improvement.
- Ensure learning and development initiatives are aligned with actual business requirements.
5. Qatar HR & Regulatory Compliance
- Provide leadership and oversight of employment‑related regulatory compliance across the Group.
- Ensure appropriate compliance with applicable labour, immigration and residency requirements.
- Oversee work permits, visas, employee documentation and related government approvals.
- Monitor relevant regulatory developments and advise leadership on their potential impact.
- Ensure timely renewal of licences, registrations, permits and other applicable documentation.
- Establish appropriate compliance monitoring, reporting and escalation mechanisms.
- Maintain accurate records and documentation to support internal and external audits.
6. Government Relations & PRO
- Oversee the Group's PRO and government relations activities.
- Build an efficient and structured government services function supporting multiple business entities.
- Ensure smooth processing of visas, work permits, residency documentation and other government requirements.
- Maintain effective working relationships with relevant government authorities.
- Ensure business units receive timely and consistent government‑related support.
- Establish systems for tracking renewals, documentation and regulatory deadlines.
- Manage external PRO/service providers where applicable and monitor service quality.
- Identify opportunities to simplify, centralize and digitize government‑related processes.
- Establish and maintain a comprehensive HR policy and governance framework.
- Review existing HR processes and identify opportunities for improvement.
- Lead the effective use and enhancement of HR technology and HRIS platforms.
- Develop meaningful HR analytics and management reporting.
- Provide regular reporting on workforce size, recruitment, turnover, compensation, absenteeism, performance and other relevant metrics.
- Strengthen HR controls, documentation and process governance.
- Support wider technology, ERP and business transformation initiatives where HR is involved.
8. Employee Relations
- Provide senior‑level guidance on complex employee relations matters.
- Ensure disciplinary and grievance processes are handled fairly, consistently and in accordance with applicable regulations.
- Advise senior management on sensitive people‑related issues.
- Proactively manage employment‑related risks.
- Promote a professional, respectful and performance‑oriented workplace culture.
- Lead and develop the Group HR team and associated employee services functions.
- Establish clear objectives, KPIs and service standards.
- Determine which HR activities should be centralized at Group level and which should remain within individual businesses.
- Build a responsive, commercially focused and service‑oriented HR function.
- Develop the capability of the HR team and strengthen succession within the function.
Candidate Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Management or a related discipline.
- 10–15+ years of progressive HR experience, including substantial exposure to senior HR leadership.
- Strong experience within FMCG, consumer goods, retail or a similarly operationally intensive industry.
- GCC/Middle East experience is essential, with Qatar experience highly desirable.
- Strong understanding of GCC employment, immigration and government‑related HR requirements.
- Demonstrated experience managing compensation and benefits across a sizeable or multi‑entity organization.
- Experience overseeing PRO, government relations and employee documentation functions.
- Proven track record of establishing or improving HR policies, processes, systems and governance.
- Strong exposure to organizational development, workforce planning and talent management.
- Experience working directly with CEOs, business owners, senior executives and government stakeholders.
- Strong commercial orientation with the ability to connect HR initiatives to business objectives.
- Fluency in both Arabic and English is essential.
Candidates with some of the following exposure will be particularly well suited:
- Hospitality, hotels or leisure businesses.
- Real estate or property businesses.
- Diversified or multi‑business groups.
- Family‑owned organizations.
- Organizations operating across multiple legal entities.
- HRIS/ERP implementation or transformation projects.
- Organizational restructuring, business transformation or rapid‑growth environments.
Key Attributes
- A strategic yet hands‑on HR leader.
- Commercially minded and business‑oriented.
- Comfortable operating with owners, CEOs and senior management.
- Strong in stakeholder management and influencing.
- Knowledgeable about GCC employment and government processes.
- Capable of bringing structure and consistency to a growing organization.
- Comfortable managing both strategic HR initiatives and operational matters.
- A strong people leader with high levels of integrity, discretion and professionalism.
This is a senior leadership opportunity for an HR professional looking to take ownership of the people agenda across a diversified organization in Qatar.