HR & Culture Lead (HCL001)

Foreground LLC; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 200,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

A global events agency in Riyadh is looking for a strategic HR & Culture Lead to build the local HR function, shape organizational culture, and manage talent acquisition processes. The ideal candidate should have over 8 years of experience in HR within the creative sector and be bilingual in Arabic and English. This role requires a passion for people and a focus on performance and compliance.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in HR or people operations roles within the creative, media, events, or agency sectors.
• Familiarity with Saudi labor law, HR systems, and visa/employment regulation.
• Bilingual fluency (Arabic and English) essential.

Responsibilities

• Build and lead the local HR function from the ground up.
• Shape the agency's internal culture, values, and employee engagement programs.
• Oversee talent acquisition for freelance and full-time roles.
• Manage payroll, benefits, and PRO processes.
• Advise leadership on organizational design and talent retention strategies.

Skills

Compliance

Collaboration

Operations

Recruitment

Creativity

Employee Engagement

Arabic

Onboarding

Payroll

Leadership

Job description

Overview

Foreground is supporting the Saudi expansion of a global events agency with the appointment of a people-first, structure-minded, and culture-building HR & Culture Lead , based in Riyadh. This role will be the heartbeat of the agencys people function in the Kingdom, driving recruitment, compliance, performance, and a values-aligned team culture from day one.

This is not a traditional administrative HR role. Its a strategic people-building mandate, focused on enabling creativity, collaboration, and localized excellence in a fast-moving, high-performance agency environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Build and lead the local HR function from the ground up, including recruitment, onboarding, contracts, labor law compliance, and performance reviews.
• Shape the agencys internal culture, values, and employee engagement programs in line with global standards and local dynamics.
• Oversee talent acquisition for freelance and full-time roles, working closely with production, creative, and operations leads.
• Manage payroll, benefits, and PRO processes in line with Saudi labor regulations and internal governance.
• Advise leadership on organizational design, team wellbeing, and talent retention strategies in a demanding creative services environment.

Ideal Profile

• 8+ years in HR or people operations roles within the creative, media, events, or agency sectors.
• Familiarity with Saudi labor law, HR systems, and visa/employment regulation.
• Bilingual fluency (Arabic and English) essential.
• Passionate about people, culture, and enabling performance through environment and process.

Required Skills

• Compliance
• Dynamics
• Collaboration
• Operations
• Recruitment
• Creativity
• Employee Engagement
• Arabic
• Onboarding
• Reviews
• Payroll
• Regulations
• Design
• English
• Leadership