Group Head of People

Group Head of People (HR Strategy/ Talent Acquisition/ Organisational Development) – Dubai, UAE

Reference Number: SP-DB-GHP-001

Nature & Scope:

This opportunity sits within a leading global provider of trade-technology solutions that supports governments in modernising and digitising their trade, Customs, and logistics ecosystems. The organisation delivers large-scale digital transformation programmes across Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, helping public-sector institutions enhance efficiency, transparency, and revenue collection.

The Corporate Head of People leads the global People & Culture function of our client, ensuring the alignment of human capital strategies with the Group’s vision, values, and business objectives.

This role oversees the HR structures and processes of the entities worldwide, guaranteeing consistency, compliance, workforce excellence, leadership development, and a unified organizational culture across the Group.

Responsibilities:

Global HR Leadership & Strategy

• Develop and implement a global People strategy aligned with our client’s long-term business goals.
• Ensure harmonized HR policies and procedures across different entities, while adapting to local labour laws and cultural contexts.
• Lead organizational design initiatives to support growth, project delivery, and future capabilities.
• Advise the CEO and Group Executives on strategic HR matters.

Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning

• Design and implement structured, repeatable recruitment processes suited to a maturing organization.
• Professionalize and standardize hiring practices, including interview frameworks, candidate assessment criteria, and onboarding procedures.
• Oversee global recruitment strategies and ensure high-quality hiring processes for technical, managerial, and executive roles.
• Identify inefficiencies in current hiring workflows and implement improvements to reduce time-to-hire while maintaining quality.
• Define a recruitment strategy to attract and secure top talent from competitors and market leaders.
• Promote global mobility programs to leverage internal talent.

Performance Management & Organizational Development

• Implement a consistent, transparent, and merit-based performance management framework across all entities.
• Introduce programs for leadership development, skills upgrading, and continuous learning.
• Drive initiatives aimed at employee engagement, employer branding, and retention of high performers.

Compensation, Benefits & Compliance

• Oversee the design and governance of global compensation frameworks to ensure competitiveness and fairness.
• Model total employment costs (salary, taxes, social contributions, mandatory benefits) across different jurisdictions.
• Conduct compensation benchmarking against competitors and industry standards in existing and prospective markets.
• Develop cost-to-company analyses for new market expansion, including local labour laws, employer obligations, and statutory costs.
• Guarantee compliance with labour regulations in each jurisdiction, in collaboration with local HR leads.
• Establish mechanisms for monitoring payroll, benefits, and employee records across the Group.
• Define Compensation & Benefits for new countries.
• Partner with Finance on headcount cost forecasting for business planning.

Culture, Values & Change Management

• Promote the business’s values and culture consistently across all global teams.
• Foster an inclusive, collaborative, and respectful workplace environment.

HR Operations & Governance

• Oversee HR systems, data analytics, reporting, and technology used across the Group.
• Build KPIs and dashboards for Group Executives reporting.
• Strengthen HR governance, ensuring consistent HR service delivery worldwide.

Team Leadership

• Lead and coordinate the global network of HR Managers and People Partners across the different entities.
• Build a strong global HR community through capacity-building, coaching, and cross-entity collaboration.

Requirements: Skill and Competencies

• Proven experience in international HR leadership roles across multiple regions.
• Strong knowledge of labour laws, compliance requirements, and HR best practices globally.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and cross-cultural management skills.
• Strategic thinking with ability to operationalize large-scale HR initiatives.
• Expertise in organizational development, talent management, and HR systems.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, high-growth, and innovation-driven environment.
• Experience structuring and professionalizing HR and recruitment functions in maturing organizations.
• Financial literacy with experience in employment cost modelling, compensation benchmarking, and multi-country payroll structures.

Requirements: Qualifications and Experience

• Master's degree in Human Resources, Organizational Development, Business Administration, or related field.
• Minimum 5 years of progressive HR leadership experience, including multinational or multi-entity management.
• Experience working in technology, digital transformation, or complex project-oriented environments is an advantage.
• Track record of building scalable recruitment processes and HR structures during organizational growth phases.
• Experience developing compensation frameworks and cost models for new market entry.
• Fluency in English and French is required.

If you wish to apply for the position, please send your CV to Daniel Bentley  at  View email address on app.ismartrecruit.com

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CA Global will respond to short-listed candidates only. If you have not had any response in two weeks, please consider your application unsuccessful however your CV will be kept on our database for any other suitable positions.