Director People Ops & Recruitment

A leading organisation is seeking an experienced Director – People Operations to lead and transform its Talent Acquisition and HR Operations functions. This is a strategic leadership opportunity for a senior HR professional who excels at building scalable people operations, driving recruitment excellence, and enhancing employee service delivery within a dynamic, growth-focused environment.

Key Responsibilities

Talent Acquisition Leadership

• Develop and execute the organisation-wide Talent Acquisition strategy across local and international markets.
• Ensure timely fulfilment of workforce requirements through effective recruitment planning and stakeholder engagement.
• Drive recruitment excellence across sourcing, assessment, candidate experience, and hiring outcomes.
• Support Emiratisation initiatives and national talent acquisition priorities.
• Strengthen recruitment governance, consistency, and service standards across the hiring lifecycle.

HR Operations & Employee Services

• Lead HR Operations and employee services, ensuring efficient and responsive support throughout the employee lifecycle.
• Enhance HR service delivery models, employee experience, and operational effectiveness.
• Oversee employee support channels, service desk capabilities, and transactional HR processes.
• Ensure operational reliability through effective controls, payroll coordination, and service quality management.

Operational Excellence

• Drive process improvement, automation, and HR technology adoption across recruitment and HR operations.
• Develop and monitor service level agreements (SLAs), operational metrics, and performance standards.
• Optimise policies, procedures, vendor partnerships, and operational practices to improve scalability and efficiency.
• Maintain robust governance frameworks, risk controls, and operational discipline.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives focused on service quality and employee experience.

Leadership & Stakeholder Management

• Partner with business leaders and HR stakeholders to deliver talent and operational priorities.
• Provide senior leadership with clear reporting on recruitment performance, service delivery, and operational effectiveness.
• Lead, coach, and develop Talent Acquisition and HR Operations teams.
• Foster a collaborative, customer-focused, and high-performance culture.

Requirements

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Management, or a related field.
• Master’s degree and/or professional HR qualification preferred.

Experience

• 8–10+ years of progressive experience across Talent Acquisition, HR Operations, People Operations, or related HR leadership functions.
• Proven success leading end-to-end recruitment and workforce fulfilment strategies.
• Experience improving HR Operations, employee services, and service delivery models within complex or scaling organisations.
• Strong track record in process improvement, automation, HR systems implementation, and operational governance.
• Experience within technical recruitment, service-led environments, or high-growth organisations is advantageous.
• Exposure to Emiratisation initiatives and national hiring programmes is preferred.