Head of People

Location: Dubai, UAE

Reports to: CEO

About the role:

The Head of HR acts as a strategic partner to the leadership team while maintaining direct, hands-on execution of the People strategy, driving initiatives that align with DT One's business objectives and fostering a culture of high performance. This individual will lead and execute the company's people strategy, focusing on talent management, organisational design, employee engagement, and operational excellence.

Key responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership

• Partner with the leadership team to develop and execute a forward-looking HR strategy that supports DT One's business objectives.
• Provide strategic guidance and direct operational leadership on organisational design, workforce planning, and change management initiatives, with implementation ownership.
• Drive a culture of accountability, and innovation across the organisation.

Talent Management

• Lead efforts to attract, develop, and retain top talent, ensuring a robust pipeline for critical roles.
• Oversee performance management processes, including leadership development and succession planning.
• Design, launch, and personally drive initiatives to enhance employee engagement and retention, ensuring close connection to day-to-day employee experience.

Employee Relations and Compliance

• Serve as a trusted advisor on employee relations matters, fostering a positive and transparent work environment.
• Ensure compliance with all local labour laws and regulations, as well as internal policies and procedures.

Operational Excellence

• Partner with the shared services people operations team to ensure efficient workflows, data integrity, payroll/benefits delivery and vendor management.
• Ensure market aligned compensation and benefits.
• Manage HR metrics and reporting to provide insights into workforce trends and data-driven decision-making.
• Partner with Finance to align workforce planning and budgeting with organisational goals.

HR Leadership

• Act as a mentor and coach to the leadership team, fostering their growth and development.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders, including employees, managers, and external partners.
• Continuously assess and refine HR processes to ensure efficiency and scalability.

Qualifications and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field (Master's degree preferred).
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive HR experience, with at least 3 years in a leadership or senior HRBP role.
• Proven experience that combines strategic HR business partnering with direct, hands-on operational delivery in fast-paced tech environments.
• Strong understanding of global HR practices and compliance requirements, with experience working across multiple jurisdictions.
• Experience in organisational design, talent management, and change management.
• Familiarity with HR systems and tools, including Greenhouse and HiBob, for recruitment, data analytics and decision-making.
• M&A experience and working with EOR providers is advantageous.

The ideal candidate is someone who:

• Thrives under pressure, breaking down complex challenges, prioritising effectively, and delivering in fast-paced, changing environments.
• Comfortably operates in ambiguous and fast-paced environments.
• Thinks strategically with the ability to translate business needs into HR initiatives.
• Exhibits exceptional interpersonal and communication skills.
• Effectively influences and builds strong relationships at all levels of the organization.
• Proactive, solution-oriented approach to problem-solving.
• High level of integrity and discretion.