Head of Human Resources (Qatarization)

Role overview

We are looking for a senior HR leader in Doha, Qatar who can shape and deliver the organization’s people agenda while advising top management on workforce and culture priorities. The role is centered on building a high-performance environment, attracting and keeping strong talent, improving organizational capability, and ensuring adherence to Qatar Labour Law and other relevant regulations.

This position calls for a commercially minded HR executive who can balance business goals with people strategy, strengthen governance across HR, and support long-term growth.

HR strategy and leadership

• Create and roll out a human capital plan that supports business objectives.
• Partner with the CEO and executive team on workforce planning, organizational structure, succession planning, and leadership capability.
• Champion culture change and initiatives that improve employee engagement.
• Provide overall leadership to the HR function and ensure consistently strong service delivery.
• Set HR policies, governance standards, and performance measures.

Talent acquisition

• Prepare workforce plans that match the company’s growth plans.
• Lead senior-level recruitment and other strategic hiring efforts.
• Strengthen employer branding to appeal to both local and international candidates.
• Improve recruitment processes for quality, speed, and candidate experience.
• Build and maintain relationships with executive search firms, universities, and professional communities.

Performance management

• Design and refine performance management systems and tools.
• Oversee goal setting, reviews, calibration, and succession planning activities.
• Support leaders in identifying and developing high-potential talent.
• Introduce reward and recognition programs tied to business results.

Learning and leadership development

• Develop programs that grow leadership strength and support succession planning.
• Identify capability gaps and launch focused learning interventions.
• Build career progression routes and broader talent development frameworks.
• Encourage a culture of continuous learning throughout the organization.

Compensation and benefits

• Lead pay reviews to ensure market competitiveness and fairness internally.
• Shape salary structures, incentive plans, and long-term reward arrangements.
• Benchmark compensation against market data in Qatar and the GCC.
• Manage employee benefits and wellbeing initiatives.

Employee relations

• Promote accountability, teamwork, and inclusion across the workforce.
• Advise on employee relations issues, including investigations, grievances, and disciplinary matters.
• Guide managers on performance handling and workplace concerns.
• Support employee wellbeing and engagement activities.

HR operations and compliance

• Ensure all HR practices comply with Qatar Labour Law and related employment regulations.
• Maintain HR policies, procedures, governance, and employee records.
• Oversee payroll coordination, employment contracts, onboarding, offboarding, and general HR administration.
• Handle interaction with government authorities on employment-related matters when necessary.

Organizational development

• Lead restructuring and organizational design projects.
• Support business transformation through change management initiatives.
• Improve organizational efficiency through process enhancements.
• Create competency frameworks and career architecture models.

HR technology and analytics

• Drive optimization of HR systems and digital transformation efforts.
• Use workforce data to support executive decisions.
• Develop HR dashboards covering turnover, engagement, hiring, diversity, and productivity.
• Increase automation across HR workflows.

Leadership responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and grow the HR team.
• Set departmental goals and KPIs.
• Manage budgets and external service providers.
• Encourage strong collaboration with all business functions.

Qualifications and experience

• A bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Psychology, or a similar field is required.
• A master’s degree or MBA is preferred.
• Professional certification such as SHRM-SCP, SPHR, CIPD Level 7, or an equivalent credential is highly desirable.
• You should bring 10–15+ years of progressive HR experience.
• At least 5 years of experience leading an HR function is needed.
• Experience in banking, financial services, investment management, professional services, or large multinational organizations is preferred.
• Prior exposure to executive leadership partnerships and large-scale transformation programs is expected.

Technical knowledge

• Strong understanding of Qatar Labour Law and employment regulations.
• Hands-on experience in talent acquisition and executive search.
• Knowledge of workforce planning and organizational design.
• Working familiarity with compensation and benefits practices.
• Experience with performance management frameworks and systems.
• Background in learning, leadership development, and employee engagement.
• Understanding of HR governance and policy creation.
• Exposure to HRIS platforms such as SAP SuccessFactors, Oracle HCM, Microsoft Dynamics HR, Workday, or similar systems.
• Ability to work with HR data, reporting, and analytics.

Core competencies

• Strategic thinking and commercial awareness.
• Executive presence and strong influence skills.
• Stakeholder management and relationship building.
• Leadership in organizational development and change.
• Negotiation, conflict resolution, and problem solving.
• Clear communication and strong presentation ability.
• Coaching, mentoring, and team development.
• High levels of integrity, discretion, and confidentiality.

Success outcomes

• Build a strong workforce that is aligned with business strategy.
• Raise employee engagement and retention levels.
• Shorten hiring cycles while improving the quality of hires.
• Strengthen leadership capability across the business.
• Ensure full compliance with employment laws and governance requirements.
• Improve organizational effectiveness through people, culture, and technology.
• Establish HR as a trusted strategic partner for sustainable growth.

Additional context for regulated financial institutions

For a role within an investment bank or similarly regulated financial institution in Qatar, the scope may also include reporting to a Human Capital Committee and the Board, handling regulatory engagement, overseeing fit-and-proper expectations, supporting remuneration governance, designing executive pay and incentive plans, managing succession planning for senior leaders and key control roles, and leading culture, conduct, and organizational risk initiatives.