Group Human Resources Director

About j. awan & partners

j. awan & partners (JAP) is a global Governance, Risk and Compliance consultancy headquartered in Dubai International Financial Centre, with presence in multiple countries including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UK, Ireland, Singapore, Portugal, Pakistan, and South Africa. JAP supports financial institutions, governments, and professional services companies throughout the GCC and beyond with services such as regulatory advisory, outsourced compliance including AML/KYC, risk management, financial reporting, and recruitment. Their RegTech platform, azakaw, provides KYC/KYB onboarding, AML screening, transaction monitoring, and corporate compliance solutions globally.

Role Overview

The Group HR Director (People & Culture) leads the strategic and operational HR functions across all JAP jurisdictions. The primary focus is recruitment and retention: ensuring JAP has the optimal talent in appropriate roles and at high performance levels. This senior leadership role requires ownership of hiring pipelines, employer branding, and talent management systems throughout the expanding organization. The role involves measurable, data-driven outcomes rather than advisory or policy-only work, with quarterly performance tracking and a bonus tied to meeting key metrics.

12–18 Month Key Objectives

• Build qualified candidate pipelines within 14 days of role approval
• Achieve average time to offer of 30 days or less; time to productivity within 60 days
• Hire 80%+ "A Player" candidates based on 90-day manager assessments
• Ensure no approved role remains open beyond 60 days without CEO-escalated plan
• Maintain offer acceptance rates above 85% and candidate experience scoring over 4.0/5 at offer stage
• Establish and implement Employer Value Proposition (AP EVP) across sourcing channels within 90 days of appointment
• Ensure 100% employee KPI scorecards signed annually on schedule
• Complete all four quarterly performance reviews timely and in full with no missed reviews
• Address underperformers with formal improvement plans within 30 days of performance reviews
• Provide manager training in KPI setting and performance discussions with at least one calibration per review cycle
• Keep voluntary attrition below 10% annually, monitored quarterly by location, tenure, and role category
• Achieve biannual eNPS or equivalent pulse scores of 85+ with timely action plans for any below-threshold results
• Conduct 100% exit interviews and deliver root cause analysis reports within 5 days of departures
• Ensure new hires complete structured onboarding with 30/60/90-day manager check-ins
• Select, implement, and launch a Group HRIS by end Q2, with fully migrated core HR processes and elimination of manual workarounds
• Automate HR workflows in HRIS or connected systems with documented CEO-approved exceptions only
• Maintain 100% weekly timesheet compliance and process payroll with 99.5%+ accuracy and timeliness
• Provide quarterly HR technology health reports to Executive Committee, maintaining 98%+ data accuracy in employee records

Core Responsibilities

• Own full lifecycle group recruitment including job scorecards, sourcing campaigns, and timely hiring manager engagement
• Implement Topgrading's structured hiring methodology, training hiring managers within 60 days, and conducting tandem interviews for senior roles
• Deploy and manage an applicant tracking system (ATS) with AI-assisted sourcing and structured candidate assessments
• Drive employer brand and talent pipelines through partnerships with universities, professional bodies, and executive recruiters
• Manage quarterly KPI review cycles end-to-end with briefing, quality control, reporting, and escalation of underperformance
• Train managers in effective KPI setting and performance management conversations
• Design measurable culture initiatives including naming core values, tracking culture KPIs, and administering engagement surveys
• Coordinate biannual employee engagement surveys, analyze results, and implement improvement plans
• Lead a comprehensive onboarding program with regular managerial check-ins for new employees
• Champion firm-wide culture, recognition, wellbeing, and engagement programs across all locations
• Lead selection, vendor management, data migration, training, and go-live of HRIS and workflow automation
• Ensure payroll governance and accuracy in partnership with Finance teams
• Develop group-wide HR strategies aligned with business growth and multi-jurisdiction expansion plans
• Conduct workforce planning aligned to revenue and delivery capacity goals and manage succession for senior roles
• Provide strategic HR advice to CEO and Executive Committee on organizational design, change management, and leadership effectiveness
• Advise business heads on team design, workforce planning, and employee relations issues across jurisdictions
• Ensure compliance with labor laws in all operating jurisdictions and manage statutory and audit responsibilities
• Lead and develop the People & Culture team across regions through coaching, development, and cross-jurisdiction experience

Professional Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related discipline; Master’s preferred
• 8 to 15 years of direct HR leadership experience in professional services, consulting, or financial services
• Strong proven experience driving measurable hiring outcomes and managing quarterly KPI performance systems
• Hands-on experience with HRIS implementation at scale
• Topgrading certification or experience is highly preferred
• Strategic/board-level advisory experience alone is insufficient; practical operational ownership is required
• Certifications such as CIPD Level 7, SHRM-SCP, or equivalents advantageous
• Fluent English is required; Arabic language skills are a plus

Compensation and Growth Opportunities

• Competitive remuneration and benefits benchmarked for senior HR leaders
• Performance-based bonuses directly tied to measurable quarterly KPIs without discretionary adjustments
• Senior leadership role reporting directly to the CEO in a rapidly expanding international firm
• Global multi-jurisdiction exposure including GCC, UK, Singapore, and South Africa
• Ongoing professional development and continuous learning opportunities