Senior Group HR Leader

Location: Doha, Qatar

Industry: Diversified Business Group

Reporting To: Group Chief Executive Officer

About the Role

A diversified and growing business group in Qatar is looking to appoint a senior Group HR leader to oversee and strengthen its people, HR governance, employee services, compensation and benefits, and government-related HR operations across multiple business units.

This is a strategic leadership position suited to an HR professional who has operated in a multi-business or multi-entity environment and can combine strong strategic thinking with hands-on understanding of HR operations, local regulatory requirements, and government processes.

The successful candidate will work closely with the Group CEO and senior business leadership to build a more integrated and professional HR platform, support organizational growth, strengthen talent and leadership capabilities, and ensure robust HR governance across the organization.

Experience within FMCG/consumer-facing businesses is strongly preferred, while exposure to sectors such as hospitality, retail, property, or other diversified businesses would be an advantage.

Key Areas of Responsibility

1. Group HR Strategy

• Develop and execute a Group-level people strategy aligned with business priorities and future growth plans.
• Establish consistent HR frameworks, policies and processes across different businesses while allowing for operational differences between entities.
• Serve as a trusted HR advisor to the Group CEO and senior business leadership.
• Support organizational design, manpower planning, succession planning and leadership development.
• Introduce appropriate HR metrics, dashboards and management reporting.
• Drive greater consistency, professionalism and accountability across the Group’s HR practices.
• Ensure HR initiatives contribute directly to business performance and organizational effectiveness.

2. Talent & Organizational Development

• Develop workforce planning and talent strategies across the Group.
• Oversee hiring strategies for senior, specialist and business-critical positions.
• Strengthen succession planning and internal talent development.
• Build sustainable talent pipelines through local and international recruitment.
• Support leadership development and management capability-building initiatives.
• Advise senior management on organizational structures, key appointments and workforce requirements.
• Develop initiatives to improve employee engagement, retention and career progression.

3. Compensation, Benefits & Rewards

• Lead the development and ongoing review of Group-wide compensation structures.
• Establish appropriate salary bands, grades and reward frameworks.
• Conduct market benchmarking across Qatar and relevant GCC markets.
• Develop annual salary review and incentive processes.
• Review senior management and executive compensation in partnership with leadership.
• Ensure remuneration practices maintain appropriate levels of market competitiveness and internal equity.
• Oversee policies relating to allowances, benefits, insurance, end-of-service provisions and other employee benefits.

4. Performance & Employee Development

• Introduce or enhance a structured performance management framework.
• Establish measurable objectives and KPIs across functions and business units.
• Support leadership and management development programmes.
• Identify high-potential employees and develop appropriate career pathways.
• Promote a culture focused on accountability, performance and continuous improvement.
• Ensure learning and development initiatives are aligned with actual business requirements.

5. Qatar HR & Regulatory Compliance

• Provide leadership and oversight of employment-related regulatory compliance across the Group.
• Ensure appropriate compliance with applicable labour, immigration and residency requirements.
• Oversee work permits, visas, employee documentation and related government approvals.
• Monitor relevant regulatory developments and advise leadership on their potential impact.
• Ensure timely renewal of licences, registrations, permits and other applicable documentation.
• Establish appropriate compliance monitoring, reporting and escalation mechanisms.
• Maintain accurate records and documentation to support internal and external audits.

6. Government Relations & PRO

• Oversee the Group’s PRO and government relations activities.
• Build an efficient and structured government services function supporting multiple business entities.
• Ensure smooth processing of visas, work permits, residency documentation and other government requirements.
• Maintain effective working relationships with relevant government authorities.
• Ensure business units receive timely and consistent government-related support.
• Establish systems for tracking renewals, documentation and regulatory deadlines.
• Manage external PRO/service providers where applicable and monitor service quality.
• Identify opportunities to simplify, centralize and digitize government-related processes.

7. HR Systems, Policies & Analytics

• Establish and maintain a comprehensive HR policy and governance framework.
• Review existing HR processes and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Lead the effective use and enhancement of HR technology and HRIS platforms.
• Develop meaningful HR analytics and management reporting.
• Provide regular reporting on workforce size, recruitment, turnover, compensation, absenteeism, performance and other relevant metrics.
• Strengthen HR controls, documentation and process governance.
• Support wider technology, ERP and business transformation initiatives where HR is involved.

8. Employee Relations

• Provide senior-level guidance on complex employee relations matters.
• Ensure disciplinary and grievance processes are handled fairly, consistently and in accordance with applicable regulations.
• Advise senior management on sensitive people-related issues.
• Proactively manage employment-related risks.
• Promote a professional, respectful and performance-oriented workplace culture.

9. HR Team Leadership

• Lead and develop the Group HR team and associated employee services functions.
• Establish clear objectives, KPIs and service standards.
• Determine which HR activities should be centralized at Group level and which should remain within individual businesses.
• Build a responsive, commercially focused and service-oriented HR function.
• Develop the capability of the HR team and strengthen succession within the function.

Candidate Requirements

Essential Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Management or a related discipline.
• 10–15+ years of progressive HR experience, including substantial exposure to senior HR leadership.
• Strong experience within FMCG, consumer goods, retail or a similarly operationally intensive industry.
• GCC/Middle East experience is essential, with Qatar experience highly desirable.
• Strong understanding of GCC employment, immigration and government-related HR requirements.
• Demonstrated experience managing compensation and benefits across a sizeable or multi-entity organization.
• Experience overseeing PRO, government relations and employee documentation functions.
• Proven track record of establishing or improving HR policies, processes, systems and governance.
• Strong exposure to organizational development, workforce planning and talent management.
• Experience working directly with CEOs, business owners, senior executives and government stakeholders.
• Strong commercial orientation with the ability to connect HR initiatives to business objectives.
• Fluency in both Arabic and English is essential.

Desirable Background

Candidates with some of the following exposure will be particularly well suited:

• Hospitality, hotels or leisure businesses.
• Real estate or property businesses.
• Diversified or multi-business groups.
• Family-owned organizations.
• Organizations operating across multiple legal entities.
• HRIS/ERP implementation or transformation projects.
• Organizational restructuring, business transformation or rapid-growth environments.

Key Attributes

The ideal candidate will be:

• A strategic yet hands-on HR leader.
• Commercially minded and business-oriented.
• Comfortable operating with owners, CEOs and senior management.
• Strong in stakeholder management and influencing.
• Knowledgeable about GCC employment and government processes.
• Capable of bringing structure and consistency to a growing organization.
• Comfortable managing both strategic HR initiatives and operational matters.
• A strong people leader with high levels of integrity, discretion and professionalism.

This is a senior leadership opportunity for an HR professional looking to take ownership of the people agenda across a diversified organization in Qatar.