Executive Director - Organisation Effectiveness

Established in 2004, Dubai Holding is a global investment company with investments in more than 34 countries and a combined workforce of nearly 45,000 individuals. In line with the vision of Dubai’s leadership and economic diversification strategy, Dubai Holding companies have nurtured sectors, irrevocably transforming Dubai’s socio-economic landscape and positioning Dubai as a diversified, globally integrated economy.

Dubai Holding is committed to the diversification of Dubai’s non-oil economy. Our portfolio, valued at over AED 284+ billion, spans 10 sectors, including real estate, hospitality, leisure & entertainment, ICT, design, education, media, retail, manufacturing & logistics, and science.

For the Good of Tomorrow

Dubai Holding is looking to hire an Executive Director – Organisation Effectiveness at Dubai Holding. The role holder is responsible for leading the Organisation Effectiveness function across the Group, ensuring that organisation structures, workforce plans, job architecture and people governance enable the delivery of business strategy efficiently and sustainably. The role holder sets the Group’s approach to organisation design, workforce planning, job evaluation and people analytics, and acts as the principal advisor to the Group Chief People Officer and senior leadership on structural and workforce decisions.

The role leads Group-wide transformation and restructuring programmes, and the establishment of new entities and locations, translating strategic intent into practical structures, roles, headcount plans and implementation roadmaps. It also owns the governance mechanisms through which people decisions are made, including hiring controls, people scorecards and the formalisation of the People Strategy.

Through the Organisation Effectiveness team, the role ensures structural integrity, data accuracy and consistent application of Group frameworks across Dubai Holding Corporate, Dubai Holding Investments, InfraCo and the wider Group, supporting evidence-based decision-making and the long-term effectiveness of the organisation.

Key Accountabilities:

People Strategy & Governance

• Lead the documentation, formalisation and ongoing review of the People Strategy, ensuring alignment with Group strategic priorities
• Define and maintain people scorecards to track delivery of people priorities across the Group
• Oversee People Department budget management, ensuring spend is planned, monitored and aligned to agreed priorities
• Act as the approving authority for organisation effectiveness matters within delegated authority, escalating decisions with material financial, legal or reputational implications to the Group Chief People Officer and the Human Capital Committee
• Oversee the portfolio of DHC-cascaded People deliverables across all verticals, monitoring timeliness and quality of execution

Organisation Design & Transformation

• Set the Group’s organisation design principles and lead their application across corporate functions, verticals and portfolio entities
• Lead Group-wide restructuring, organisation design and headcount reviews, including activity analysis, service catalogue development and current- versus future-state structure design and costing
• Lead the people and organisational workstreams of major transformation programmes, including assessment of the workforce impact of AI and automation
• Lead the human capital aspects of establishing new entities and international locations, including structure, policies, reward and hiring models
• Review and approve proposed structure changes across the Group, ensuring alignment with design principles, grading conventions and budget

Job Architecture, Evaluation & Frameworks

• Own the Group’s job architecture, including job family definitions, associated competencies and skills, role titling conventions and grading structure
• Govern the job evaluation process, ensuring roles are graded consistently against the Group framework and internal parity is maintained
• Set the standard for job descriptions across the Group and oversee their drafting, review and alignment

Workforce Planning & Hiring Governance

• Lead the Group workforce planning framework, working with Finance and business leaders to align headcount with business plans and approved budgets
• Govern Group hiring controls, including hiring freeze exceptions, unbudgeted hiring and rehire requests, providing recommendations to senior leadership
• Oversee regular vacancy reviews with Talent Acquisition to ensure hiring remains aligned with approved structures and priorities
• Lead the review of contingent workforce processes, systems and vendor arrangements to strengthen control, compliance and value for money
• Support succession planning by providing structural and workforce insight on critical roles

People Data, Analytics & Reporting

• Own the integrity of Group structure and people data, including monthly data reconciliation and organisation chart maintenance across entities
• Oversee management reporting and the annual People report
• Lead the people analytics agenda, ensuring workforce insight informs leadership decisions and Group submissions
• Drive the use of technology, including HR systems, employee self-service and AI-enabled tools, to improve the efficiency and quality of organisation effectiveness processes

Stakeholder Management & Advisory

• Act as the principal advisor to the Group Chief People Officer and senior leadership on organisation design, workforce and structural matters
• Partner with People Department leadership to ensure organisation effectiveness frameworks are embedded across talent acquisition, reward and talent development
• Build strong relationships with business leaders to anticipate structural needs and shape solutions early
• Manage external consultants and specialist advisors engaged on organisation effectiveness initiatives
• Represent organisation effectiveness at senior governance forums and Group-wide engagement events

People Management

• Lead, develop and motivate the Organisation Effectiveness team, setting clear objectives and managing performance
• Allocate resources across project and business-as-usual demand to ensure timely, high-quality delivery
• Build team capability in organisation design, job evaluation, workforce analytics and the use of AI-enabled tools
• Foster a culture of rigour, objectivity and continuous improvement within the team

What we’re looking for:

• 12–15 years of experience in organisation design, organisation effectiveness, workforce planning or HR strategy, including significant experience in a senior leadership role
• Demonstrated experience leading large-scale restructuring and transformation programmes within complex, multi-entity or diversified groups
• Experience advising executive leadership and governance committees on structural and workforce decisions
• Experience in a management consultancy or professional services firm is advantageous

Education/Professional Certification:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Human Resources, Organisational Psychology or a related discipline from an accredited and recognised university; Master’s degree preferred
• Professional certification in HR or organisation design (e.g. CIPD Level 7, SHRM-SCP) or job evaluation methodology (e.g. Aon or Mercer) is advantageous

Technical Competencies:

• Expert knowledge of organisation design methodologies, operating model design and activity analysis
• Expert knowledge of job evaluation methodology, job architecture and grading frameworks
• Strong understanding of workforce planning, headcount budgeting and people cost modelling
• Strong understanding of competency and skills frameworks and their application across the employee lifecycle
• Advanced people analytics and data capability, with experience of HR systems and AI-enabled tools

Behavioural Competencies:

• Customer focus – anticipates the needs of senior leaders and the business, and shapes solutions that balance business needs with Group frameworks
• Results orientation – sets ambitious standards and holds self and team accountable for timely, high-quality outcomes
• Business awareness – applies a deep understanding of Group strategy, finances and operations to structural decisions
• Curious & creative – challenges established practice and applies new thinking, including AI, to organisation effectiveness
• Sense of urgency – responds decisively to business-critical structural and workforce matters
• Adaptability & flexibility – leads effectively through ambiguity, competing priorities and organisational change
• Builds relationships – earns the trust of executive stakeholders and influences decisions without relying on formal authority
• Empowerment – delegates meaningfully, develops team capability and encourages ownership
• Problem solving & decision making – analyses complex, sensitive issues objectively and makes sound, well-evidenced recommendations
• Planning and organising – manages a broad portfolio of projects and business-as-usual demand to agreed priorities
• Communication skills – conveys complex structural and workforce analysis clearly and persuasively to executive audiences
• Teamwork – works collaboratively across the People Department and the wider Group towards shared outcomes

As much as we would be delighted to entertain all applicants, due to the high volumes of applications, only successful applicants will be contacted within 14 business days.

This job description is not all inclusive. Dubai Holding reserves the right to amend this job description at any time. Dubai Holding is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to a diverse and inclusive work environment.