Head of People & Culture (m/f/d)

We are seeking a visionary Head of People & Culture to shape the future of how people, culture, and organisations evolve. This is not a traditional HR role - it is a senior leadership position for someone who sees people strategy as a driver of creativity, performance and competitive advantage.
 
You will be responsible for designing bold, modern People & Culture approaches across the UAE, KSA, and Europe, helping the organisation move into the next era of growth. This role is ideal for someone who has challenged conventions, built progressive people models and helped organisations do things they had never done before.
 
Operational excellence matters - but it is not the core of this role. We are looking for a strategic thinker, culture shaper and organisational innovator who can reimagine what People & Culture can be.
 
Your key focus areas will be:
 
Culture & Organisational Evolution

• Act as a culture architect, defining and evolving values, behaviours and ways of working
• Design people experiences that enable trust, creativity, accountability and high performance
• Push the organisation toward more modern, progressive, and future-ready people practices

Strategic Leadership

• Being part of the leadership board, partner with senior management as a strategic advisor on organisational design, growth and culture
• Translate business ambition into people strategies that unlock long-term performance
• Influence at the highest levels, shaping how leadership thinks about people and culture

Innovation in People & Culture

• Introduce bold ideas, frameworks and systems that move beyond traditional HR models
• Challenge legacy thinking and experiment with new approaches to performance, engagement and growth
• Build people systems that are scalable, human-centred and data-informed, not bureaucratic

Leadership Enablement

• Coach and enable leaders to lead teams with confidence, empathy and clarity
• Build leadership capability in managing performance, change and growth
• Foster psychological safety, ownership and accountability across the organisation

Governance (Supported, Not Central)

• Oversee People & Culture operations at a strategic level, with execution managed by your team 
• Ensure compliance frameworks exist across regions without becoming compliance-led or process-heavy
• Balance freedom and structure - keeping systems light, pragmatic and trust-based

This role is for thought leaders, not traditional HR operators.
You are likely someone who:

• Has led People & Culture, Organisational Development or similar functions in progressive, creative or fast-evolving organisations
• Has introduced people practices or cultural shifts that didn’t previously exist in the organisation
• Thinks in systems, narratives and long-term impact - not just policies and processes
• Is comfortable challenging leadership, asking difficult questions and pushing boundaries
• Sees people strategy as a creative and strategic discipline, not an administrative one

Experience & Perspective
- Experience working with or across the UAE, KSA, Germany is valuable, but deep technical labour law expertise is not the priority
- Regional labour law knowledge can be supported by specialists - vision, strategy and leadership cannot
- Background in creative, experiential, project-based or innovation-driven environments is a strong advantage

Capabilities
- Strong strategic thinking with the ability to translate vision into action
- High emotional intelligence and influence at senior levels
- Excellent communication, storytelling, and alignment skills
- Comfortable navigating ambiguity, growth, and transformation

Mindset
- Curious, bold and experimental
- Willing to try, test, learn and evolve
- Motivated by building something meaningful rather than maintaining the status quo