Head of HR Middle East & North Africa

Role Purpose

• Strategic Business Partnership

• Act as a trusted advisor to the GM/CM and leadership team, contributing to critical business decisions
• Provide constructive challenge, using data, insight, and sound judgment to influence outcomes
• Develop deep understanding of commercial priorities, growth ambitions, and cost dynamics
• Align people strategy with business objectives to drive sustainable performance

• Organization Design & Future Readiness

• Design and continuously evolve organisational structures to support long-term growth
• Ensure clarity in roles, optimal spans and layers, and effective governance frameworks
• Translate global HR frameworks into pragmatic, locally relevant solutions

• Change & Transformation Leadership

• Lead the people agenda through change, ambiguity, and business transformation
• Support leadership transitions, restructuring initiatives, and capability building
• Foster a unified, high-performing Middle East leadership team
• Communicate transparently and credibly during periods of uncertainty

• Culture, Engagement & Psychological Safety

• Champion a psychologically safe, inclusive, and high-performance culture
• Enable open dialogue, upward feedback, and healthy challenge within teams
• Partner with leaders to strengthen leadership capability, trust, and engagement

• Talent, Careers & Capability Building

• Develop robust career pathways and talent development strategies
• Drive succession planning and build a strong leadership pipeline
• Balance expatriate and local talent development, with a strong localisation focus
• Strengthen organisational capability to meet future business needs

Your Profile

• Seasoned HR professional with 10 - 15 years of relevant experience
• Fluent in English (written and spoken)
• Proven HR leadership experience in UAE and Saudi Arabia
• Strong understanding of Middle East HR landscape, including:
• Labour laws and compliance
• Cultural and business context
• Experience within a global FMCG or comparable multinational organisation
• Demonstrated success operating in complex matrixed environments with multiple reporting lines
• Arabic language proficiency
• Experience supporting senior management or regional leadership teams
• Strong track record of influencing stakeholders without formal authority
• Exposure to North Africa markets (Egypt, Morocco)
• Commercially savvy and credible at senior leadership level
• Calm, resilient, and effective under pressure
• High emotional intelligence with strong cultural awareness
• Courageous in challenging decisions, balanced with sound judgment
• Able to balance performance focus with empathy and care
• Experience leading a small HR team (hands-on leadership style)
• At Beiersdorf, we want to help people feel good about their skin – and our commitment goes far beyond caring for skin.
• For 140 years, we have developed innovative skin and body care products for well-known brands such as NIVEA, Eucerin, La Prairie, Hansaplast, and Labello.
• We act according to our purpose, WE CARE BEYOND SKIN, and take responsibility for our consumers, our employees, the environment and society.
• Behind every brand, every product and every accomplishment are our more than 20,000 employees.
• It is for them that we live an inclusive culture of respect and trust that is strongly aligned with our values – CARE, COURAGE, SIMPLICITY and TRUST.
• We also embrace diversity by valuing the uniqueness of each individual and being committed to equal opportunities for all.

Additional Information