Employee Relations Manager

Our client is a leading global consulting firm, helping the world's top businesses, governments and organizations. Looking for a new "Employee Relations Manager" covering Middle East region.

This position reports to the Head of Employee Relations



Primary duties and responsibilities

Functional Responsibilities

• Responsible in ensuring all GCC (UAE, Saudi and Qatar) employment inquiries are addressed in a timely manner through mandate of the team
• Establish solid relationships with professional network of contacts with GCC governmental stakeholders (entities, pension plans, etc...) to stay updated on GCC employment regulations and resolve any issues
• Ensure staff employment compliance with local UAE, Saudi employment and Qatari regulations as per our legal entity setup. Maintain an updated view on changes related to the employment regulation in the GCC and manage projects across stakeholders (external and internal such as finance/accounting/technology) to this end
• Manage ME pension plan programs for client staff in the ME. Act as the point of contact with the ME pension plan counterparts. Maintain tracking sheet, open accounts for new joiners, upload distribution figures on pension system, verify leavers application, validate leaver statement, validate eligible staff data with the finance department, track invoices and payments
• Supervise the DEWS (DIFC Employee Workplace Savings Plan) implementation and process. Closely coordinate with the payroll team to enroll new joiners, terminate leaver, track leave of absence, transfers between offices. Liaise and coordinate with the pension authorities at DEWS as required and update HR management with new announcements/developments
• Supervise the GCC pension plan for GCC nationals working with UAE entities, new joiners enrolment, terminations, issuance of labour agreements, government system requirements. Review figures with the finance department, liaise and coordinate with the pension authorities in GCC as required
• Manage the inter-firm relocations across different offices; securing approval as per eligibility criteria, onboarding, employment agreements, benefits, discharge letters
• Act as a reference for Employee Relations matters (inquiries, policies and procedures) within the GCC offices

Human Capital Team support and activities

• Supervise junior employee relations team members across tasks related to the employee relations managers responsibilities. Provide timely guidance and feedback. Effectively coach and develop team members and uphold their commitment to service quality. Review trackers and introduce dashboards to effectively track team members quality and productivity
• Handle employees employment matters in GCC offices including but not limited to breach of firm values, policies and procedures
• Act as the point of contact for data and documents to address audit inquiries and set action plans to address recommendations in Audit report
  Cover for HC team members where needed on new and existing tasks (i.e. Contractor process, reporting)
• Become a super-user on digital tools and promote digital mind-set among employee relations team

Customer:

• Liaise with the central employee relations team in effective implementation of all employee relations procedures and requirements
• Work towards being a high-quality internal service provider and ensure that all employee relations business support requirements on the ground in the GCC offices are being met
• Liaise with payroll and expenses teams on invoices related figures

Process:

• Adhere to processes and standards for service delivery and ensure their implementation
  
  
• Coordinate with relevant employee relations contacts to ensure timely and effective service delivery from the
  central HC team
  
  
• Investigate disciplinary matters and provide information to the concerned parties with regards to ethical and legal considerations
  
  
• Proactively identify and address the employee relations services needs for the offices 
• Suggest improvements to existing processes

Capability:

• Act as a subject matter expert on broad range of employee relations related questions/requirements and attend to queries
• Contribute to an environment of teamwork within the broader human resources team and support other areas as needed
• Act as a key resource and liaison to other functional areas of the business, building productive cross- functional relationships

Knowledge, skills, and abilities
Qualifications:

• University degree, specialization in Human Capital is a plus
  7-8 years of relevant experience covering GCC (UAE, KSA, Qatar) countries
  
  
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience of GCC employment laws, regulations, and immigration processes
  
  
• Exceptional knowledge of HC best practices and processes in the GCC

Skills:

• Excellent problem-solving capabilities. Ability to establish and deliver on project plan by breaking down high-level objectives to work activities/streams and driving action through self/owners
  
  
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
  
  
• Very good communication and interpersonal skills
  
  
• Ability to run cost-benefit analyses to assess options and provide recommendations
  
  
• Ability to operate independently with minimal supervision
  
  
• Ability to maintain highly confidential information