Senior Manager – HR Policies & Employee Relations
- Dubai
- Permanent
- Full-time
IFS is a network of specialist support professionals, which includes Clients & Markets, Finance, Human Capital (HC), Marketing & Communications, Office Management, Risk & Quality, Technology, to name but a few. Each function plays a vital role in making sure we have all the right resources, services and technology across our business.Job Summary:We value every individual's role in shaping our future. We're looking for candidates who excel in their roles and embody our core behaviors of Trusted Leadership and Distinctive Outcomes. Trusted Leadership focuses on building trust, delivering sustained results, and showing courage and honesty. Distinctive Outcomes emphasize excellence, collaboration, and inclusiveness. We seek self-aware, collaborative individuals committed to continuous learning and delivering quality and integrity.As a senior member of the People Experience function, you will lead the design, implementation, and governance of employee relations practices and people policies across the region. This role blends strategic advisory, policy transformation, and employee relations leadership, ensuring our policies and practices are not only compliant and risk-managed, but also clear, accessible, and people-centric.You will serve as a trusted advisor to senior leadership, balancing firm reputation and compliance requirements with the employee experience. With a strong focus on simplification, consistency, and proactive culture-building, you will ensure our firm remains a great place to work while meeting regulatory and governance standards.Key Responsibilities:Employee Relations (ER)
- Provide strategic advisory on complex and sensitive employee relations matters, including grievances, investigations, disciplinary cases, counselling, and terminations
- Lead and coach the HC team in conducting investigations, ensuring fairness, consistency, and timeliness
- Partner with Ethics, Legal, and Risk teams to manage high-risk cases and ensure alignment with labor law, firm values, and code of conduct
- Introduce proactive ER initiatives (manager training, awareness sessions, ER toolkits) to prevent issues and strengthen trust and culture
- Oversee ER analytics and reporting, identifying trends and recommending actions that enhance employee experience and mitigate risk
- Lead the design, revamp, and simplification of people policies, ensuring they are globally aligned, locally compliant, accessible, and written in clear, inclusive language
- Digitize and centralize policy access, improving visibility and usability across the region
- Stay abreast of regional labor law changes; act as the focal point for communicating and embedding regulatory updates into policies and practices
- Serve as the point of contact for all HC-related internal and external audits.
- Ensure policies reinforce the firm’s values, culture, and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion
- Establish and maintain operating procedures, governance frameworks, and reporting dashboards for ER and policy compliance.
- Use data and employee feedback to continuously improve policies and ER processes
- Connect ER and policy insights to broader People Experience initiatives (engagement, well-being, onboarding) to enhance the overall employee lifecycle
- Partner with senior stakeholders to balance business needs, employee experience, and compliance
- 12+ years of progressive experience in Human Capital (HC), HC Governance, or Compliance, preferably within multinational or matrixed organizations
- 5 years in a senior leadership role, with proven experience in policy design, compliance strategy, and cross-functional collaboration
- Proven hands-on experience managing complex and sensitive employment matters, including investigations and litigation cases
- Deep knowledge of labor laws across the Middle East region (UAE, KSA, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon, Libya, Egypt, Qatar)
- Strong ability to influence senior stakeholders and act as a trusted advisor
- Experience in simplifying, digitizing, and modernizing HR policies
- Data-driven mindset with strong analytical skills, combined with sensitivity to employee experience and firm reputation
- Ability to build credible rapport with leadership and employees, and to manage situations requiring discretion and trust
- Fluency in English & Arabic
- Demonstrates thought leadership in Human Capital (HC) policies and compliance, setting a high standard for ethical conduct and governance
- Cultivates a culture of integrity and transparency across all levels of the organization
- Communicates complex policy matters with clarity and conviction, inspiring trust and confidence among stakeholders
- Encourages ownership and accountability by fostering a compliance-first mindset
- Continuously monitors regulatory changes and industry trends to ensure policies remain current, relevant, and future-ready
- Drives innovation in compliance practices through digital tools, automation, and data-driven insights
- Advocates for fair and inclusive workplace practices through robust policy frameworks
- Establishes strong cross-functional partnerships with Legal, Risk, Audit, and HR teams to ensure seamless policy implementation
- Builds scalable compliance frameworks that support regional and global expansion