Director of Human Resources
Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority
Total years of experience :24 years, 8 months
The QFC Regulatory Authority (RA) authorises and regulates banking, insurance, and asset management firms operating in the Qatar Financial Centre to ensure financial stability
Headed the HR function in a multicultural environment (23 nationalities) with full accountability for HR
Established the HR function and supporting infrastructure from a start-up environment
Achieved recruitment goals in each year, within budget, including Managing Director and “C” level roles
Designed an employee development programme achieving annual training targets in each year
Lead succession planning, identifying risks and opportunities and taking action
Developed and implemented a fully integrated competency framework for financial services regulators
Implemented a new remuneration system in 2010, reducing cost and risk through the reclassification of expatriate employees (from 65% to 20% of the population), achieving 100% retention
Created efficiency through an HR Business Partner model and easy-to-use self-service IT platforms
Implemented a continuous improvement programme based upon a core Employee Engagement Survey delivering an overall approval rate of 75 - 80% in each year
Managed the Business Continuity Plan, HR risk register, and HR compliance. All HR systems and processes were confirmed through annual audit to be accurate, secure, and reliable
Managed expatriate relocations (100+ moves) including a PRO function processing more than 700 immigration transactions annually with an automated document tracking database
Set a nationalization strategy, gained leadership support, and managed its implementation achieving annual targets through structured development plans for interns, graduates, and experienced employees
Outsourced HR processes. Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) planned for 2014
Consulted for the Central Bank of Qatar and the Financial Markets Development Committee of Qatar. Projects included: harmonization of HR practices in the regulatory bodies, creation of a competency framework for the financial services industry, forming a centraised training institute, establishment of the Financial Services Risk Control Committee, training and certification of insurance supervisors, and drafting the HR Strategy section of Qatar’s Regulatory Strategy for Financial Services, to be published in 2013
•Managed the HR function (recruitment, training, ER, C&B, Performance Management) and a team of two for the Retail Properties Division (33 neighborhood shopping centers, three regional shopping malls)
•Provided generalist regional HR support for 235 employees and reported to the Vice President of HR
•Managed the merger of two third party real estate management companies and to transition 186 employees in-house. This process required the coordination of over 400 interviews, benefit plan analysis, and the timely and accurate distribution of offers to candidates at satellite locations
•Functioned as the HR project manager for the selection and successful implementation of an automated timekeeping system for all hourly employees across all divisions
•Participated in the development of enterprise-wide HR policy and strategy in conjunction with the Sr. Vice President of HR and three Vice Presidents of HR
•Shared responsibility with one HR Representative for all generalist support for the Oakley world headquarters consisting of 1, 500 corporate and manufacturing employees
•Independently managed the HR function for a growing chain of national retail stores (28 Stores with 285 employees in 13 US states and $53 Million in sales in 2003)
•Managed outsourced staffing contracts for manufacturing, administrative, and retail roles.
•Developed and administered the new employee orientation to all employees in English and Spanish
•Identified the opportunity to cut costs and successfully negotiated a savings of $120, 000 in 2003 by consolidating staffing vendors and renegotiating contracts
Minor in Spanish (6 month program in Spain)