Nujood El Malik

• Led the People & Culture function across 4 GCC countries (the UAE, Oman, Qatar, and KSA), reporting directly to the CEO and managing a team of 6 HR and administration
professionals across multi-country operations while serving as a member of the senior management team.
• Developed and executed a 3-year People & Culture Strategy, addressing business growth, governance strengthening, and regional expansion across the GCC.
• Designed a full HR department business model, defining the operating structure, service delivery framework, KPIs, governance matrix, and transformation roadmap.
• Conducted an HR maturity assessment identifying structural, digital, compliance, and capability gaps, and built a 3-year phased improvement plan.
• Authored HR policies and procedures for the UAE, Oman, Qatar, and KSA, covering recruitment and workforce planning, performance management, compensation and
benefits, and commission and incentive frameworks.
• Introduced and embedded the companys culture principles (CLR) to foster a growth mindset and bring organizational values to life. This was achieved through conducting a
culture assessment, including employee surveys and people readiness analysis, and tailoring the cultural model to ensure a meaningful shift across the organization.
• Enabled expansion into KSA by developing compliant workforce frameworks, leading recruitment and onboarding.
• Authored disciplinary and grievance procedures, promotion and grade structures, WFH and hybrid guidelines, and Emiratization and Saudization compliance policies.
• Prevented over 1M AED in potential compliance fines through regulatory governance controls and multi-country labor law adherence across all 4 operating countries.
• Led an executive-level HRMS vendor evaluation comparing Odoo, ZingHR, and regional providers across payroll, recruitment, performance, and employee self-service,
assessing multi-country compliance requirements, scalability, risk, ROI, and budget forecasting, and developed a full implementation and change management roadmap.
• Launched DG Academy, a regional capability-building platform, and introduced the Qiyada Leadership Program incorporating 360 assessments and executive coaching.
• Led the complete redesign of the organizational structure, embedding a performance culture using OKRs and a competency-based evaluation system across the group.
• Designed a GCC-benchmarked C&B strategy with formalized grade structures, salary bands, and the DG-Stars monetary and non-monetary recognition program.
• Reduced recruitment cost leakage by over 500 AED per hire and over 100K AED annually through vendor restructuring and improved workforce forecasting practices.
• Designed the Growth Program learning strategy, including a leadership development pathway, high-potential program, annual training calendar, and eligibility framework.
• Implemented an integrated OKR and competency performance framework structured at 60% behavior and 40% KPIs, linked to Balanced Scorecard cascading.
• Reduced employee turnover by 20% within 12 months through targeted retention initiatives and structured workforce planning and forecasting disciplines.
• Built AI-driven HR workflows using advanced prompting and structured logic, reducing manual HR documentation workload by approximately 30-40% across the function.
• Delivered engagement and communication initiatives to drive change readiness and strengthen the employee experience.
• Introduced succession planning and talent identification frameworks to support the future leadership pipeline across all GCC operations.
• Designed governance frameworks for promotions, salary reviews, and performance decisions, ensuring data-driven approvals by the executive committee and the board.

• Progressed through 5 internal promotions over a 12-year tenure, advancing through the positions of Office Clerk, HR Officer, HR Executive, Senior HR Executive, and HR
Generalist before reaching the role of Assistant HR Manager.
• Led the HR function for Dubai Investment Real Estate Company and Mojama Association Company, managing 350 employees and overseeing a team of 5 HR professionals.
• Managed group-level projects covering grade structure development, competency framework creation, HR system implementation, budgeting, and payroll oversight.
• Established a new HR function from scratch for Al Mujama Association Company, administering all HR workflows and projects for 2 subsidiaries with 300 employees.
• Reduced employee turnover by 15% from 25% to 10% within 2 years through targeted engagement, recognition, and retention initiatives across the organization.
• Increased the employee engagement rate by 20% from 60% to 80% within 2 years through cultural development programs and recognition initiatives.
• Implemented the Mercer job grading framework across the group, conducting multiple analyses used for organizational development and key business decision-making.
• Introduced and managed a new grade structure integrating both internal equity and market insights to ensure fair and competitive compensation across subsidiaries.
• Designed a performance management system integrating MBOs and KPIs, structured in line with the newly introduced grade structure across the group.
• Developed a competency framework across the group using the SHL UCF methodology for performance evaluation and talent management purposes.
• Standardized payroll governance and HR workflows across all group entities, increasing payroll processing efficiency and consistency throughout the subsidiaries.
• Supported the CHRO in drafting and implementing HR policies across 11+ companies within the Dubai Investments group portfolio.
• Implemented Total Rewards programs, learning and development initiatives, recognition schemes, and succession planning across the HR function.
• Managed complex employee relations and compliance cases, maintaining operational compliance with UAE labor law and regulatory requirements.