Abdullah Aljehani

Promoted into a key leadership role, with oversight of shared services, incorporating HR, procurement, IT, finance and operations and a remit to target operational efficiency, technology advancement and business performance. Additional responsibility for identifying new business opportunities, representing the company to clients, managing relationships with a range of corporate and governmental stakeholders and driving business performance, while deputizing for the GM as required.
• Motivated and led a centralized operations team of 14 divisional and departmental heads; coached and mentored colleagues at all levels, strengthening capabilities across a range of competencies and facilitating achievement of individual and collective KPIs.
• Reduced staffing and administration costs by 34%; transferred SASs back office to Egypt, while retaining sales and design in KSA. Conducted comprehensive planning, introducing offshoring to minimize overheads while maintaining standards.
• Collected 48% of outstanding bad debts; created a cross-functional team to identify problem accounts and devise a robust methodology and processes for the resolution of unpaid amounts, with the balance handed to the legal department.
• Facilitated 11% increase in revenue; partnered with the GM to ideate and establish a new business division, specializing in gas distribution, with 3 new lines of business, appealing to a broader client base.
• Enabled delivery of a key SAR 150M project; led procurement activities to ensure timely delivery of materials, equipment and services, safeguarding project schedules and compliance with contractual obligations.

Joined initially as a Consultant, before being invited to lead the firms HR and Administration across 3 Saudi branches in 2019, leading the implementation of structured HR policies, procedures and systems to ensure availability of required headcount, skills and experience to meet current and future business needs. Additional responsibility for business planning and budgeting, implementing HR plans, policies, and practices to ensure talent availability, while benchmarking compensation and benefits to optimize the reward function and the creation of learning and development plans.
• Managed a multicultural team of 31, exceeding all HR KPIs; introduced multiple upgrades to a range of functions across HR, transforming performance and establishing benchmarking to optimize remuneration and rewards throughout the firm.
• Identified and developed future executive leaders for the firm from within the existing workforce;
rolled out an aggressive program of career development for the first time for high potential employees, linked to their performance appraisals and offering numerous upskilling opportunities within a highly technical industry sector.
• Improved learning and development offering for employees at all levels, boosting skills within the workforce; recognized knowledge gaps and requirements, building robust training opportunities for the wider team in alignment with the groups corporate objectives, additionally growing employee engagement to enhance productivity.
• Decreased staff turnover rate from 19% to 7%; introduced exit interviews, analyzing data to discover core problems. Brought in structured succession planning, new HR policies and improved training to minimize staff losses. Reviewed compensation and benefits annually to ensure adequacy against market competitors.
• Saved up to 40% in hiring costs and improved service levels from recruitment consultants;
onboarded overseas recruiters in Egypt, the Philippines and Pakistan to plug gaps in the workforce with qualified candidates at a lower cost.
• Achieved a Platinum Saudization rate (NETAQAT), improving from a Low Green score, ahead of schedule; designed 360-degree solution, working with universities and job fairs to attract high quality Saudi nationals to the firm, while proactively working to identify roadblocks and upcoming regulatory requirements.
- Exceeded rates for all new Saudization programs in the Engineering, Technician, Accounting and Marketing categories.
• Drove operational efficiencies across HR, saving time and cost and strengthening scalability;
automated HR procedures, replacing inherited manual processes to allow improved access to data, alongside more accurate information to inform decision making.
• Ensured alignment with the most recent legislation and regulatory requirements; tracked upcoming amendments to workplace rules, devising workable solutions to guarantee problem free business activities.

Recruited initially as Assistant Manager Site HR and Administration, securing rapid promotion to Manager in 2016, with responsibility for a team of 44 employees. Accountable for talent acquisition and management, organizational development, manpower planning, reward management, payroll, compensation and benefits and employee engagement.
• Downsized payroll and benefits administration costs by 30%; renegotiated terms of business and fees with third party providers to optimize expenses, while raising service standards.
• Introduced wages protection and other Saudi Labor rules to the firm; ensured transparent and compliant HR policies and procedures for employees at all levels.
• Broadened the candidate pool for hiring new employees; devised competitive and cost-effective strategies for recruiting diverse talent across all areas of specialization.
• Accelerated salary processing for site employees; led key project to open bank accounts and introduce direct salary transfer for manual workers, replacing the old cheque deposit scheme in less than 2 months.
• Influenced decision making at the highest level; introduced a range of new data sources for the executive team, analyzing key HR metrics and KPIs, including cost per hire, turnover, performance and potential to enable evaluation of business choices.