Edward Sheelam MBA SPHRi SHRM-CP ACIPD

TES is an holding company that owns and operates five international schools in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia & Egypt.
I am the Head of HR for the two schools in Kuwait (ATIS - American & GES - British), with a combined strength of 500 Teaching Staff, 100 Admin Staff and 5000 Students.

Heading a multi-national team of 14 HR Staff, provide strategic leadership and report to CEO.
Partner with Senior Leadership Team (SLT) to align HR Strategies with Business Strategy.
Advise SLT on HR Policy, organizational design, workforce planning, and performance management.
Conflict resolution, grievance handling, disciplinary procedures, promote employee wellbeing.
Develop and implement Talent Acquisition Strategy and Employer Branding. Coaching, Mentoring, Succession Planning. Benchmarking Salary and Benefits. Organize HR & Team Events. On-boarding & Off-boarding.
Ensure compliance with Kuwait Labour Law, MOE regulations, Policies & Procedures, BSO/BSME & COGNIA Guidelines and Safer Recruitment Standards, Health & Safety.

Achievements
Prepared realistic HR Budgets, ensured manpower is optimized and all employee costs are within budget.
Recruited High Caliber Staff, Improved Job Offer Acceptance Rate and Reduced Time to Hire & Cost to Hire.
Improved Employee Engagement & Experience and reduced Employee Grievances & Employee Turnover.

Planned, launched and developed a Total Hiring Solutions Company during the most challenging times due to the pandemic and ensured Business Objectives are achieved.

Dedicated HR Role for AGOC HQ and HR Consultant Role for the 1000 Plus Saudi Employees at KJO.
Responsible for Manpower Planning, Talent Acquisition & Development and implementation of Student Scholarship Programs (Masters, Bachelors & Diploma) and Retiree Medical Program. Developing and custody of Polices & Procedures and ensure compliance. Organization Charts & Job Descriptions as per the evolving business needs. Advise Management and employees on Policies & Procedures, resolve employee grievances, conduct exit interviews. Prepare annual HR Budgets & Metrics and analyze compensation trends in market.
Prepare & implement Individual Development Plan (IDP) for employees, conduct special assignments for management and proactively support HR Manager in developing HR Objectives & Strategy.
Achievements

Developed and implemented Behavioral Competency Framework. Developed HR Policies & Procedures.
Developed, implemented Annual Performance Appraisal System and linked to Employee Career Progression.
Recruited around 400 Saudis for various positions at KJO and 15 Saudis & 15 Expats at AGOC HQ.
HR Representative for implementation of SAP Business One (HR & Payroll Module).
Prepared Job Descriptions for all new positions in AGOC HQ and obtained Management Approval.
Organized Recruitment Fairs exclusively for Saudi Nationals at various locations in Saudi Arabia.
Organized Manager Assessment Center (MAC) & Supervisor Assessment Center (SAC) for KJO Employees.
Organized Summer Training Programs for Saudi Scholarship Students studying Bachelors Degree & Masters Degree in USA & UK.

Responsible for rendering HR Consultancy Services for Al Eisa International Group WLL (Franchise for Six International Food & Beverage Concepts in Kuwait - Casper & Gambinis, Waterlemon, Café Blanc, Living Colors, Gonuts Donuts & Shogun). Successfully set-up the Human Resources function from scratch and also managed a staff outsourcing project for a major bank (AUB) in Kuwait.

Process owner for the recruitment of managerial & supervisory staff at Group CFOs Office, Finance Dept, Audit Dept, Logistics, Pharmacy & Optics Divisions, and report to the Group Resourcing Manager.
Achievements

Successfully recruited 25 positions (24 directly and only 1 through Recruitment Agency, and achieved a cost saving of KD 30, 000).
Significantly reduced the cost per hire (from 2-4 months salary/person to zero), time to hire (from 12 months to 2 months), sourced best talent and successfully recruited top-notch candidates for hard-to-fill positions (Group Investment Manager, Group Banking Manager and Group Insurance Manager).
Negotiated and signed best deals with online recruitment companies.

As a part of two member team, successfully handled a HR Consultancy assignment for “Al Waseet Financial Brokerage Company K.S.C” in Kuwait, the scope of work included setting-up Policies & Procedures, prepare Job Descriptions, design Performance Evaluation Systems & Preparing an Employee Hand Book.
Identified major clients, established strategic relationships and ensured repeat business (recruitment assignments) by consistently exceeding their expectations.
Designed and successfully implemented a cost-effective talent attraction strategy.
Advised clients on the compensation trends and availability of skill sets in the market.
Analyzed market conditions and submit regular MIS reports to the Management.
Achievements

From scratch, successfully built a client-base of 70, and placed 130 IT & 50 mid-level Managers in areas of Finance, Human Resources, Sales, Investment, Marketing, Engineering, Manufacturing etc.
Generated Revenues worth USD 450, 000 with-in the first five years of inception (May 2001 - April 2006).

Based on my performance in Dubai Office, I was handpicked by the Chairman & Managing Director, to establish and manage the operations in Kuwait, and I had single handedly started from scratch and successfully managed the Kuwait Office as an Independent Profit Center.

Achievements

Studied the market, designed, implemented a penetration strategy and played a key role in establishing the organization as a major IT Recruitment firm in Kuwait.
Done successful placements in organizations such as BKIC, KAFCO, UTC, Al Ghanim Group, Al Ahli Bank, Kharafi Group, Boodai Group, Al Shawaf Group, KDCC, Commercial Bank of Kuwait, National Bank of Kuwait, Gulf Bank, KIPCO, KPTC etc.
Generated Revenues worth USD 140, 000 during the period November 1998 - April 2001.
Successfully built a client-base of 30 and placed 60 IT Professionals.

Research, identify & make presentations to prospective clients and convince them to utilize our services.
Negotiate the commercial terms with clients, signing the Recruitment Agreement and generation of staffing requirements.
Identify suitable candidates through multiple channels i.e. Database Search, Advertisements, Referrals, Personal Contacts, Headhunting & e-recruitment methods (Job Boards, Job Sites & Search Engines).
Conducting personal interviews/tele-interviews to screen, evaluate, shortlist suitable candidates as per the clients specifications and conduct reference checks before presenting competent CVs to the clients.
Invoicing & collection of payments on time, collect regular feedback on the employee from the employer.

Achievements

Generated Revenues worth USD 720, 000 during the period July 1997 - October 1998.
Done successful placements in blue chip organizations such as BBME (now HSBC), Sharp, Intergraph, Hughes Christensen, Disney Java, Unisys, Mashreq Bank, EMARAT, National Bank of Dubai, Orient Info Tech, Al Naboodah Group, Al Shirawi Group, Sharjah Electricity & Water Authority etc. Successfully built a client-base of 20 and placed 40 IT Professionals.

Received a Letter of Appreciation and Cash Award from the Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) for “Excellent Performance”. (Billing exceeded AED 30, 000 in June 1998).

Under the direction of HR Manager, worked in all areas of HR Function.