Senior HR Manager
Lamda Development
Total years of experience :21 years, 4 Months
El Seif Engineering Contracting Company, established in 1975, is one of the largest construction companies in the
GCC. Known for world-class construction and engineering services, it has a long list of prestigious projects, including
some of the region’s major urban centers.
Being responsible for the Strategy of the Talent and Acquisition, reporting directly to the CEO, managed to achieve
in a short period to fill up vacancies for Senior Management and VP for both Civil and MEP. Set as a target to select
blue collar works with a minimum of 6 years previous experience in Gulf. Reduce the agencies fees at 33% (white
collar). Implement a Training Strategy with a saving cost of 4mSAR.
Leading international building, civil and electromechanical engineering contractor with a strong involvement in the
energy (oil and gas) and industrial sectors with experience of operating in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and
Asia.
Being responsible for the Group of J&P Overseas which covers UAE, Qatar, Oman, KSA, Jordan and Cyprus.
Reporting directly to the CEO, the main HR projects that was handling were:
Talent Acquisition for Civil, Infrastructure, Marine (all Crew members, i.e. Captains/Master, Chief Engineers,
Oilers, Seamen etc) and Oil and Gas projects, using Competency Based Interview Questions and MBTIs.
Business Partner: Coordinate with recruitment agencies and UAE manpower suppliers for white and blue
collar employees, and identify which agencies fit with the company’s needs and culture. Since 2017 it has been
managed to use only our database so as to reduce the agencies fees. Proficient with the Engineering and
Construction market as such to analyze the workforce trends. Experienced to understand the Business
objectives in the Construction field in order to design and develop the HR and Recruitment Strategy. Involved in
Labor law issues. Responsible to improve employees’ welfare and representing the company’s social
responsibility.
SAP : Design the SAP functions with the SAP Consultant as a HR tool.
HR Operations: Design and implement the Group Induction programme. Design and implement the Group
HR policies and procedures using the matrix as a tool. Develop various functional structures. Design Job
Descriptions and Person’s Specifications that are connected to the functional structures. Supervise and lead the
HR Team in UAE and support globally the HR Teams in different countries.
Leading international project and technical recruitment service specialist for the oil and gas in Africa, GCC and
Europe.
Talent Acquisition: Attract and select the best candidates to work for Shell, TOTAL, Technip, ENI, SICIM,
NCOC in the oil and gas and mostly in Subsea Engineering, Deepwater and Ultra Deepwater. Interviewed more
than 700 candidates for various positions such as: Commissioning Managers/Engineers/Supervisors,
Instrumentation and Control Engineers/Supervisors, Maintenance Managers/Engineers, Buoy Engineers,
FPSO/Topsides/Platforms Engineers, Oil Offloading Lines Systems Engineers, Drilling Engineers/Supervisors, Rig
Managers, Condition Monitoring Engineers, Rotating and Static Engineers, Pipeline/OUR and Piping Engineers,
UFR Engineers. Contracts Engineers, Interface Engineers, HVAC and Electrical Engineers/Supervisors, Project
Control Managers/Engineers, Planning Engineers, QA/QC Managers/Engineers, Coating and Welding Engineers,
HSE Managers/Engineers, Contract Managers/Engineers.
Strategic: Plan and design the recruitment yearly strategy; identify recruitment strategies and recruitment tools
to attract and select successful talent candidates.
Operations Support: Monitor and evaluate the performance of the recruiters and commercial assistants.
Induction to all new employees in the recruitment team.
Business Partner: Developing structures and processes to build business relations with new clients supporting
the Business objectives and goals. Work closely with all Tenders.
Coaching and Mentoring: On the job training to recruiters, junior recruiters, and commercial assistants.
Working with a leading EPC Contractor employing over 8, 000 employees, reporting to the Regional Manager.
Key Areas of Responsibility: Provide HR Leadership to business through:
Strategic: Advising the Management on strategic HR issues & practices; Developing structures and processes
to manage the Group’s Human Resources in line with the business objectives. Set up the HR Department in
Saudi Arabia. Manage the HR team of HR Officers and Administrators.
Business Partner: Building HR as a key business partner supporting the Business Goals and Strategy;
Communicating and reinforcing corporate values; Coordinate with recruitment agencies and find which agencies
fit with the company’s needs and culture. Develop internal and external relationships with the Universities.
Reduce the Recruitment Cost to 25%.
Organisational Change: HR Lead for all restructures within the Company, utilising the Management Change
Guidelines and Policy, ensuring that formal consultation processes take place. Develop and Introduce the
Performance Appraisal, Matrix, Compensation and Benefits, Quality System related to HR (HR Policies and
Procedures) which are part of the company’s Integrated Management System that are complied with the
requirements of ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004, OHSAS 18001:2007.
Talent Management: Supporting business through Recruitment using Competency Based Interview
Questions; Managing Implementing Corporate & Regional Leadership Development & Succession Planning
programs; Managing to build a database of 20, 000 CVs. Interviewed more than 1, 500 candidates for various
positions such as: Project Control Managers/Engineers, Planning Engineers, Construction E/M and Civil
Managers/Engineers, Instrumentation and Control Managers/Engineers, QA/QC Managers/Engineers, Coating
and Welding Engineers/Inspectors, HSE Managers/Engineers, Contract Managers/Engineers, Workshop
Engineers, Procurement Engineers/Officers, Cost Estimators, Tendering Engineers, Tamping Machine
Engineers/Operators, Locomotive Engineers/Operators, Trackworks Construction Manager, Track Inspector,
Stabilizing Machine Operator, Grinding Machine Operator, Flash Butt Welding Engineer, Chief
Accountants/Accountants, Chief Administrators/Administrators.
Identify ways to attract and interview Saudi candidates. Attend Recruitment events in UK Universities and
Lebanese Universities. Design, Introduce and Implement a Graduate Scheme for Engineers. Manpower has
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been increased from 3, 000 employees to 8, 000 during 2008-2013.
HR Operations Support: Ensuring adherence to Human Resource policies aligned with Corporate & regional
HR Philosophy; Managing Regional New Employee On-boarding Program; Aligning and implementing HR Best
practices and systems in line with Global Corporate HR practices; Supporting the Line & Staff heads in
Manpower Planning & Budgeting; Implementing an Employee Orientation process; HR Reports - Group Reports;
Administration and Saudi Arabian Labor Law compliance; Design and implement Saudization-Nitiqat
programme. Managed to achieve to be in the green zone. Approved Saudization plan from Saudi Aramco for
Aramco Oil Refinery Terminal in Yanbu and for KAUST Project in Thuwal.
IT Enablement: Design and develop the company’s in-house HRIS infrastructure for the Group operations;
Managing the SQL HRIS
HR Operations Support:
As Assistant Team Leader: the role involved monitoring employees’ performance and the induction for new
employees. Advise also line manager(s) for the employees’ training needs.
As Credit Officer: assess applicants’ income, credit checks, provide customer service to financial
advisors/applicants, data input, instruct valuations. Awarded from Northern Rock due to my excellent daily
performance for May, June, and July 2006.
Employee Relations: Advise employees and managers on terms and conditions of employment and
employment law. Working closely with both the Senior and HR Advisors.
HR Projects and Reports: Flexible Working Hours Project; Redundancies Project. Both Reports have been
presented and approved by the Senior HR Advisor.
Recruitment: Advise line managers as well as the candidates on recruitment and selection issues, based on
the employment law. Preparation of formal offers in respect of acting-up arrangements, secondments,
transfers, redeployment, leavers, register new employees HRIS. Participate in open days and recruitment fairs.
Project Contract
Sickness Absence Project
Identify the reasons but also recommend solutions to reduce the absence rates. Present the project in every phase
to the line managers of the departments and the trade union members. Discuss with the HR Manager my findings
and at the same time I was advising how firstly the research could become better and secondly what problems the
line managers face. Findings: which group of employees has mentioned high absence rates, the reasons of
absence, and the evaluation of the existing methods to reduce absence. Finally, with the contribution and co-
operation of the managers and the trade unions, we designed protocols to reduce the absence rates.
Ethniki Asfalistiki, Insurance Company, leader in the industry, Athens, Greece