Senior People Partner
NOKIA SOLUTIONS AND NETWORKS
Total years of experience :24 years, 4 Months
• Advising senior leaders across 33 countries in the MEA region, leveraging extensive experience to solve critical business problems, navigate complex challenges, and drive comprehensive people management strategies.
• Guided diversity initiatives, yielding an increase in diversity hires across all organizational levels. Our 83.03% score in the 2023 Bloomberg Gender Equality Index is our highest to date, surpassing the tech industrys 72.36% average.
• Collaborating with hiring managers to ensure efficient recruitment processes and strategic talent acquisition initiatives. Refined recruitment procedures and deployed targeted sourcing strategy, slashing time-to-fill for critical positions by 14%,
• Spearheaded Nitaqat (localization project) in Saudi Arabia, boosting 23% recruitment and aligning with Vision 2030.
• As a certified Nokias ethics and compliance investigator, effectively mediated and resolved workplace conflicts, resulting in improved team trust and collaboration.
• Pioneered the creation of a future leadership development programme, culminating in a 11% rise in internal promotions.
• Implemented a mentorship initiative, resulting in building a strong internal pipeline for future leadership.
• Part of NokiaME initiative, a revolutionary cloud based global HCM solution, simplifying work, reducing HR processing time and improving data accuracy by 100%, impacting 80, 000+ employees across 115+ countries in a genuine digital transformation.
• Ensuring calibration is equitable and effective, guiding leaders through training to minimize bias, facilitate discussions to address discrepancies, and communicate results transparently to foster a fair and reliable performance evaluation system.
• Securing leadership buy-in for HR strategies and initiatives, ensuring a deep understanding among business leaders and working closely with Centres of Expertise.
• Led a seamless transition of 500+ employees to new fixed-term contracts during UAE (2022- 23) Labour Law change, exceeding expectations and earning recognition from HR leadership. Secured 100% employee acceptance through open communication and support. This proactive approach saved Nokia $61K in external legal expenses.
• Ensured 100% legal compliance by meticulously reviewing and revising employment contracts, policies, procedures, and SOPs to align with updated regulations. Minimized legal risks and potential fines.
• Championed employee well-being and engagement. Implemented global leave and flexible working practices within legal timeframes, resulting in significant improvement in HR operational efficiency and increase in employee satisfaction. Additionally, provided open-door counselling during the transition.
• Organized regular town halls and open communication forums, boosting employee participation and feedback.
• Provided expert guidance on procedural matters, policy interpretation, market trends, and employee relations, aligning with local laws and contributing to employee trust and adherence to the new law.
• Effectively managed employee benefits programmes, optimizing costs by 13% while maintaining competitive compensation packages.
• Harmonized legal and HR practices in the UAE for Nokia & Alcatel-Lucent, saving Nokia over $76K in external legal costs and streamlining operations. Achieved 97% employee acceptance, the highest in the MEA region.
• Implemented a new country benefits policy on time, aligning with market, business, and global HR strategies, resulting in an increase in employee satisfaction, compliance, and a 34% reduction in costs.
• Effectively rolled out new policies within established timelines, achieving 95% adherence and minimizing disruption to daily operations.
• Boosted employee engagement and well-being as a Country Management Team member, contributing to an increase in team morale through targeted initiatives.
• Streamlined onboarding by creating comprehensive induction programmes, reducing onboarding time by 23% for new hires.
• Maintained flawless compliance by managing internal and external HR audits with zero findings.
• Successfully integrated the Comptel acquisition internally, saving Nokia $6K and achieving 100% employee acceptance.
• Supported efficient rightsizing plans, avoiding litigation, and reducing associated costs by 72%.
• Led a 15% efficiency increase and achieved 99% accuracy in managing redundancy list preparation and submission for both MEA and global regions.
• Improved cost centre visibility by 50% through leading human capital (HC) planning across 33 MEA countries.
• Successfully managed the complex co-employment external temporary labour country exception activity for the entire MEA region, achieving a 95% adherence rate to timelines and regulations.
• Spearheaded HR leadership for the Pakistan & Afghanistan Cluster, overseeing 700+ employees and boosting employee engagement and retention by strategic initiatives.
• Pioneered MEA NSN's first country policy harmonization in Pakistan, setting a regional standard and enhancing operational efficiency. Reduced policy-related discrepancies, streamlining processes, and saving time.
• Introduced a cost-efficient local graduate programme in Afghanistan, reducing recruitment expenses by 50% and increasing the hiring of local talent to 40%.
• Successfully managed critical transitions, including acquisitions and divestments (Nokia-Siemens, Motorola, Optiva, NewNet, Coriant), internalizing processes, saving significant external legal expenses in Nokia, while achieving 75% to 100% employee acceptance rates.
• Executed rightsizing and restructuring in both countries, achieving a 100% reduction in associated costs, and avoiding litigation.
• Effectively represented the organization in contract negotiations, administering labour union/collective bargaining agreements, and ensuring compliance, contributing to an 80% reduction in labour-related disputes and grievances. This strengthened relationships and trust with unions.
• Awarded "Best Employee" for HR improvements, showcasing innovation and effectiveness in driving positive change.
• Served as the acting HR Manager for Qatar for a period of 9 months as an additional responsibility.
• Developed and implemented comprehensive employee policies and procedures for a government organization, leading to an improvement in compliance adherence and streamlined workflow processes.
• Spearheaded streamlined HR activities at Ericsson Pakistan, resulting in a reduction in recruitment cycle time and improvement in overall process efficiency. This saved the company valuable time and resources, allowing for faster recruitment and a smoother onboarding experience.
• Implemented effective HR policies that boosted employee satisfaction, fostering a more engaged and productive workforce. Additionally, maintained 100% accuracy in payroll operations.
• Led and mentored a team of 6, boosting their efficiency through targeted coaching and skill development programmes. This demonstrably improved productivity and project outcomes.
• Designed and delivered impactful workshops, seminars, and large-scale national meetings, leading to a 33% increase in community participation. This facilitated stronger collaboration with NGOs and fostered productive relationships with government entities.
• Built and led a high-performing team of 15, successfully reducing staff turnover through strategic talent acquisition and comprehensive training programmes. This fostered stability, continuity, and enhanced team effectiveness in achieving program goals.
• Instrumental in securing over $0.3 million in external funding from international donors for community development initiatives.