Group HR Manager

Foreground is partnering with a privately held regional energy group with upstream and downstream operations to appoint an experienced, regionally agile, and operationally grounded Group HR Manager, to be based in Beirut. With a growing footprint across Lebanon, Iraq, North Africa, and now the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the group is seeking to centralize its HR function while building the foundational policies, governance, and workforce capability to support expansion into new markets, particularly KSA.

Role Purpose

To lead and institutionalize the group-wide HR function, ensuring alignment of people practices, workforce strategy, and regulatory compliance across all operating markets, while building and embedding the HR infrastructure required to support current operations and future expansion, particularly in Saudi Arabia.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and implement a unified group HR policy framework that reflects regional labor law variations, while driving consistency in core practices such as compensation, contracts, onboarding, and grievance management.
• Build the HR infrastructure for the groups Saudi operations from the ground up including local labor law compliance, Saudization planning, organizational design, and HR systems integration.
• Act as the primary HR business partner to group leadership, supporting workforce planning, succession development, and strategic restructuring across Lebanon, Iraq, KSA, and North Africa.
• Oversee local HR teams or outsourced partners in each market, coaching them on group policy enforcement, employee relations, and documentation integrity.
• Standardize group-wide job evaluation, grading systems, and compensation governance to ensure fairness, internal mobility, and market competitiveness.
• Develop regional talent acquisition strategies with a focus on hard-to-fill technical roles, cross-border recruitment, and employer brand alignment across geographies.
• Partner with legal, compliance, and finance to ensure labor and tax compliance, especially in high-risk or emerging regulatory environments such as Iraq and early-stage KSA.
• Introduce core people analytics and HRIS platforms to support real-time visibility on headcount, turnover, cost-to-employ, and regulatory reporting.

Ideal Candidate Profile

• 12+ years of HR experience, with at least 5+ years in a regional or group-level HR leadership role covering multiple markets in the MENA region.
• Strong understanding of Saudi labor law and hands-on experience setting up HR operations in KSA or similarly regulated GCC markets.
• Familiarity with oil and gas, energy, or industrial services environments, including workforce planning for both blue- and white-collar labor forces.
• Bachelors degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or Industrial Psychology; CIPD, SHRM, or GCC Labor Law certifications preferred.
• Proven ability to lead HR in high-risk or complex political environments, including Iraq or North Africa, with an ability to tailor practices to local realities.

Preferred Skills & Traits

• Pragmatic HR strategist with strong operational instincts.
• Able to work cross-culturally and diplomatically, managing local sensitivities while driving group-wide alignment.
• High integrity, calm under pressure, and effective in executive rooms and field sites alike.
• Fluent in Arabic and English; French is an asset for coordination in North Africa.