Job Title: Director of Culture & Engagement Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reports to: Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) Entity Type: Large Semi-Government / National Transformation Programme
Role Purpose The Director of Culture & Engagement will play a critical leadership role in shaping, embedding, and sustaining the organisational culture of one of the Kingdom’s largest transformation programmes. The role is responsible for aligning culture, leadership behaviours, and employee engagement with the entity’s national mandate, transformation objectives, and future operating model. Operating at enterprise scale, this role partners closely with the CEO, CHRO, and executive leadership to drive culture change, strengthen engagement, enhance wellbeing, and support workforce readiness during a period of unprecedented growth, integration, and reform.
Key Responsibilities Culture & Transformation Define and lead the enterprise-wide culture and engagement strategy aligned to the organisation’s transformation agenda, values, and national objectives. Design and deliver large-scale culture change and values activation programmes across multi-site and multi-entity environments. Embed desired behaviours into leadership practices, people policies, performance management, and decision-making frameworks. Employee Engagement & Experience Own the organisation’s engagement strategy, including enterprise surveys, diagnostics, action planning, and executive reporting. Translate engagement insights into targeted interventions that improve morale, retention, productivity, and organisational trust. Lead initiatives to strengthen the end-to-end employee experience, particularly during periods of change, integration, and workforce growth. Wellbeing, Inclusion & Trust Design and implement a comprehensive wellbeing strategy supporting physical, mental, and organisational wellbeing at scale. Partner with DEI and OD teams to foster inclusive, high-trust, and psychologically safe work environments. Monitor workforce sentiment and wellbeing indicators, proactively identifying and mitigating cultural and engagement risks. Leadership & Behavioural Change Partner with executive leadership to embed transformation-aligned leadership behaviours and role modelling. Support leadership capability initiatives that enable leaders to lead effectively through change and ambiguity. Lead the people and culture change workstream for major transformation, restructuring, or operating model changes. Governance, Measurement & Insight Establish robust culture and engagement governance, KPIs, and dashboards linked to business and transformation outcomes. Use workforce analytics to measure cultural progress, engagement impact, and return on investment. Provide regular insights and recommendations to the Executive Committee and Board-level forums. Stakeholder & Partner Management Act as a trusted advisor to the CHRO, CEO, and senior leadership on culture, engagement, and change matters. Work closely with HR Centres of Excellence (OD, Talent, Rewards, L&D) to ensure an integrated people strategy. Manage external advisors, consultants, and vendors supporting transformation and culture initiatives.
Candidate Profile Experience15+ years of progressive HR, OD, or culture leadership experience, with demonstrable success in large-scale transformation environments. Proven experience leading enterprise culture and engagement programmes within semi-government, government, large corporates, or complex regulated organisations. Strong exposure to organisational transformation, mergers, integration, or national reform programmes. Saudi Arabia or GCC experience highly preferred.
Skills & Capabilities Deep expertise in organisational culture, engagement, wellbeing, and behavioural change at scale. Strong executive presence with the ability to influence senior leaders, committees, and Boards. Highly analytical, with experience translating engagement and culture data into strategic decisions. Exceptional stakeholder management and change leadership capabilities. Education & Certifications Bachelor’s degree in HR, Organisational Psychology, Business, or a related field. Master’s degree (MBA, HR, OD, or Change Management) preferred. Professional certifications such as CIPD, Prosci, SHRM, or equivalent are advantageous.
Why This Role Opportunity to shape the culture of one of the Kingdom’s most significant transformation programmes. High-impact, high-visibility role with direct access to executive and Board-level stakeholders. Ability to influence national workforce outcomes, leadership capability, and long-term organisational sustainability.