JOB TITLE  

HR Director, Saudi Arabia

This role comes under the government nationalisation mandate.

AstraZeneca is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, with a broad range of medicines designed to fight disease in important areas of healthcare: cardiovascular, diabetes, respiratory and cancer.

At AstraZeneca we turn ideas into life changing medicines. Working here means being entrepreneurial, thinking big and working together to make the impossible a reality. We believe in the potential of our people and you’ll develop beyond what you thought possible.  We make the most of your skills and passion by actively supporting you to achieve our shared goals no matter where you start with us. When we see an opportunity for change we seize it and make it happen, because an opportunity no matter how small can be the start of something big. Delivering life changing medicines is about being entrepreneurial finding those moments and recognising their potential.

AstraZeneca’s HR function is on a transformation journey with the objective of delivering excellence in HR business partnering, centers of expertise and services. As this strategy continues to drive the effectiveness and performance of the business, to the benefit of millions of patients worldwide, best in class HR support and leadership becomes ever more important.

We’re currently looking for an HR Director for our organization in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). This role reports to the Country President, KSA with a dotted line to the Area HR Director, Middle East & Africa. You will form part of the KSA Senior Leadership Team and the Middle East & Africa Area HRDs Team.

Our Saudi Arabia organization:

AstraZeneca has a strong presence in Saudi Arabia with 3 legal entities in Saudi Arabia. In addition to a focus on the local market, we also have presence of regional hubs for AI & Digital, Clinical and Rare Diseases in Saudi Arabia. With over 300 employees and a growth rate of 20%, AstraZeneca Saudi aims to become a USD 1B business in the next few years. There are several launches underway in Oncology, Rare Diseases and BBU businesses, which drives AstraZeneca Saudi ambition & position Saudi as global benchmark for launch Excellence . With the ambition of the business and the fast-evolving economic environment, a talent with deep experiences in business partnering, culture building and driving transformation in an agile environment building the right capabilities fit for future is preferred for this role.

Role Summary:

The HR Director plays a pivotal role as a member of the Saudi Senior Leadership Team. You will develop and implement a people strategy for the business which also meets the government’s nationalization requirements. You will be responsible for building an organization with the skills and capabilities for present and future success of the organization. You will establish and implement policies, practices and initiatives that shape an inclusive culture, engage and inspire our employees and drive performance to support delivery of our company strategy and vision. You will maintain and develop our external employment brand, ensuring we remain attractive as a leading employer in Saudi Arabia.

You will develop and drive an HR strategy for Saudi that ensures a simplified, efficient and agile HR organization. You will set up and lead the Saudi HR Team. You will work with the Saudi HR team to ensure high quality & effective delivery of Business Partnering, programs and HR services support.

You will also form an integral part of our Middle East & Africa Area HRDs Team and contribute to shaping and driving the People Strategy for AstraZeneca Middle East & Africa Area.

What you’ll do

• As a member of the Senior Leadership Team:

  
  

  • Contribute to the development and delivery of the business strategy and create and implement an aligned, future-facing people strategy.

    
    

  • Build strong partnerships with business teams in Saudi to maximise contribution of the HR function.

    
    

  • Partner with Senior Leadership Team members as a change management expert, for driving organization transformation and embedding a high performance & inclusive culture  

    
    

• Provide leadership, direction and development of the HR team to ensure that they are recognized as a highly valued function. Drive a culture of accountability, empowerment, development and innovation.

  
  

• Ensure appropriate resources, structure and people capabilities are in place for now and future.

  
  

• Create a framework for assessing, attracting, developing and retaining key talent, internally and externally.

  
  

• Provide specialist knowledge on such areas as organisation design and development, change, transformation and communication.

  
  

• Reinforce employee engagement and Great Place to Work strategy via key initiatives, leadership capability building and overall shaping of the business agenda

  
  

• Create a high-performance culture through the implementation of an effective performance development program, incorporating effective reward and recognition practices.

  
  

• Set and manage all HR budgets.

  
  

• Ensure the application of all people related policies is fair and consistent and assures compliance with local legislation.

  
  

• Manage the relationship with local industry forums and representative bodies.

  
  

Essential for the role

• Previous experience in a senior HR leadership role, working with Senior leadership teams to contribute to the overall business agenda

  
  

• Strong experience in building and driving people strategy for business success

  
  

• Proven record in business partnering to deliver organizational transformation, workforce planning, capability and talent development, culture change and performance development

  
  

• Proven record of building organizational capabilities.

  
  

• Strategic thinking, excellent interpersonal skills, with high degree of integrity and trust, and an ability to influence and achieve results through others

  
  

• Proven track record of leading and developing a team of HR professionals

  
  

• Previous experience working in a global organization and able to operate with an enterprise mindset

  
  

• Experience of partnering with a commercial organization, supporting sales and marketing teams to develop effective strategies that drive performance and support new growth

  
  

• Post graduate HR degree and/ or professional HR qualification with minimum 12-15 years of professional HR experience with minimum of 3-5 years in a HR leadership role for a country/ cluster or global business unit.

  
  

• Fluent in English

  
  

Desirable for the role

• Expertise in 1 or 2 COE HR functions i.e. Rewards, Inclusion, Talent, Employee Relations.

  
  

• Expertise in diverse culture of nationalities and / or cluster of multiple countries

  
  

• Main business language of communication is English, and proficiency in Arabic is required

  
  

• Some HR experience with regional / global level responsibilities

  
  

• Interest and ambition to develop career internationally

  
  

• Experience in the pharmaceuticals, life sciences sector &/or FMCG sector desired.

  
  

Date Posted

Closing Date

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity.  We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills.  We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.  We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics.  We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.