Senior Manager, People Experience Middle East and Africa

Edelman is a voice synonymous with trust, reimagining a future where the currency of communication is action. Our culture thrives on three promises: boldness is possibility, empathy is progress, and curiosity is momentum. 

At Edelman, we understand diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) transform our colleagues, our company, our clients, and our communities. We are in relentless pursuit of an equitable and inspiring workplace that is respectful of all, reflects and represents the world in which we live, and fosters trust, collaboration and belonging.

Job Description

Core Accountability Areas:

Integrated People Experience Delivery:

The role is accountable for bringing together three core pillars into a single, cohesive service model:

People Operations → efficient, accurate, scalable delivery

Employee Relations → consistent, compliant, risk-managed case handling

Enablement / Transformation → tools, processes and new ways of working

People Operations Leadership

Own end-to-end delivery of People Operations across assigned markets

Ensure excellence across the employee lifecycle (joiners, movers, leavers, documentation, Workday)

Drive standardization and scalability aligned to global processes

Maintain high data integrity and effective use of systems (e.g. Workday)

Act as escalation point for operational challenges

Continuously improve processes to enhance efficiency and employee experience

Employee Relations Leadership

Continuously improve processes to enhance efficiency and employe experience

Triage and escalate complex, sensitive and high-risk cases

Ensure consistency and alignment with EMEA & Global ER standards

Partner closely with SVP Employee Relations on:

Escalations and risk mitigation

Policy interpretation, development, and implementation

Governance and consistency

Building ER capability within the hub team

Training and coaching local leadership on ER best practice

Ensuring compliance with local labour laws across all markets

Enablement and Transformation Delivery

Partner with Enablement Lead to deliver transformation initiatives

Support rollout and adoption of:

Systems (e.g. Workday, People Portal)

New processes and service models

Translate global change into practical and effective regional implementation

Identify opportunities for simplification, automation and continuous improvement

Drive engagement and adoption of new ways of working

Global Alignment and Local Delivery

Ensure strong alignment with EMEA and global People strategy

Act as a bridge between global design and local execution

Adapt delivery to reflect:

Local legislation

Cultural nuances

Market-specific operational needs

Balance consistency vs flexibility to achieve both compliance and efficiency

ServiceNow/ Data Insight

Drive adoption and consistent use of ServiceNow across the hub

Use data to proactively identify trends, risks and improvement opportunities  

Enable effective case management, workflow tracking and service visibility

Ensure accurate and timely data capture to support reporting and decision making

 Leadership, Team Management and Cross-Hub Collaboration

Act as a key partner to:

People Partners

Regional and market leads

Legal and compliance teams

Operate as part of a connected EMEA Hub network to:

Share insights, align on standards and identify cross-regional risks

Drive consistent application of policies, processes and tools

Support cross-hub collaboration and resource flexibility

Escalate systemic issues, multi-market risks and gaps in process, policy or tooling to EMEA

Maintain strong, visible connection with EMEA functional leaders undefined

Quality, consistency and risk management of ER cases

Operational efficiency, accuracy and SLA performance

Adoption and effectiveness of transformation initiatives

Stakeholder satisfaction (HR and business leaders)

Alignment between global strategy and local execution

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field; Master’s degree or HR certification (SHRM/PHR) preferred.

8–10 years of progressive HR experience, ideally in professional services, PR, or communications sectors.

Strong knowledge of employment laws and HR best practices.

Proven ability to influence stakeholders and build trusted partnerships.

Excellent interpersonal, communication, and problem-solving skills.

Ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution

Fluency in English and Arabic required

We are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t perfectly align with every qualification, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.