About Terracotta
Terracotta – Driving Business Growth in Recruitment, Outsourcing & Corporate Services
Terracotta is a leading UAE outsourcing company providing recruitment, manpower outsourcing, visa outsourcing, EOR/PEO, business setup, PRO services, and corporate solutions across the region.
As we continue to grow, we are seeking an experienced HR Lead for our internal HR function in Abu Dhabi. This is a hands-on leadership role responsible for strengthening HR governance, developing policies and processes, managing the employee lifecycle, and ensuring compliant and scalable HR practices.
This is a foundational, build-phase role. The successful candidate will be establishing HR policies, processes, payroll, and culture largely independently in the initial phase, with support scaling as the function matures.
Key Responsibilities
HR Leadership, Policies & Governance
- Own the HR function, providing guidance to management and employees while partnering with senior management on workforce requirements, organizational changes, and HR priorities.
- Develop, implement, and maintain HR policies, procedures, and governance frameworks, including establishing them from the ground up where required.
Ensure HR practices, policies, and documentation comply with UAE Labour Law and MOHRE regulations, while independently driving HR priorities and partnering with relevant teams and stakeholders.
Employee Relations & HR Operations
- Manage employee relations, including disciplinary matters, grievances, investigations, attendance, and performance concerns.
- Oversee the full employee lifecycle, including onboarding, probation, promotions, transfers, and offboarding.
- Drive employee retention and engagement initiatives, identifying key areas for improvement and implementing practical solutions.
- Maintain employment contracts, employee records, and HR documentation.
- Coordinate visa, labour, and employment processes with the PRO and relevant stakeholders.
- Partner with Payroll, Finance, Operations, and Talent Acquisition on employee and HR requirements.
Performance & Organizational Development
- Drive performance management and employee engagement initiatives.
- Support workforce planning and organizational development requirements.
- Identify people and organizational gaps and implement practical solutions.
- Partner with business teams to support employee development, engagement, and organizational effectiveness.
Reporting & Continuous Improvement
- Own HR reporting, headcount, workforce metrics, and analytics to support management decision-making.
- Drive improvements across HR processes, systems, controls, and employee experience.
- Develop scalable HR practices to support continued business growth.
- Identify opportunities to streamline HR processes and strengthen operational efficiency and compliance.
Qualifications & Experience
Mandatory Requirements
- 5 - 7 years of progressive HR experience, with substantial UAE HR generalist and operational experience, and the ability to independently manage a broad HR remit.
- Strong experience across the HR function, with the ability to independently manage a broad HR remit.
- Essential: Strong working knowledge of UAE Labour Law and MOHRE regulations.
- Proven experience developing and implementing HR policies, procedures, governance frameworks, and HR standards from inception.
- Strong employee relations experience, including disciplinary matters, grievances, investigations, performance-related cases, and full employee lifecycle management.
- Experience establishing HR structures, strengthening processes, and implementing best practices, with strong exposure to performance management, HR governance, and compliance within a growing organization.
- Strong stakeholder management, communication, problem-solving, and decision-making capabilities, with the ability to work independently while partnering effectively with cross-functional teams and senior stakeholders
Preferred Requirements
- Experience within manpower supply, outsourcing, staffing, recruitment, EOR/PEO, or workforce solutions.
- Prior experience leading or overseeing 1–2 team members is preferred, with the ability to provide guidance, support, and direction.
