Job Summary

The Head of Emiratisation is responsible for developing, implementing, and managing nationalisation strategies to attract, develop, retain, and promote Emirati talent in line with UAE federal Emiratisation mandates and the institution’s workforce strategy. 

This role plays a vital part in achieving compliance with Central Bank regulations, and local labour law while fostering meaningful career development for UAE Nationals within the bank.

The position demands strategic leadership, deep understanding of local employment laws, strong stakeholder engagement, and a commitment to talent development. The Head of Emiratisation acts as the bank’s champion for national workforce planning, ensuring alignment with government initiatives and representing the bank in external Emiratisation-related forums.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and execute a long-term Emiratisation strategy aligned with national targets (e.g., MOHRE, and Central Bank Emiratisation requirements).
• Develop annual Emiratisation plans in collaboration with HR, talent acquisition, and business leaders to meet defined KPIs and quotas.
• Set measurable objectives for Emirati hiring, retention, and career progression.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of all relevant government policies, initiatives, and incentives.
• Collaborate with Talent Acquisition teams to create targeted sourcing strategies and Emirati talent pools.
• Lead and enhance national graduate development programs, internships, and work-study initiatives.
• Develop and maintain strong ties with government bodies (e.g., MOHRE, NAFIS, CBUAE, Emirates Institute of Banking and Financial Studies).
• Partner with Learning & Development to build tailored training roadmaps, leadership pipelines, and mentoring programs for nationals.
• Conduct regular talent reviews to identify high-potential UAE Nationals and accelerate their growth within the bank.
• Monitor turnover of Emirati staff and address root causes of attrition.
• Ensure compliance with all Emiratisation quotas, legal mandates, and incentive program requirements.
• Submit regular Emiratisation reports to internal leadership and external stakeholders.
• Act as the internal and external spokesperson for the Emiratisation agenda.
• Build strong relationships with C-level executives to drive Emiratisation as a strategic business priority.
• Liaise with external regulatory and government stakeholders to represent the bank’s Emiratisation initiatives.
• Promote a culture of inclusion and national development across all business units.

Skills and Experience

• Strong ability to develop and communicate a strategic vision for nationalisation programs.
• Proven leadership in driving organisational change and cultural transformation.
• Stakeholder management at executive and regulatory levels.
• Deep understanding of UAE labour law, Emiratisation quotas, and national workforce programs.
• Familiarity with psychometric assessments, development centers, and performance management tools.
• Expertise in UAE MOHRE mandates, Central Bank Emiratisation requirements, and their practical applications.
• Strong program/project management capabilities, including budgeting, planning, execution, and monitoring.
• Excellent relationship-building, negotiation, and influencing skills.
• Cultural sensitivity and deep understanding of UAE societal and workplace dynamics.
• Fluency in Arabic and English.

About Standard Chartered

We're an international bank, nimble enough to act, big enough for impact. For more than 170 years, we've worked to make a positive difference for our clients, communities, and each other. We question the status quo, love a challenge and enjoy finding new opportunities to grow and do better than before. If you're looking for a career with purpose and you want to work for a bank making a difference, we want to hear from you. You can count on us to celebrate your unique talents and we can't wait to see the talents you can bring us.

Our purpose, to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, together with our brand promise, to be here for good are achieved by how we each live our valued behaviours. When you work with us, you'll see how we value difference and advocate inclusion.

Together we:

• Do the right thing and are assertive, challenge one another, and live with integrity, while putting the client at the heart of what we do
• Never settle, continuously striving to improve and innovate, keeping things simple and learning from doing well, and not so well
• Are better together, we can be ourselves, be inclusive, see more good in others, and work collectively to build for the long term

What we offer

In line with our Fair Pay Charter, we offer a competitive salary and benefits to support your mental, physical, financial and social wellbeing.

• Core bank funding for retirement savings, medical and life insurance, with flexible and voluntary benefits available in some locations.
• Time-off including annual leave, parental/maternity (20 weeks), sabbatical (12 months maximum) and volunteering leave (3 days), along with minimum global standards for annual and public holiday, which is combined to 30 days minimum.
• Flexible working options based around home and office locations, with flexible working patterns.
• Proactive wellbeing support through Unmind, a market-leading digital wellbeing platform, development courses for resilience and other human skills, global Employee Assistance Programme, sick leave, mental health first-aiders and all sorts of self-help toolkits
• A continuous learning culture to support your growth, with opportunities to reskill and upskill and access to physical, virtual and digital learning.
• Being part of an inclusive and values driven organisation, one that embraces and celebrates our unique diversity, across our teams, business functions and geographies - everyone feels respected and can realise their full potential.