HR Business Partner - Sports & Lifestyle Division

About the role

A commercially minded HR Business Partner is sought to oversee human resources strategy and people operations across the fast-growing Sports & Lifestyle Division in Dubai. The division manages a portfolio of multi-entity sports academies, athletic facilities, specialized retail and community wellness spaces (including premium F&B and café concepts) across the UAE. The role sits under the Group HR Director and embeds within several business units as the principal strategic and operational HR partner to division heads.

Key responsibilities

• Align human capital initiatives with seasonal sports calendars, peak facility usage and localized operational metrics across subsidiaries.
• Partner with facility operations and talent acquisition to forecast headcount and mobilize staff quickly for new facilities, tournaments, camps and wellness events.
• Direct employee relations for a matrixed, guest-facing workforce, covering customer service compliance, facility safety, wellness initiatives and frontline grievance handling.
• Ensure compliance with UAE Labor Law, MOHRE regulations, Emiratisation quotas, visa allocations for international athletic staff and corporate immigration policies.
• Administer performance evaluations for coaching, F&B/café hospitality and management levels, manage retention risks and build succession plans for facility managers.
• Analyse manpower utilization, shift and roster efficiency, turnover and HR costs to advise management on operational improvements.

Required profile

• Minimum 5-8 years of progressive HRBP experience, ideally in a large-scale sports management group, premium hospitality, health and fitness club chain or leisure/entertainment brand in the UAE.
• Proven track record managing HR across multiple commercial entities such as athletic facilities, academies and guest services (F&B/retail).
• Bachelor's degree in HR Management, Business Administration or a related field; professional HR accreditations (e.g. CIPD, SHRM) highly preferred.
• Exceptional interpersonal and negotiation skills, able to influence executive directors and facility, academy and café managers.

Required skills

• Expert, up-to-date knowledge of UAE Labor Law and MOHRE procedures.
• Workforce planning, headcount forecasting and roster optimization.
• Performance management and employee relations.

What we offer

• Salary of AED 20,000 per month.
• Standard UAE benefits.