Messe Frankfurt Middle East is a trusted leader in the region’s B2B exhibition landscape, delivering impactful trade shows that shape industries and accelerate business growth. Based in Dubai, we are the regional arm of Messe Frankfurt Gmb H, one of the world’s largest and most respected exhibition organizers, with a legacy of excellence spanning more than 800 years. Our global network, industry expertise, and commitment to innovation enable us to create powerful business platforms that connect suppliers, buyers, and industry leaders worldwide.
We are looking for a people-focused Head of People to lead our generalist People & Culture function and employee engagement agenda. As a senior member of the People & Culture team, this role will be responsible for ensuring that our people practices, employee experience, and workplace culture continue to evolve in line with the growth and transformation of the organization.
The Head of People will act as a trusted advisor to leaders and managers across the business, providing practical and commercially considered guidance across the full employee lifecycle. The role will lead key areas including employee relations, employee engagement, people policies, organizational change, and the continuous improvement of the employee experience.
What You’ll Be Doing:People Leadership & Business Partnership Lead the generalist People function, ensuring people support across the organization. Coach and support managers in strengthening their people management capabilities. Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders and managers, providing commercially considered guidance on people matters, organizational priorities, and workforce challenges. Build strong relationships across the business to understand operational priorities and translate them into effective people solutions. Partner with People & Culture colleagues across Talent, Compensation & Benefits, and Employee Experience to deliver a connected and consistent People & Culture agenda.
Employee Lifecycle & People Operations Oversee the quality and consistency of key employee lifecycle processes, from onboarding and probation through development, progression, internal mobility, and offboarding. Ensure new employees experience a structured and engaging onboarding journey that enables them to integrate quickly and effectively into the organization. Partner with managers to ensure probationary periods, employee transitions, internal movements, and exits are managed professionally and consistently. Identify opportunities to simplify and improve People processes, removing unnecessary complexity and creating a more efficient experience for employees and managers. Ensure People & Culture records, documentation, and processes are maintained to a high standard and meet organizational and compliance requirements.
People Insights & Workforce Planning Use people data and organizational insights to identify trends, risks, and opportunities across the workforce. Monitor key workforce indicators, including headcount, turnover, retention, employee engagement, absence, performance trends, and organisational movement. Provide leadership with meaningful insights and recommendations that support informed people and workforce decisions. Support annual workforce planning and budgeting processes, working with leaders to understand future capability and resource requirements. Maintain visibility of organizational structures and workforce changes to support effective decision-making and organizational planning.
Employee Relations & People Governance Provide leadership and oversight across employee relations matters, ensuring issues are managed fairly, consistently, and in accordance with company policy and applicable employment legislation. Lead sensitive and complex employee cases, ensuring appropriate documentation, consistency of approach, and effective risk management. Ensure People policies, procedures, and practices remain relevant, practical, and aligned with the changing needs of the organization. Promote a workplace environment built on trust, accountability, respect, and open communication.
Communication & Change Management Partner with leaders to support effective communication during periods of organizational growth, transformation, and change. Develop clear and engaging people communications relating to organizational initiatives, policy changes, employee programmes, and workplace developments. Support the planning and delivery of town halls, employee forums, leadership communications, and other internal engagement platforms. Ensure organizational change is supported by thoughtful people planning, clear communication, and appropriate manager and employee support.

Why Join Us? At Messe Frankfurt Middle East, you’ll be part of a high-performing and collaborative team, playing a key role in shaping the employee experience and supporting business success. This role offers the opportunity to act as a true business partner, influence organizational strategy, and drive impactful people initiatives across a dynamic, international environment.