HR Manager, appro Venture – SC Ventures Standard Chartered

About Appro

Appro is an exciting fintech start-up disrupting the banking onboarding journey for retail clients. At Appro we pride ourselves on our transparency, and our ability to quickly provide our clients with the best loan and credit card options that they can seamlessly review and compare in order to select the offer that helps them set their money goals on the path to success.

This is an opportunity to join Appro as a HR Manager. The role will be based in the UAE.

About The Role

The HR Manager reports to the CEO and works closely with the Business Development Head.

The HR Lead supports the full spectrum of HR functions including, but not limited to, handling talent acquisition, HR operations, performance management and rewards; HR policies as well as advising the Management Team on relevant HR matters.

Key Responsibilities

• Recruitment & Hiring Process Management: Oversee the entire recruitment and hiring process, from job posting to candidate selection and offer finalization. Collaborate with department heads to ensure hiring aligns with organizational goals and talent requirements.
• Cost Analysis for Employee Onboarding/Offboarding: Conduct comprehensive cost analysis for employee onboarding and offboarding, ensuring accurate budgeting and expense tracking. Evaluate the financial impact of recruitment, training, and termination processes to optimize resource allocation.
• Onboarding & Offboarding Process: Manage the onboarding process to ensure new hires are smoothly integrated into the organization. Ensure offboarding processes are conducted in a compliant, efficient manner, including exit interviews and post-departure administrative tasks.
• Regulatory Compliance & Legal Expertise: Provide expert guidance on HR-related legal matters, including intensive knowledge of HR ministry regulations. Ensure all employment policies and procedures comply with current labour laws and industry standards.
• Training & Development: Design and implement training programs to enhance staff skills and professional growth. Monitor the effectiveness of training initiatives and continuously improve programs to meet evolving organizational needs.
• Quality Control for Sales Team: Conduct regular quality checks for the sales team to ensure adherence to company standards and policies. Work closely with the sales department to support performance improvement initiatives and maintain high service quality.
• Performance Management: Develop and manage performance review systems to ensure regular feedback and evaluation of employee performance. Work with managers to implement improvement plans and track progress against performance goals.
• HR Data Management & Reporting: Maintain accurate and confidential HR records, including employee files, payroll data, and performance reviews. Generate and analyze HR reports to provide insights into workforce trends, turnover, and cost analysis.
• HR Policy Development & Implementation: Develop, implement, and regularly update HR policies and procedures. Ensure these policies are communicated clearly to all staff and aligned with organizational goals and legal requirements.

Business Partnering

• Work with Appro Leadership team to support the business achieve its objectives through the design and delivery of a people plan to build a strong culture.
• Provide advice and guidance on all People related matters.
• Provide independent advice to colleagues on HR related matters.

Recruitment

• Responsible for developing resource acquisition strategies and managing the end-to-end resourcing process for full time and flexible resources to deliver agreed targets, ensuring the right candidates are recruited, at the right time, at the right price.
• Build an employer branding strategy to attract diverse potential candidates whose knowledge and skills are needed to meet the company's goals and objectives.
• Conduct preliminary and behavioural interviews, as required, assessing candidates to ensure cultural fit, values alignment, long term potential, and technical fit for roles (via telephone or face to face where possible), setting realistic role expectations.
• Ensure timely contract issuance following verbal offer.
• Manage work permit applications and extensions for new hires and in-country transfers, where required.
• Ensure all staff screening is complete and aligned with the Staff Screening Policy.

Talent & Performance Management

• Lead the connectivity of feedback from hiring, through to expectation and goal setting, to ongoing performance management through the people leaders of the business.
• Lead the continuous performance management approach, ensuring effective goal setting, feedback, and regular reviews.
• Implement a robust approach to succession planning with the Leadership team.

Reward

• Manage the year end pay and bonus review, linked to performance outcomes, including adhering to the Venture Remuneration Policy and Regulatory Requirements.
• Assist in market benchmarking of salary and benefits, to match internal jobs and job descriptions to similar jobs and descriptions in a salary survey or other source of market salary data, to identify the market salary for each position.
• Ensure the SCV Approvals Matrix is followed.

Employee Engagement & Culture

• Engage and build great relationships with employees to cultivate a positive work environment and develop greater value from the contributions of our employees.
• Encourage employees to express what they think, feel and experience. Gain feedback from employees via formal / informal communication channels: Townhalls, 1 on 1, skip levels etc.
• Plan, conduct and administer employee engagement survey.

Learning & Development

• Review training needs analysis, goals and people priorities with the Leadership team.
• Improve employee performance, building competencies and confidence at work by exploring various ways of training through internal / external workshops, seminars, projects, on the job training etc.
• Develop company-wide Mentoring and Coaching programmes.

Employee Relations

• Handle employee relations, proactively helping in resolving workplace conflict and creating team effectiveness.
• Ensure all employee relations standards and processes are followed including grievances, disciplinaries, performance improvement plans.
• Coach and provide feedback to people leaders on people and team matters to proactively reach resolution before conflict exists.

People Risk Management & Controls

• Develop, review, and implement HR policies, standards & processes.
• Maintain the HR Risk Register, including completion of the control tests.
• Ensure HR regulatory requirements are met in a timely manner.
• Ensure audit readiness of the unit and assist in tracking progress on action items.
• Assist with data, MI preparation for both internal and external audits.

Service Delivery & HR Operations

Manage / Oversee Payroll

• Ensure 100% ac.