Assistant Director, People And Culture

Company description

About Faena

Faena creates cultural epicenters—living stages where art, design, and warm, attentive hospitality convene to craft a feast for the senses. We are a cultural embassy that invites guests to seek the extraordinary, shaping worlds that feel profoundly personal, welcoming, and alive.

“At Wadi Safar, we are shaping a new world where art, architecture, and nature live in harmony. Guided by a shared respect for culture and craft, this collaboration with Diriyah Company reflects our belief that beauty can elevate everyday life and inspire a new way of living.”
— Alan Faena

Job description

The role

As assistant director of people & culture, you will support the director in bringing Faena’s people philosophy to life—balancing operational excellence, cultural integrity, and genuine care for colleagues. You will play a key role in pre-opening readiness and ongoing people & culture operations, ensuring compliance, engagement, and talent development across the hotel.

As a Saudi national, you will be instrumental in supporting localization goals, regulatory excellence, and the creation of a workplace that reflects Saudi values while embracing Faena’s global identity.

What you will create

People operations & compliance

• Support day-to-day people & culture operations, including employee relations, contracts, onboarding, and offboarding.
• Ensure compliance with Saudi labor law and related platforms (GOSI, Mudad, Qiwa, Absher, Muqeem, etc.).
• Maintain accurate people records, data integrity, and reporting.

Pre-opening & talent support

• Assist in recruitment activities for pre-opening, with a strong focus on Saudi nationals and critical roles.
• Coordinate onboarding programs, inductions, and culture immersion sessions.
• Support workforce planning, manpower tracking, and headcount control.

Culture, engagement & wellbeing

• Help bring Faena’s culture to life through engagement initiatives, colleague events, and recognition programs.
• Act as a trusted first point of contact for colleagues, ensuring issues are handled with empathy and discretion.
• Support wellbeing, engagement surveys, and action planning.

Learning & development

• Coordinate training logistics, learning calendars, and compliance training.
• Support leadership development and internal talent pipelines.
• Track training hours, effectiveness, and certification requirements.

Partnership & communication

• Work closely with department leaders to support people initiatives and resolve operational challenges.
• Assist in communications, policy rollouts, and change initiatives.
• Support the director of people & culture in audits, inspections, and owner requirements.

Qualifications

Who you are

• A Saudi national with a solid foundation in human resources or people & culture.
• A senior people & culture / human resources leader from luxury hospitality or a similarly service-led, people-intensive environment preferred.
• Experienced in pre-opening or transformational environments, with the ability to build structure and soul simultaneously.
• Strong understanding of Saudi labor regulations and HR systems.
• A culture carrier and trusted advisor—confident, empathetic, and principled.
• Organized, detail-oriented, and approachable, with high integrity and discretion.
• Fluent in Arabic and English, with the ability to engage effectively across teams, leadership, and external stakeholders.

Additional information

What’s in it for you...

• Lots of opportunity to progress and switch it up as part of a global family of brands.
• Great healthcare, competitive salary, and some nice extra perks across the Ennismore family of brands!
• Learning opportunities to broaden your skillset and development that helps you think, make, and thrive at work.
• The opportunity to be yourself and collaborate with other bright minds in a relaxed, innovative culture.