Application Open:
Full-Time
The Culture & Employee Experience Lead supports a positive, connected, and mission-aligned workplace at MBZUAI by coordinating key employee experiences, cultural touchpoints, wellbeing activities, and employee listening mechanisms. The role ensures major employee events, recognition moments, and engagement activities reinforce MBZUAI’s mission and vision and contribute to a coherent employee experience. Working collaboratively with internal departments this role ensures that MBZUAI’s standards and cultural aspirations are reflected consistently in employees’ day-to-day experiences. The Culture & Employee Experience Lead manages a small team responsible for events, engagement logistics, and the operational delivery of culture-building activities.
Key Responsibilities:
Culture & Mission Alignment
- Support the practical embedding of MBZUAI’s mission and vision in employee touchpoints, including onboarding, major events, recognition moments, and internal initiatives.
- Provide simple tools and guidance that help teams understand how the university’s mission and priorities translate into day-to-day behaviors and employee experiences.
- Ensure that cultural activities and events reflect and reinforce MBZUAI’s institutional identity and aspirations.
Employee Experience & “Moments That Matter”
- Set the direction, themes, and desired outcomes for MBZUAI’s annual employee experience and events calendar, ensuring alignment with mission, identity, and cultural priorities.
- Define the experience intent for major institutional events (National Day, Iftar, Haq Al Laila, Long Service Awards, Welcome Back, etc.) and ensure they reinforce MBZUAI’s character and community expectations.
- Participate in vendor evaluation & selection processes by defining experience objectives and evaluation criteria.
Engagement & Employee Listening
- Collaborate across MBZUAI’s employee engagement and pulse survey cycles, including administration, communication, insight reporting, and support of department-level action planning.
- Develop simple engagement dashboards and reports for senior leadership.
- Identify emerging themes, hotspots, and positive trends that inform the broader Talent and Culture agenda.
Recognition & Appreciation
- Provide direction for recognition activities that reinforce contributions aligned to MBZUAI’s mission and institutional goals.
- Ensure recognition touchpoints celebrate behaviours and achievements that reflect MBZUAI’s purpose and ambition.
- Work with Internal Comms to amplify stories of employee contribution and success.
Nationalisation Experience
- Ensure major events and employee experiences appropriately reflect UAE heritage and support an inclusive experience for Emirati employees in line with MBZUAI’s national mission and societal contribution.
Change & Organisational Support
- Support organisational change initiatives by coordinating cultural and experience-based elements that help employees adopt new systems or ways of working.
- Collaborate with L&D to provide simple guides, micro-learning, or orientation materials as needed.
Academic Qualifications Required:
- Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration Organizational Psychology, or a related field.
Professional Experience Required:
- Minimum of five years of progressive experience delivering client-focused HR services, with a strong emphasis on culture, employee engagement, and wellbeing initiatives in complex organizations.
- At least two years of experience leading, mentoring, and developing staff within an HR or people-focused function.
- Demonstrated expertise in organizational culture, diversity and inclusion, employee wellbeing, and change management practices.
- Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders, manage organizational change, and build trust across diverse employee populations.
- Strong communication, coaching, and interpersonal skills, with experience in conflict resolution and stakeholder engagement.
- Experience managing consultants, external service providers, and related contracts.
- Demonstrated capability in data analysis, reporting, and using insights to inform people initiatives and decision-making.
- Proven track record of managing complex projects, meeting deadlines, and delivering measurable outcomes.
- Experience managing budgets in accordance with organizational policies.
- Strong organizational skills and proficiency in Microsoft Office applications.
Preferred:
- Experience working in the UAE or similarly multicultural environments.
- Familiarity with wellbeing and employee experience needs within higher education or research institutions.
- Experience using data analytics to evaluate program effectiveness and drive continuous improvement.
- Ability to build and sustain productive relationships with external partners and stakeholders.
