Saima Ali

A strategic HR leader with 8+ years of progressive experience driving HR strategy, talent acquisition, employee relations, performance management, and HR operations across corporate and academic organisations in Pakistan and the UAE. Proven track record building high-performing, self-driven teams and a high-octane organizational culture backed by measurable results in retention, engagement, and cost-efficient hiring. Skilled at architecting international recruitment and workforce planning frameworks that scale HR operations in step with business growth.

Senior Manager – HR Operations & Culture - The Moon Group (IT, Fintech & Blockchain) - Pakistan & Dubai, UAE

(2024-05)

• Lead HR operations and organizational development across a dual-country Pakistan–UAE workforce as the central HR/OD focal point for both regions.
• Lead international technical and non-technical talent acquisition for the organization, segmenting sourcing channels across outsourcing partners, AI-driven sourcing tools, third-party recruiters, LinkedIn, referrals, graduate training programs, and industry relations to build a scalable, cost-efficient hiring pipeline.
• Built a High-Potential Leadership Pipeline with job rotation, executive mentoring, and leadership workshops to reduce key-person dependency.
• Led end-to-end Microsoft Dynamics 365 HR/ERP implementation and rollout coordination across Pakistan and UAE HR teams.
• Revamped payroll structures, bonus/commission frameworks, and recognition programs, reducing pay-related attrition complaints by 35%.
• Raised employee happiness index from 20% to 60% and lifted engagement survey scores by 70%+ year-on-year through combined engagement, training, and reward initiatives.
• Benchmark compensation against PASHA salary survey data; present quarterly hiring cost and workforce ROI analysis to MD and CEO, informing talent investment decisions.
• Design and deliver in-house training on CBT, moral reasoning, and capacity-building skills, plus a First-Time Manager Programme covering the GROW coaching model, situational leadership, delegation, and performance conversations; administer 360° feedback with actionable individual development plans (IDPs).

Manager – HR & Operations - The Moon Group (Fintech & Blockchain) - Lahore, Pakistan

(2022-05 - 2024-04)

• Managed end-to-end HR operations for onsite, remote, and hybrid staff, including, interviews, background check, offer letter, onboarding, offboarding, exit interviews, employee separation, and statutory compliance.
• Partnered with HODs and Directors on budget allocation, compensation plans, performance reviews, and workforce planning.
• Drove L&D strategy, career progression frameworks, and performance management cycles including goal-setting and feedback mechanisms.
• Processed monthly payroll for full-time (EOBI, Provident Fund), part-time, and consultant staff; achieved zero compliance penalties across payroll and statutory filings.
• Developed key HR frameworks from scratch, including SLAs, Employee Handbook, Employee referral, study leave, Bonus, PTO policy, referral payout structure, and Code of Conduct.
• Built real-time L&D and workforce analytics dashboards for MD-level decision-making, and published training content and learning paths in the organisation's LMS, embedding structured learning into Agile team rituals across Engineering and QA.
• Built a High-Potential Leadership Pipeline (HiPo) with structured tracks including job rotation, executive mentoring, and leadership workshops to reduce key-person dependency.

Assistant Manager – Employee Success & Branding - April and June Digital (Fintech & E-Commerce) - Lahore, Pakistan

(2021-02 - 2022-04)

• Held one-on-one coaching and exit-interview sessions to close engagement gaps, improving retention and satisfaction index by 50%.
• Built the organization's first Annual Learning Calendar following a structured Training Needs Analysis with department heads.
• Led onboarding, orientation, and internal mobility programs; hosted quarterly culture townhalls and listening sessions.
• Pair senior leaders with junior employees from different generations, genders, departments, or backgrounds between Gen Z and Millennials learning techniques
• Host quarterly culture townhalls and one-on-one listening sessions that surface and resolve employee grievances early.

Talent Acquisition Executive - April and June Digital (Fintech & E-Commerce) - Lahore, Pakistan

(2020-02 - 2021-04)

• Managed full-cycle recruitment for technical and non-technical roles, from job posting and sourcing through screening, interview coordination, and offer management for Pakistan, UAE, and US Market
• Sourced candidates through LinkedIn, referrals, and third-party channels, building a qualified talent pipeline for key business functions.
• Partnered with hiring managers to define role requirements, Job analysis, JD, capacity planning and improve time-to-hire and cost to hire for future openings.

Academic Coordinator – Student & Staff Development - Froebel's International School - Islamabad, Pakistan

(2018-08 - 2019-07)

• Coordinated faculty and student development initiatives, building foundational experience later applied to HR and People & Culture roles.
• Partnered with the psychological support team to design individualized development plans for learners with diverse needs of Autistic and Dyslexic children.

Training Executive – Quality Assurance & RDC – Call Centre - Warid Telecom (Pvt) Limited | Abu Dhabi Group Consortium - Lahore, Pakistan

(2016-01 - 2017-02)

• Designed and delivered nationwide franchise and call-centre training for one of Pakistan's earliest mobile financial services products.
• Monitored call-centre quality against SLA benchmarks (AHT, FCR) and ran targeted refresher training to close performance gaps.
• Listening to calls, conducting TNA and designed training programs for Call Center Team (Inbound, Outbound, and Sales Teams)

Master's in Human Resource Management - Human Resource Management - Virtual University of Pakistan (2019)

Specialization - Management - Virtual University of Pakistan (2023)

Bachelor of Commerce - Commerce - University of the Punjab / Hailey College of Commerce (2005)