CEO & Director Jobs - Outlook for Dubai & UAE

The best CEOs in our research display tremendous ambition for their company combined with the stoic will to do whatever it takes, no matter how brutal (within the bounds of the company's core values), to make the company great. Yet at the same time they display a remarkable humility about themselves, ascribing much of their own success to luck, discipline and preparation rather than personal genius. – Jim Collins

If you operate at a senior or Director Level within the Dubai and UAE business sphere, the prospect of finding another director or CEO job, if you are looking for a career change is a tricky option.

Senior executives in global organisations are finding themselves displaced as Middle East sectors restructure whole departments with some senior roles being consolidated with others.

It’s a given fact that the talent pool at director and senior executive level is shallower, just by the law of averages, but that also means that there are fewer jobs to go around. When there are then fewer jobs to go around, in lean economic times that talent pool becomes rather crowded.

It’s not all doom and gloom though, we are told. Thousands of employees in Dubai lost their jobs over the past year as companies trimmed their payrolls in the wake of the financial crisis, but there are signs that hiring is starting to pick up again. However, experts remain cautious about predicting when, if ever, there will be a return to the hiring levels that existed in the emirate prior to the downturn.

However, signs of a turnaround are starting to be felt across the emirate, albeit slowly, according to experts. Following a stagnant summer period that coincided with Ramadan, many companies are taking the view that the worst of the economic crisis is over and are starting to position themselves for a return to growth.

Many firms are gearing up for a turnaround by engaging in 'strategic recruiting' aimed at targeting employees who can help the organization expand.

Companies seem to be accepting that the people who can lead you through a lean time are not necessarily the same kind of people you need during a growth time. In the banking and financial sector companies are looking for regional financial controllers and finance directors - the kind of people you would put on board if you are looking to grow.

One fallout of the continued cost-cutting pressure on companies is that some positions are being combined, which means a candidate may be expected to do more than the person in the previous role yet receive no increase in salary over the individual they are replacing.

As economic sentiment gets positive, the financial sector, which saw heavy lay-offs during the onset of the crisis, is preparing to seize business opportunities by hiring the right kind of people. However, the current focus is on hiring specialists and high-calibre staff who will help generate revenues and, in most cases, fill the positions that are left vacant.

Large corporate are expected to allocate a higher share of their budgets for the next year towards recruitment and hiring. What happened in the past is that they hired across the board and in large volumes, whereas now they are much more selective. They are combining consultancy and recruitment. Looking for people who are more experienced and high calibre, rather than hiring in large numbers.

This can only mean good news going forward for senior level managers and consultants.

UAE based and available to work in Dubai and the region is also an immediate benefit as opposed to the costs involved in bringing in staff from abroad. Companies are also looking for brand names when it comes to hiring. That means the more senior CV’s stand a good chance at landing their much aspired director jobs.

Outlook Update as of October 2009