KSA National – National Talent & Compliance Lead

At Horizontal Digital, we hold ourselves to one key belief: You’re only as good as your worst customer experience. This mantra is what drives our digital consultancy to think beyond the easy answers and instead create websites, apps, portals and other experiences that solve customer needs for Fortune 500 companies in intuitive and empathetic ways. And we make this lofty standard a reality by fusing strategy, data, design and technology together to arrive at solutions that set the bar higher for everyone.

We use these values to fuel superior results:

Lock arms

We forge relationships that make our impact 1,000x stronger. This means working across departments and engaging both our clients and our communities to deliver the greatest good.

Show hustle

We’re not ones to sit on our hands and wait. Instead, we anticipate opportunities, collectively roll up our sleeves and find ways to execute the exceptional.

Embrace change

From new technologies to workplace philosophies, we welcome the unexpected and constantly anticipate what’s next.

Elevate empathy

We listen before we take action. This means understanding a variety of perspectives and holding ourselves to a higher standard of accountability.

Never settle

We motivate each other to push past the easy answers and collectively arrive at bigger, more inspiring ideas.

But enough about us. Let’s talk about you.

We are seeking an experienced KSA national professional to join us as our new National Talent & Compliance Lead. This is a senior role with two parts. The larger part is compliance & visas: you will become our primary in-house point of contact for Saudization, government relations and the full visa and immigration lifecycle for our people and their families, taking on responsibilities we have historically relied on an external PRO company to manage. The second part is Saudi national hiring: leading our efforts to attract, source and recruit outstanding Saudi national talent, and helping us stay ahead of our Nitaqat obligations rather than reacting to them.

What you’ll do:

Compliance & Visas

• Manage the end-to-end visa and immigration process for expatriate employees and their eligible family members — work visas, iqama issuance and renewal, dependent/family visas, and exit/re-entry and cancellation processes.
• Apply for and manage the different types of visas needed for Horizontal Digital employees travelling to Saudi Arabia for work (e.g., business/visit visas).
• Work with our insurance broker to add new employees and eligible family members to our health insurance plan, and manage related updates, amendments and removals.
• Own our Nitaqat/Saudization position — track our Saudi/non-Saudi headcount ratio and quota band on an ongoing basis,  and proactively flag to leadership when we are approaching or sitting in the or red zone, together with recommended corrective action.
• Act as Horizontal Digital’s primary point of contact for Saudization, visas and government relations matters
• Monitor and interpret changes to KSA labour law, MHRSD regulations, and Qiwa/Muqeem/GOSI/visa platform requirements, and translate these into clear, practical guidance for leadership and HR.
• Own the government-related and administrative side of onboarding and offboarding for employees, contractors and their families — visas, iqama, labour contracts, GOSI registration, health insurance enrolment/removal and similar — coordinating closely with HR, IT and hiring managers.
• Keep leadership and the HR team up to date on Saudization-, visa- and labour law-related rules, deadlines and obligations that affect the business.
• Maintain accurate compliance, visa and insurance tracking and reporting, and prepare regular updates for leadership.

Saudi National Hiring

• Lead sourcing, screening and recruitment for Saudi national hires, building and maintaining a strong, ongoing pipeline of Saudi talent across our open roles.
• Identify, propose and help build programs and initiatives to attract, develop and retain Saudi national employees (for example, university and graduate partnerships, or engagement with relevant government talent initiatives).
• Partner with hiring managers and leadership on workforce planning that factors in Saudization targets and quota requirements from the outset.
• Maintain accurate candidate tracking and reporting in our Applicant Tracking System.
• Support wider Talent Acquisition and HR projects and administrative tasks as needed.
• Act as culture ambassador for the Saudi team which consists of Saudi nationals and expats, supporting with local engagement activities and events that help our Saudi team feel connected to the wider group and connected with each other

Who you are:

• A KSA national who can engage confidently with both government contacts and internal leadership.
• Genuinely knowledgeable about Saudi labour law, visa/immigration processes and the Nitaqat/Saudization program, and committed to keeping that knowledge current as regulations evolve.
• A proactive, forward-looking thinker who flags risk early rather than after the fact.
• A strong communicator who can advise and influence senior stakeholders as comfortably as external government contacts, brokers and candidates.
• Meticulous and reliable with time-sensitive paperwork — visa deadlines, renewals and insurance enrolments don't get missed on your watch.
• A skilled recruiter who genuinely enjoys finding and engaging strong local talent.
• Highly organized, able to manage compliance and visa deadlines alongside multiple hiring pipelines at the same time.
• Trustworthy with confidential and compliance-sensitive information.

What you bring:

• KSA National (required).
• Proven experience in a Saudization, government relations/PRO, visa & immigration, or senior HR role in Saudi Arabia.
• Hands-on experience managing expatriate visa and iqama processes — work visas, dependent/family visas, renewals, exit/re-entry and cancellations — directly or in close oversight of a provider that does.
• Experience coordinating with an insurance broker on employee and dependent health insurance additions, amendments and removals.
• Strong working knowledge of the Nitaqat/Saudization program, MHRSD regulations, and the Qiwa/Muqeem/GOSI platforms.
• Experience sourcing and recruiting Saudi national candidates.
• Experience with designing and leading Saudi National Graduate programmes
• Excellent stakeholder management and advisory skills, comfortable engaging senior leadership.
• Strong organizational skills, with a track record of managing multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously.
• Exceptional professional written and verbal communication skills in Arabic and English.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and interface with individuals at all levels, both inside and outside the organization.
• Knowledge of ATS systems and Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Outlook and Excel.
• Bachelor’s degree preferred.

Our KSA Benefits include: 

• 22 days holiday 

• Comprehensive medical insurance plan for employee and spouse and children  
• Flexible office times and working from home twice per week 

• Remote working from a place of your choice for 2 weeks a year

Horizontal Digital is an equal-opportunity employer and welcomes applications from all qualified Saudi nationals, including those with disabilities who possess the required skills and appropriate accommodations.

The above description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.