Associate - People Relations (Temporary Contract)

INSPIRE | EXHILARATE | DELIGHT
For over seven decades, Chalhoub Group has been a partner and creator of luxury experiences in the Middle East. In its pursuit to excel as a hybrid luxury retailer, the Group has curated a portfolio of over 10 owned brands and strengthened its distribution and marketing expertise for over 400 international names across luxury fashion, beauty, jewellery, watches, eyewear, and art de vivre categories.

Every step at Chalhoub Group is taken to build a future where luxury dreams become reality — bridging cultures and crafting memorable experiences for our consumers. Be it by constantly reinventing itself, committing to innovation, or embracing new technologies, the Group is shaping the future of luxury retail. It delivers seamless omnichannel experiences across more than 950 stores, online platforms, and mobile apps. Driving this innovation journey is The Greenhouse — the Group's innovation hub, incubator, and accelerator for startups and emerging businesses, regionally and globally.

Chalhoub Group fosters a people-at-heart culture rooted in diversity, equity, and inclusion, and a workplace catalysed by forward thinking and future-proofing. Today, it brings together over 16,000 talented professionals across eight countries in the Middle East, with a presence in LATAM. Their collective efforts have earned the Group the Great Place to Work certification in several markets.

Sustainability is at the core of the Group's strategy, guided by a clear commitment to people, partners, and the planet. Chalhoub Group is proud to be a member of the United Nations Global Compact, a signatory of the Women's Empowerment Principles, and to have pledged to reach Net Zero by 2040.

What You'll Be Doing
We're hiring a Temporary Associate — People Relations (12–18 month contract) to provide hands‑on HR support for our JV brands (Berluti, Puig, Chaumet, Christian Louboutin, Elizabeth Arden). You'll manage day‑to‑day people operations for around 500 employees across frontline and back‑office, coordinating closely with local HR teams and European brand HQs.

Key responsibilities

• Manage full People Operations lifecycle: HR system updates, offer letters, onboarding, visa processing (LLC, Free Zone, JAFZA, Tecom), offboarding and associated documentation.
• Administer attendance, leave, vacations and absenteeism tracking; prepare relevant KPI and turnover reports.
• Lead work visa, labour contract renewals and coordination with PROs; schedule medicals and process labour cards, work permits and residency visas.
• Support disciplinary processes and employee relations cases in collaboration with brand HR and People Relations leads.
• Provide HR advisory to JV teams; escalate complex issues as needed.
• Maintain and update employee records on HRMS and ensure compliance with policies and local labour/immigration legislation.
• Handle insurance claims liaison, access card issuance/cancellation, welcome kits and other operational HR tasks.
• Conduct regular mall/site visits and build strong relationships with JV teams and store/frontline colleagues.
• Attend relevant projects and community activities as required.

What You'll Need To Succeed

• 2–3 years' experience in HR Operations or People Relations. Retail experience is a plus.
• Strong knowledge of UAE Labour Law and hands-on experience with visa processing across Free Zone and LLC entities.
• Comfortable interacting with European HQ stakeholders and cross-cultural teams.
• Excellent communication skills in English (mandatory). French is highly preferred; Arabic is an advantage.
• Warm, approachable, relationship-focused, with strong follow-through and stakeholder-management skills.
• Degree in HR or related field preferred.

What We Can Offer You
With us, you will turn your aspirations into reality. We will help shape your journey through enriching experiences, learning and development opportunities and exposure to different assignments within your role or through internal mobility. Our Group offers diverse career paths for those who are extraordinary, every day.

We recognise the value that you bring, and we strive to provide a competitive benefits package which includes health care, child education contribution, remote and flexible working policies as well as exclusive employee discounts.

We Invite All Applicants to Apply
It Takes Diversity Of Thought, Culture, Background, Differing Abilities and Perspectives to truly Inspire, Exhilarate and Delight our customers. At Chalhoub Group, we are committed to inclusion and diversity.

We welcome all applicants to apply and be part of our exciting future. We ensure equal opportunity for all our applicants without regard to gender, age, race, religion, national origin or disability status.