Let's begin a
conversation.

NHB Consultancy is a boutique HR advisory and executive search firm founded in Dubai and working internationally across the UAE, MENA, Europe and APAC. We operate six integrated practices — Executive Search, Talent Acquisition, HR Outsourcing, Organisational Development, Hospitality HR Advisory and HR Consultancy — serving SME and enterprise clients under one roof.

Recruitment fills roles from active applicants, usually on a contingency basis where the agency is paid only on placement. Executive search — often called headhunting — is a retained, research-led service that maps a market and directly approaches senior leaders who are not looking, under an exclusive mandate. Search is the standard route for C-suite, board-level and business-critical appointments, where discretion and fit matter more than volume.

MCIPD denotes Chartered Membership of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the professional body for HR and people development. Chartered status is awarded on assessed experience and strategic impact, so it signals that the advice you receive meets a recognised professional standard. NHB Consultancy is founded and led by a Chartered Member.

Yes. NHB Consultancy L.L.C-FZ operates under Meydan Free Zone Trade Licence No. 2539900.01, with employment placement and temporary employment agency activities among its licensed activities, alongside hospitality management consultancy and the provision of human resources. Checking a firm’s licence is sound practice in the UAE and we encourage it.

With a boutique, the person who takes your brief is the person who runs your search — at NHB, the Chartered MCIPD founder — rather than a team several levels removed from the pitch. Boutiques also carry fewer conflicts: a global firm’s client commitments can place large parts of a market off-limits to candidate approaches, while a focused practice can search more of it. Every NHB mandate is founder-led from briefing to completion.

Check four things: a valid UAE licence covering employment placement; genuine specialisation in your sector and level; a retained, research-led method the firm can describe step by step; and professional credentials behind the advice, such as CIPD chartered status. Ask who will personally run your search and request references from comparable mandates. NHB welcomes exactly this scrutiny.

Executive search in the UAE follows the international retained model: a fee agreed at the outset, commonly calculated as a percentage of the appointee’s first-year compensation and paid in staged instalments across the mandate. NHB Consultancy scopes each mandate individually, with fees agreed in advance, denominated in AED and exclusive of UAE VAT.

Each mandate begins with a briefing to define the role, the culture and the success profile. We then map the market, approach selected candidates directly and present a shortlist with structured assessments — typically within four to six weeks — then support interviews, offer, references and onboarding. Most senior mandates complete within three to four months; the timeline is agreed at the outset.

Yes. Confidential searches are run without public advertising, candidate approaches are made without naming the client until the appropriate stage and discretion is the default on both sides of every mandate.

Yes — retained mandates include agreed safeguards, including a replacement provision if an appointment does not complete an agreed initial period. The specific terms are set out plainly in each mandate agreement before work begins.

Mainland private-sector companies with 50 or more employees must raise their skilled Emirati headcount by 2% each year, reaching 10% by the end of 2026, assessed at mid-year and year-end checkpoints. Companies with 20 to 49 employees in fourteen targeted sectors carry hiring requirements of their own. Financial contributions for each unfilled position currently exceed AED 100,000 per year, and NHB advises on Emiratisation planning, sourcing and retention as part of its Talent Acquisition and HR Consultancy practices.

Yes. Through the HR Outsourcing practice, NHB runs day-to-day HR operations and compliance, or provides senior HR leadership on an embedded, part-time basis — giving growing companies access to chartered-level HR direction without a full-time hire. Scope is agreed per engagement.

Yes — Hospitality HR Advisory is a dedicated practice. It covers pre-opening staffing plans, workforce planning and operational HR for hotels, restaurant groups and hospitality operators, drawing on the founder’s senior background in the sector.

Yes. NHB is licensed for temporary employment agency activities and the provision of human resources, and supplies vetted workforce alongside its search and advisory practices — including trade and operational teams for project and hospitality environments. Requirements, compliance and terms are scoped per engagement.

No — and they are not permitted to. Under Article 6 of the UAE Labour Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021), recruitment costs must be borne by the employer and agencies may not charge candidates for placement, registration or CV submission. NHB Consultancy never charges candidates at any stage.

Open mandates are listed on our Careers page, where you can apply by uploading your CV — the application form pre-fills from your CV to keep the process short. Speculative applications are welcome through the same route.

Yes. Your CV and details are never introduced to an employer without your consent. Conversations with NHB remain confidential on both sides.

Yes. UAE employers sponsor the work permit and residence visa for the roles they hire. Under UAE labour law, recruitment and visa costs sit with the employer — they cannot be passed to you or deducted from your salary. Where relocation support forms part of an offer, it is agreed with the employer directly.

Yes. The UAE levies no personal income tax, so salaries, bonuses and allowances are received gross — take-home pay equals the package agreed. Employees who complete a year of service also accrue an end-of-service gratuity of 21 to 30 days’ basic salary per year served, a deferred benefit worth including when you compare offers.

It depends on role, sector and seniority. UAE offers are typically structured as a base salary plus housing and transport allowances — so compare the full package, not the base alone. For current figures, NHB’s Compensation Benchmarker on the Tools page provides salary intelligence across 12+ roles and three experience tiers in the UAE market, free to use and without obligation.

Book a complimentary 30-minute consultation through the contact page or call +971 52 489 0505. There is no obligation and the conversation is held in full discretion — in English, French or Arabic.