KSA National - National Talent & Compliance Lead

Role Overview

National Talent & Compliance Lead at Horizontal Digital, KSA National role based in Saudi Arabia. This is a senior position combining compliance and visa management with Saudi national talent acquisition and recruitment.

Company Overview

Horizontal Digital is a digital consultancy that creates websites, apps, portals and customer experiences for Fortune 500 companies. The organization is built on five core values: Lock arms (forging relationships across departments and communities), Show hustle (anticipating opportunities and executing with excellence), Embrace change (welcoming new technologies and philosophies), Elevate empathy (listening and holding ourselves accountable), and Never settle (pushing past easy answers to arrive at bigger ideas).

Role Purpose

To serve as the primary in-house point of contact for Saudization, government relations, visa and immigration matters, while leading efforts to attract, source and recruit outstanding Saudi national talent. This role shifts visa and compliance management from an external PRO company in-house, and positions the organization to stay ahead of Nitaqat obligations rather than reacting to them.

Key Responsibilities

Visa & Immigration Management

• Manage the end-to-end visa and immigration process for expatriate employees and their eligible family members, including work visas, iqama issuance and renewal, dependent and family visas, and exit/re-entry and cancellation processes.
• Apply for and manage different types of visas needed for Horizontal Digital employees travelling to Saudi Arabia for work, such as business and visit visas.
• Own the government-related and administrative side of onboarding and offboarding for employees, contractors and their families, coordinating closely with HR, IT and hiring managers.

Compliance & Saudization

• Own the Nitaqat and Saudization position by tracking the Saudi and non-Saudi headcount ratio and quota band on an ongoing basis, and proactively flagging to leadership when approaching or sitting in the red zone with recommended corrective action.
• Monitor and interpret changes to KSA labour law, MHRSD regulations, and Qiwa/Muqeem/GOSI/visa platform requirements, translating these into clear, practical guidance for leadership and HR.
• Keep leadership and the HR team up to date on Saudization, visa and labour law-related rules, deadlines and obligations that affect the business.

Government & Stakeholder Relations

• Act as Horizontal Digital's primary point of contact for Saudization, visas and government relations matters.
• Advise and influence senior stakeholders, government contacts, brokers and candidates with confidence and authority.

Health Insurance Administration

• Work with the insurance broker to add new employees and eligible family members to the health insurance plan, and manage related updates, amendments and removals.

Reporting & Documentation

• Maintain accurate compliance, visa and insurance tracking and reporting, and prepare regular updates for leadership.

Saudi National Recruitment

• Lead sourcing, screening and recruitment for Saudi national hires, building and maintaining a strong, ongoing pipeline of Saudi talent across open roles.
• Identify, propose and help build programs and initiatives to attract, develop and retain Saudi national employees, such as 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 the Applicant Tracking System.
• Support wider Talent Acquisition and HR projects and administrative tasks as needed.

Culture & Engagement

• Act as culture ambassador for the Saudi team, which consists of Saudi nationals and expats, supporting local engagement activities and events that help the Saudi team feel connected to the wider group and with each other.

Qualifications & Experience

• KSA National (required).
• Proven experience in a Saudization, government relations/PRO, visa and immigration, or senior HR role in Saudi Arabia.
• Hands-on experience managing expatriate visa and iqama processes—work visas, dependent and family visas, renewals, exit/re-entry and cancellations—directly or in close oversight of a provider.
• Experience coordinating with an insurance broker on employee and dependent health insurance additions, amendments and removals.
• Experience sourcing and recruiting Saudi national candidates.
• Experience designing and leading Saudi National Graduate programmes.
• Bachelor's degree preferred.

Skills & Competencies

• Genuinely knowledgeable about Saudi labour law, visa and immigration processes and the Nitaqat and Saudization program, committed to keeping that knowledge current as regulations evolve.
• Strong working knowledge of the Nitaqat/Saudization program, MHRSD regulations, and the Qiwa/Muqeem/GOSI platforms.
• Proactive, forward-looking thinker who flags risk early rather than after the fact.
• 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 do not get missed.
• Skilled recruiter who genuinely enjoys finding and engaging strong local talent.
• Highly organized, able to manage compliance and visa deadlines alongside multiple hiring pipelines simultaneously.
• Trustworthy with confidential and compliance-sensitive information.
• Excellent stakeholder management and advisory skills, comfortable engaging senior leadership.
• 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.

Additional Information

Contract & Work Arrangements

• Flexible office times and working from home twice per week.
• Remote working from a place of your choice for 2 weeks per year.

Benefits

• 22 days holiday.
• Comprehensive medical insurance plan for employee, spouse and children.

Equal Opportunities

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.