11 years building the people function behind growing businesses. I embed into organisations, build the infrastructure that holds culture and performance together, and lead recruitment from sourcing to offer — end to end.
11 Years
Total HR Experience
7 Years
Multi-Entity HR Experience
130+
Hires Led Across Functions
Lainey Marindo · Dubai
What I Do
Expertise
01
01 — Strategy
People & Culture Strategy
Building the foundations — values, structure, policies, and culture frameworks that scale with the business rather than breaking under it.
02 — Performance
Performance & Retention
Designing KPI frameworks, appraisal cycles, and performance-linked progression that keep your best people and move the rest forward.
03 — Systems
HR Systems, AI & Operations
Implementing the tools and workflows that reduce admin and increase visibility — including AI tools for faster hiring, smarter reporting, and better decision-making. Comfortable adopting and integrating new technology into people operations.
04 — Recruitment
End-to-End Recruitment
Full-cycle hiring — from job design and sourcing to interviews, offers, and onboarding. Across functions, seniority levels, and industries.
Over 130 hires led across three distinct business entities simultaneously — digital agency, salon chain, and media production. Every hire handled in-house, without an agency.
Open To
Availability
04
Roles
Head of People · HR Director · Senior HRBP
Location
Dubai-based · Open to remote globally
Company size
50 to 200 people · Growth stage
Digital Growth Agency · Dubai
Bukhash Brothers
Seven years building and leading the full people function inside a founder-led creative agency — from the first hire to a structured, performance-driven organisation of nearly 50 people.
The situation
No HR function. Fast growth. High ambition.
When I joined, the agency was a small creative team operating without formal HR infrastructure. No structured onboarding, no performance process, no policies, no clear career pathways. The founders had big plans to scale — but the people foundation wasn't ready for it.
As the business grew, the gaps became harder to ignore: inconsistent expectations, no accountability structures, and retention starting to slip.
The work
Built the people function from the ground up.
Designed and implemented all HR policies, employment contracts, and UAE labour law compliance frameworks
Created a values framework and embedded it into hiring, onboarding, and performance processes
Built a full performance management system with KPI cascades, mid-year check-ins, and annual reviews linked to compensation progression
Implemented Monday.com as the operational backbone for HR, project tracking, and cross-team visibility
Designed structured onboarding for every hire — including a 30/60/90-day integration plan
Led all recruitment in-house, across every function and seniority level
Coached line managers on feedback, performance management, and building high-functioning teams
Sat at the leadership table as a strategic partner to both founders across seven years
The result
A structured, high-performing agency with real people infrastructure.
12→49
Headcount growth across the agency
27→9%
Group-wide turnover reduced over 2 years
7 Years
Founder-facing HR partnership
Salon Chain · Dubai
CHALK Gents & Ladies
Scaled a service-based salon business from zero to a team of 45 — building HR infrastructure for a high-turnover, compliance-heavy, customer-facing workforce running simultaneously alongside two other entities.
The situation
New entity. New workforce type. No existing people structure.
CHALK launched as a new business within the Bukhash Brothers group. The workforce was entirely different from the agency — service staff, salon technicians, reception, and beauty professionals in a customer-facing, shift-based environment.
The challenge was building an HR model suited to a workforce with characteristically high turnover and specific compliance requirements, while running two other entities at the same time.
The work
Purpose-built HR for a service workforce.
Designed CHALK-specific employment contracts, offer structures, and UAE WPS-compliant payroll inputs
Built a high-volume recruitment process to hire across salon, reception, and management roles quickly and consistently
Created service-specific onboarding covering brand standards, client experience expectations, and workplace conduct
Implemented attendance and performance tracking suited to a shift-based, customer-facing environment
Designed a retention strategy including structured recognition, progression pathways, and consistent manager check-ins
Ensured full UAE labour law compliance across visa processing, contracts, gratuity, and termination procedures
Managed employee relations cases specific to a service environment — performance, conduct, and client complaints
The result
A fully operational, compliant salon workforce — built from nothing.
0→45
Team scaled from launch
100%
UAE labour law compliance maintained
3
Entities managed simultaneously
Podcast & Production Studio · Dubai
#ABtalks
Built people practices for a 16-person creative and production team in a fast-moving, content-driven environment — where the workforce culture looked nothing like a traditional organisation.
The situation
A creative team that didn't want to be managed like a corporate one.
#ABtalks is one of the Arab world's most-watched podcast and digital content platforms. The production team — videographers, editors, producers, researchers, and content leads — operated at high pace around talent, broadcast schedules, and creative demands.
Standard HR processes felt out of place here. The challenge was designing people practices that maintained accountability without killing the culture that made the team work.
The work
HR that fit the creative environment — not the other way around.
Hired across all production and content functions — videographers, editors, producers, social media leads, and researchers
Designed role profiles and competency frameworks specific to creative and media roles
Adapted the group performance management system to work in a content production context — output-based rather than purely activity-based
Built a team culture grounded in the #ABtalks brand identity, with clear expectations and creative autonomy
Managed onboarding for creative hires — aligning them with the brand, audience, and production pace from day one
Handled employee relations in a high-pressure, deadline-driven environment
Coordinated freelance and contract workforce alongside the permanent team
The result
A high-functioning creative team with structure that didn't get in the way.
