Saudi Arabia is rapidly becoming a focal point for global businesses. The push from the local Saudi government to create Regional HQ is a topic widely discussed in the board rooms and in many senior leadership meetings. The Kingdom’s Vision 2030 initiative has been a catalyst for economic transformation, encouraging companies to set up production facilities, commercial hubs, industrializing Saudi and bringing much need business diversity. This strategic shift has led to a dynamic job market, particularly in sectors like oil and gas, packaging, biotech, pharma, and medical devices.

Current Senior-Level Job Market Dynamics

As of March 2025, there are approximately 40,157 active job postings across various sectors in Saudi Arabia, reflecting both the opportunities and complexities of the current employment landscape, as well as the robust market for experienced professionals. Yes, many people can ask to what extent this really represents the realistic job market. Many candidates can confirm that there is no response after they react to adverts as well as many of the job offers just are not real.

Saudization: A Strategic Imperative

Integral to this evolving landscape is the Kingdom’s Saudization initiative, officially known as the Saudi Nationalization Scheme. This policy mandates companies to employ a certain percentage of Saudi nationals, aiming to boost local employment and reduce reliance on expatriate labor. Recent updates have seen the minimum Saudization rate in the consulting sector increase to 40% as of March 2024, up from the previous 35%.  This trend underscores the government’s commitment to integrating more Saudi professionals into the workforce. While in some sectors (such as oil&gas and chemicals) the local talent is widely available, some other sectors suffer from lack of talent and in many cases talent that is not there when it comes to leadership skills, or sometimes even basic managerial qualities.

Our Role in Facilitating Talent Acquisition

With over two decades of experience in the Middle East, SpenglerFox has been at the forefront of assisting multinational companies in navigating these changes. We specialize in sourcing top-tier local Saudi talent and skilled expatriates, ensuring our clients meet Saudization requirements while securing the expertise necessary for success. Our deep understanding of the regional market dynamics, combined with our global recruiting experience, positions us uniquely to support organizations in building competent and culturally attuned teams. Today, more than ever, we ask our clients whether they have realistic expectations, especially when it comes to local talent. We can see that there is a very active competition for talent going on and we believe that those companies who are well prepared for the talent sourcing related challenges, but also challenges related to onboarding and talent development, will win.

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