Thesis Proposal Human Resources Manager in Saudi Arabia Jeddah – Free Word Template Download with AI

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's ambitious Vision 2030 initiative has catalyzed unprecedented economic transformation, positioning Jeddah as a pivotal commercial and cultural hub on the Red Sea coast. As one of the nation's largest cities and a primary destination for both domestic and international business investment, Jeddah demands sophisticated Human Resources Management (HRM) practices to navigate its unique socio-economic landscape. This Thesis Proposal investigates the evolving role, strategic responsibilities, and critical competencies required of the Human Resources Manager specifically within organizations operating in Saudi Arabia Jeddah. The study addresses a significant gap in localized research that fails to account for Jeddah's distinct business environment—characterized by its high expatriate population, rapid infrastructure development, and cultural dynamism—when assessing HR leadership effectiveness.

Despite Saudi Arabia's accelerated economic diversification, a critical challenge persists: many organizations in Jeddah continue to deploy generic HRM models that ignore the city's specific workforce demographics and cultural context. Current literature often generalizes HR practices across the Kingdom, overlooking Jeddah's unique position as a gateway for global businesses and its status as one of the most cosmopolitan cities in KSA. This disconnect results in ineffective talent acquisition strategies targeting Saudi nationals (Saudization), poor integration of expatriate staff into culturally nuanced work environments, and suboptimal performance management systems that fail to leverage Jeddah’s diverse workforce potential. Consequently, the Human Resources Manager in Jeddah faces mounting pressure to balance nationalization goals with global business needs while navigating complex labor law reforms like the new Saudi Labor Law (2023) and Nitaqat program adjustments. Without context-specific HR leadership frameworks, organizations risk talent attrition, cultural friction, and strategic misalignment with Vision 2030 objectives.

Existing scholarship on HRM in the Gulf primarily focuses on Dubai or Riyadh, neglecting Jeddah's distinctive role as a commercial port city with a 58% expatriate workforce (Jeddah Chamber of Commerce, 2023). While studies like Al-Suwailem & Al-Othman (2021) examine Saudization challenges in KSA, they lack Jeddah-specific data. Similarly, research on expatriate management by Hassan et al. (2020) concentrates on Riyadh’s corporate clusters, ignoring Jeddah’s unique socio-geographic dynamics—such as its proximity to the Red Sea and its role in tourism/hospitality sectors. Crucially, no current study analyzes how the Human Resources Manager in Saudi Arabia Jeddah must evolve from administrative roles to strategic business partners who can interpret Vision 2030’s localization policies within hyper-local market conditions. This proposal directly addresses this void.

1. To analyze the current strategic responsibilities and performance metrics of Human Resources Managers in Jeddah-based organizations across key sectors (retail, hospitality, construction).
2. To identify critical competency gaps between existing HRM practices and the requirements mandated by Vision 2030's workforce localization goals in Jeddah.
3. To evaluate the impact of recent labor law amendments on Talent Acquisition, Retention Strategies, and Cross-Cultural Management within Jeddah's HR teams.
4. To develop a context-specific competency framework for the Human Resources Manager position tailored to operational realities in Saudi Arabia Jeddah.

This mixed-methods study will employ triangulation for robust insights into the Human Resources Manager role in Jeddah. Phase 1 involves quantitative analysis of HR policies and workforce data from 30 major Jeddah-based organizations (surveying HR managers on performance metrics, competency alignment, and legal compliance challenges). Phase 2 utilizes qualitative semi-structured interviews with 15 senior Human Resources Managers across diverse industries to explore contextual barriers and strategic adaptations. The research will be conducted in partnership with the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry (JCCI) to access industry-specific datasets. All data will be analyzed using NVivo for thematic coding, ensuring findings reflect Jeddah’s unique business ecosystem rather than generalized KSA trends.

This thesis holds immediate relevance for stakeholders in Saudi Arabia's evolving labor market. For organizations operating in Saudi Arabia Jeddah, the proposed competency framework will provide actionable guidance for recruiting, developing, and retaining HR leaders who can drive Vision 2030’s talent objectives. For academic institutions like King Abdulaziz University (Jeddah) and the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources & Social Development, this work offers a localized model to update HR education curricula. Critically, it addresses a systemic gap: current HRM training programs rarely prepare Human Resources Managers for Jeddah's specific challenges—such as managing multicultural teams in high-density urban environments or interpreting regional labor law nuances that differ from Riyadh or Dammam. Success in this research will directly support national goals of achieving 70% Saudi workforce participation in private sectors by 2030 (Vision 2030 Report, 2023).

The Thesis Proposal anticipates three key contributions: First, a validated competency model for the Human Resources Manager role in Jeddah that integrates Saudi cultural values (e.g., Wasta considerations), Vision 2030 policy requirements, and global HR best practices. Second, empirical evidence demonstrating how localized HR leadership correlates with reduced expatriate attrition rates and higher Saudization success—critical metrics for Jeddah’s economic growth. Third, policy recommendations for the Ministry of Human Resources to refine national HR certification standards to reflect Jeddah’s operational realities. This work will be the first comprehensive study focusing exclusively on the strategic evolution of HR leadership within Saudi Arabia Jeddah, positioning it as a vital resource for business sustainability in a city central to KSA’s modernization journey.

The role of the Human Resources Manager in Saudi Arabia Jeddah has transcended traditional administrative functions to become a strategic catalyst for organizational and national economic success. This Thesis Proposal establishes a clear mandate for researching how this pivotal position must adapt to Jeddah’s unique socio-economic ecosystem under Vision 2030. By centering the study on real-world challenges faced by HR leaders in this specific city—rather than generic KSA contexts—the research promises actionable insights that will empower businesses to build resilient, culturally intelligent workforces. Ultimately, it underscores that effective Human Resources Manager leadership in Jeddah is not merely an operational necessity but a fundamental driver of Saudi Arabia’s socioeconomic transformation.

Word Count: 892

⬇️ Download as DOCX Edit online as DOCX