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Sarah Siyani

People & Culture

Sarah is a seasoned HR and Organisational Development leader with 20 years of experience across various sectors. She is known for her values-based leadership and expertise in blending her strategic approach with operational excellence, enabling business success through people. As the former Executive Director of People & Culture at Aldar Education in the UAE, she led the company to become the first private education group globally to achieve Great Place to Work accreditation.

Key Achievements

  • Contributed to business turnaround, growing value to over $1bn in 4 years.
  • Led Aldar Education to become the first education group globally certified as a Great Place to Work.
  • Expanded school group from 12 to 31 schools in 4 years.
  • Established wellbeing strategies and DE&I initiatives.
  • Led organisational design projects, securing OPEX savings of >$4m over 2.5 years.
  • Reduced employment legal spend and mitigated risks.
  • Led CSR and DE&I initiatives globally.

Sarah’s passion lies in building high-performing teams, improving organisational culture, and managing change effectively. Her approach combines strategic thinking with a deep understanding of people, making her an invaluable asset for organisations looking to unlock their potential through culture and people management.

Services Offered

  • Strategy development
  • Mentoring
  • Vision and values creation
  • Operational and tactical HR support
  • Workshops and masterclasses
  • Change management

Areas of Expertise

  • Employee attraction and retention
  • Talent development and management
  • Organisation development and performance
  • Reward strategies
  • Employee Relations
  • HR operational excellence

* Workshops and masterclasses available for any of these services or areas of expertise (including tailor-made).

Consultancy Basis

Services can be offered through:

  • Time-fixed/interim consultancy
  • Project-based work
  • Fractional leadership
  • Retainer consultancy

Delivery can be remote, in-person, or a blend of both.

Sarah led a total redesign of the HR department at Taaleem, devising a strategy to support 11 schools with the recruitment, onboarding, appraisal and performance management of over 1200 teachers and several hundred administrative and non-teaching staff. She is incredibly hard-working, visionary and makes clear, well-considered decisions. She has completely changed the direction of HR at Taaleem and has put the company as one of the leaders of HR systems in this region. As a colleague, she is positive, thoughtful and supportive.

Sarah Thomas, Experienced IB School Leader and IBEN Educator 

Working with Sarah was truly refreshing. As well as having sound Employment Law knowledge Sarah demonstrated the effectiveness of a true Operational HR role. You just knew what you were getting with Sarah, straight down the line professional yet full of charisma and personality. Her attention to detail was superb and her ability to manage large workloads and tight deadlines was impressive. I would work with Sarah again in a heartbeat!

Cary Rankin, Chief Executive Officer at Thrive Childcare & Education