85% of job seekers in UAE feel their roles can be performed remotely – survey

A whopping 85 per cent of job seekers in the UAE feel their role’s tasks and responsibilities can be done remotely (part or full time), according to a survey by recruitment firm Michael Page.

As many as 41 per cent of the 425 job applicants surveyed in the UAE to discover their thoughts on remote working and relocation, felt they did not see a connection between benefits, salaries, and remote work, while 32 per cent respondents predicted that home workers would receive more targeted benefits like internet supplier and electricity subsidies. Nearly 21 per cent of job applicants also said that they had relocated since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, while almost 10 per cent claimed they were planning a move — within the next 12 months and 39 per cent sometime in the future. That compares with 30 per cent who said they had no intention of leaving their current location.

Job applicant sentiment on mental health and wellbeing
Of the 1,332 job applicants surveyed in the UAE to find out how they have coped since the outbreak of the pandemic, 52 per cent think that companies’ wellbeing/mental health initiatives will impact or define their job search in the future.

To recover from difficult times, candidates want companies to: Improve communication with managers to better control time and task planning (50 per cent); be more flexible regarding work arrangements (49 per cent) and create some well-being initiatives/events (48 per cent).

Job applicant sentiment on skills and training
A staggering 98 per cent of 821 surveyed job applicants in the country think they have the skills they need for today’s job market. Meanwhile, 52 per cent of applicants participated in a webinar and 57 per cent took a training course since the start of the pandemic.

HIRING INSIGHTS AND SALARY GUIDE 
The report also listed the most in-demand positions and skills across a range of disciplines.

Banking and financial services 
The roles in demand include:

1. Investments associate
2. Finance manager – investments
3. Institutional sales – director, associate
4. Compliance manager
5. Corporate development/investments – manager/director
6. Fund finance manager

In-demand skills: Financial modelling, financial control and commercial finance; institutional sales/fund raising; compliance 

Salaries:
Head of Wholesale Banking (EVP) – From Dhs98,000 to Dhs147,177 per month (basic, housing and transport)
Senior Relationship Manager: From Dhs28000 to Dhs46,000 per month (basic, housing and transport)

Digital 
The positions in demand across digital include:

1. User experience design
2. Growth-focused digital marketing
3. Product development
4. Digital transformation project management
5. E-commerce leadership

In-demand skills or experience: User experience; product managers/owners; growth hacking and data-driven marketing  

Salaries:
Digital Marketing Manager: From Dhs18,000 to Dhs35,000 per month (basic, housing and transport)
E-Commerce Manager: From Dhs22,000 to Dhs30,000 per month (basic, housing and transport)

Consultancy, Strategy and Change
The roles in demand include:

Industry roles

• Corporate strategy and planning individuals
• Business project and transformation individuals
• Strategic partnership/JV/BD professionals

External consulting

• Public sector
• Tech and digital

In-demand skills or experience: Corporate and business unit strategy; project management/implementation; growth strategy

Data and Analytics
The in-demand roles include:

Industry roles

• Data engineering professionals
• Industry specific analytics professionals
• Senior leadership across data analytics and science

Data Science

1. Predictive analytics focused individuals
2. Statisticians

In-demand skills or experience: Data engineering professionals; data scientists; senior leadership roles across all data categories

Salaries:
Chief Data Officer: From Dhs80,000-90,000 to Dhs120,000-140,000 per month (basic, housing and transport)
Head/Director of Data Analytics: Dhs55,000- 60,000 to Dhs80,000 per month (basic, housing and transport)

Engineering and manufacturing

1. COO
2. General manager
3. Plant manager
4. Business excellence manager
5. R&D manager

In-demand skills or experience: Lean manufacturing; leadership; customer-led/customer-centric design

Salaries:
General Manager: From Dhs50,000 to Dhs85,000 per month (basic, housing and transport)
Factory / Plant Manager: From Dhs30,000 to Dhs50,000 per month (basic, housing and transport)

Finance and accounting

1. Regional head of finance/Finance director
2. Tax managers
3. Credit manager/controller
4. Internal audit/Risk manager
5. FP&A manager/Senior analyst

In-demand skills or experience: Finance transformation; taxation; Treasury Restructuring – Cash and Credit; Compliance – Risk and Internal Control

Healthcare and Life Sciences

1. Nurse
2. Laboratory technician
3. Doctor/physicians

In-demand skills or experience: Regional sales; distributor management; project management; market access 

Salaries:
Medical director: From Dhs50,000 to Dhs85,000 per month (basic, housing and transport)
Doctor/Physician (Consultant): From Dhs60,000 to Dhs150,000 per month (basic, housing and transport)

Human Resources
1. Talent acquisition and recruitment manager/Specialist
2. Regional HR manager (ideally with exposure to Saudi Arabia)
3. Talent and performance management specialist

In-demand skills or experience: Talent acquisition; employee engagement and wellbeing; nationalisation; HR for startups

Salaries
HR director: From Dhs50,000 to Dhs75,000 per month (basic, housing and transport)
Talent acquisition manager: From Dhs30,000 to Dhs40,000 per month (basic, housing and transport)

Legal
1. Regulatory development lawyer
2. Corporate associate
3. Fintech/e-payments/cryptocurrency
4. Construction /major projects
5. Public sector

In-demand skills or experience: Ability to liaise with senior stakeholders in government authorities and ministries; Increasing demand for cross-border knowledge and experience, rather than just local market expertise; Hybrid skillset 

Salaries:
General counsel: From Dhs80,000 to Dhs130,000 (basic, housing and transport)
Senior associate: From Dhs52,000 to Dhs70,000 (basic, housing and transport)

Oil and gas
1. Operations manager
2. Project manager
3. Commissioning/decommissioning manager
4. Design manager
5. Estimating/cost manager

In-demand skills or experience: Artificial intelligence; sustainability; Diversified skills and experience

Salaries:
Operations manager: From Dhs40,000 to Dhs50,000 per month (basic, housing and transport)
Contractor: From Dhs32,000 to Dhs45,000 per month (basic, housing and transport)

Procurement and Supply Chain
1. Technology procurement manager
2. 3PL/Transport manager
3. Customer service project manager
4. Customer Service and logistics specialist
5. Procure to Pay Manager

In-demand skills or experience: Data centricity; Sales and influencing; network and route design 

Salaries:
Chief procurement officer: Dhs75,000 to Dhs150,000 per month (basic, housing and transport)
Warehouse manager: Dhs15,000 to Dhs28,000 per month (basic, housing and transport)

Property and construction
1. Project director
2. Project manager
3. Real estate asset management
4. Leasing
5. Facilities management

In-demand skills or experience: Project delivery; cost control/commercial; real estate asset management 

Salaries:
Project director: From Dhs60,000 to Dhs80,000 per month (basic, housing and transport)
Civil engineer: Dhs15,000 to Dhs25,000 per month (basic, housing and transport)

Retail
1. Trainers
2. Store managers
3. Marketers (with e-commerce experience)
4. Buyers for online channels
5. Contract sales staff

In-demand skills or experience: Developing Online Capabilities; store experience; training and development

Salaries
Retail director: From Dhs35,000 to Dhs60,000 per month (basic, housing and transport)
Marketing director: Dhs35,000 to Dhs70,000 per month (basic, housing and transport)

Sales and Marketing – Consumer
1. Marketing manager
2. Commercial director
3. Business development manager/Regional sales manager

In-demand skills or experience: Pioneership and Entrepreneurial Thinking; strategic thinking; growth marketing; flexibility and Adaptability

Salaries:
General manager: From Dhs60,000 to Dhs120,000 per month
Chief marketing officer: From Dhs65,000 to Dhs120,000 per month

Sales and Marketing – B2B
1. Sales director
2. Account manager
3. Sales team leader
4. Business development manager
5. Customer success manager

In-demand skills or experience: Social selling; industry expertise/knowledge; solution selling; channel/distribution management; new market creation 

Salaries
Regional sales manager: From Dhs30,000 to Dhs45,000 per month (basic, housing and transport)
Bid manager: From Dhs20,000 to Dhs35,000 per month (basic, housing and transport)

Technology
1. Front End developer
2. Full Stack developer
3. Head of software engineering
4. Cloud Architect/Engineer
5. IT project management

In-demand skills or experience: Software development; cloud; technology consulting 

Salaries
Chief Technology Officer: From Dhs50,000 to Dhs120,000 per month (basic, housing and transport)
Head of IT: Dhs30,000 to Dhs75,000 per month (basic, housing and transport)

Secretarial and Office Support
1. Office manager and executive assistant
2. Executive assistant (with Team Assistant responsibilities)
3. Office administrator/Team Assistant
4. Office manager/Executive assistant (client onboarding or compliance experience)
5. Executive assistant (with RFP experience)

In-demand skills or experience: Business EA / PA; flexibility; problem solving skills