Dubai, United Arab Emirates, September 2025 – SJ Group has announced that Josef Figa has taken on the role of Global Director, People & Culture – Buildings+Cities and Regional Lead AMEP+AECA. Based in Dubai, Figa will shape global people strategy for the Buildings+Cities platform while leading People & Culture across Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan, the Americas, Europe and Central Asia, balancing global priorities with regional needs to drive leadership capability, culture and performance.
Earlier Figa served as Regional Lead, People & Culture AMEP at SJ Group. In that role, he aligned talent initiatives with commercial priorities during a large-scale transformation and strengthened leadership pipelines across diverse markets.
Before joining SJ Group, Figa spent more than a decade with Givaudan in Dubai, progressing to Regional Head of HR – South Asia, Middle East and Africa, where he supported both Fragrance & Beauty and Taste & Wellbeing divisions. He built HR teams across 13 countries, leading regional hubs in Dubai, South Africa, Egypt, Morocco and India.
Earlier, he held multiple leadership positions at Alghanim Industries in Kuwait, including Manager Corporate Recruitment, HR Manager – Performance/Talent Management, and HR Business Partner for the Home Division across the Gulf. These roles enabled him to broaden his expertise in talent strategy and organizational development across diverse industries.
Figa began his corporate HR career after three years with KPMG Executive Search & Selection in Dubai, where he worked on senior-level mandates across the Middle East. Prior to that, he managed large-scale recruitment projects at Solutions HR Specialists in Prague and started his journey with Accord Group in executive search research.
About SJ Group
SJ Group is a global urban, infrastructure and managed services consulting firm headquartered in Singapore. With a talent pool of 16,000 across more than 120 offices in over 40 countries, its member companies include AETOS, Atelier Ten, B+H, CHIL, KTP, Prostruct, Robert Bird Group, SAA, SMEC and Surbana Jurong. The group’s multidisciplinary specialists deliver sustainable, end-to-end solutions spanning planning, design, delivery and operations across transportation, water, aviation, healthcare, hospitality, renewables and more, with a track record of over 70 years shaping cities and communities worldwide.
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