Learning & Capability Development
L&D strategy and budget ownership, blended and e-learning, and analytics that prove impact.
Riyadh · KSA resident · Available immediately
Learning, Talent & Organizational Development Leader
I build workforce capability and leadership pipelines at enterprise scale.
I'm Ariba Faridi, a Learning, Talent & OD leader with 9+ years in HR across energy, retail, pharmaceuticals and healthcare. At K-Electric, a 13,000+ employee utility, I owned a PKR 100M+ learning budget and led performance management for 3,000+ management employees, most recently as Deputy General Manager, Organizational Development.
- Build your L&D strategy and measure what it changes
- Develop leaders and run executive-coaching programs
- Plan succession and assess talent objectively
Train the Trainer certified (Carnelian)Job Evaluation training (Mercer · ABACUS)SAP SuccessFactorsEnglish · Urdu · Arabic (basic)
People & Capability LeaderTurning talent into performance, and potential into impact.
Impact, in numbers
26%
More organisational learning hours, with the L&D budget held flat
PKR 100M+ (~USD 360K) budget · K-Electric3,000+
Management employees taken through a calibrated year-end appraisal on SAP SuccessFactors
K-Electric · 20264,000+
Employees trained in one financial year
K-Electric · FY2596%
Of leaders in targeted coaching improved on the coached competencies, against their previous year's ratings
K-Electric · two-year period150+
Employees trained in prompt engineering and responsible AI, in the company's first AI upskilling program
K-Electric75%
Shorter new-hire orientation after launching an e-orientation module (4 hours to 1)
Alkaram StudioWhere I've worked, taught and partnered
What I bring to your people agenda
Four connected disciplines. I design the framework, run it at enterprise scale, and measure whether it changed anything.
Talent Management & Succession
Competency frameworks, success profiles and objective assessment that feed real succession decisions.
Organizational Development
Climate studies, capability and culture roadmaps, and inclusion programs that shift how an organisation works.
HR Process Automation & AI Upskilling
I move HR work out of spreadsheets and email into systems: appraisals, learning, onboarding and HR admin that run on time and give leaders data they trust. And I teach the workforce to use AI responsibly in their daily work.
Selected work
Three flagship programs in depth: my role, what I did, the result and how it was measured. More work follows.
Flagship · Learning at scale
+26%learning hours on a flat PKR 100M+ budget
More learning, same budget, measured impact
- My role
- Owned the enterprise L&D strategy and the PKR 100M+ (~USD 360K) annual budget, and made every program report on results.
- What I did
- Delivered 13,000+ learning opportunities in FY25, training 4,000+ employees
- Built a learning analytics dashboard for L&D KPIs, with e-learning modules and blended delivery
- Ran leadership-development and coaching programs, and managed the in-house KE Master Trainer program
- Led a departmental climate study and turned it into a 3-year capability and culture roadmap
- Result
- 26% more organisational learning hours, with the budget held flat.
- How it was measured
- Impact is measured on competency ratings, not attendance. Targeted leadership coaching: 96% of coached leaders improved on the competencies the coaching focused on, compared with their previous year's ratings, over a two-year period. Training overall: 60% average impact, measured as year-on-year improvement in the competencies each program targeted.
Photos · 8
Flagship · Performance & talent
3,000+management employees through a calibrated year-end appraisal
K-Electric (energy & power) · Deputy General Manager, OD · 2026
Performance and talent frameworks for a 13,000-employee utility
- My role
- Led the enterprise OD function and its team, owning talent management and performance strategy.
- What I did
- Ran the end-to-end year-end appraisal cycle for 3,000+ management employees on SAP SuccessFactors PMGM, including leadership calibration and rating distribution
- Led the performance-cycle communications plan and the internal launch of the ‘LEAD’ framework with senior leadership
- Built an enterprise competency library (core, functional, behavioural) and Success Profiles for all Manager-to-Director roles, integrated into SuccessFactors
- Launched an AI-powered psychometric assessment mapped to the competency framework, and planned a 9-box evaluation of 1,100+ employees for critical-role succession
- Led an executive-coaching program for 10+ C-suite leaders, delivered with external coaching firms
- Result
- A calibrated performance cycle for 3,000+ management employees, and a competency and assessment base for objective succession decisions.
Flagship · HR foundations
4h → 1hnew-hire orientation after the e-orientation launch
Alkaram Studio (Retail) · Manager, Talent & Culture · 2022 to 2023
Building talent systems from the ground up in retail
- My role
- Led HR business partnering, talent management, L&OD, rewards and engagement for the retail division.
- What I did
- Launched an e-orientation module that cut new-hire orientation from 4 hours to 1
- Implemented the company's first L&D curriculum and LMS
- Automated recruitment, payroll and performance on HRIS, cutting manual effort across induction and payroll
- Ran the annual performance cycle for 2,000+ employees and a pay-for-performance bonus model
- Delivered 360° leadership assessments (CXO to DGM) with IDPs and yearly potential evaluations
- Result
- 75% shorter new-hire orientation, saving about 30 hours a month.
- How it was measured
- Orientation time per new hire, before and after the e-orientation launch; about 30 hours saved a month at an average of 10 new hires a month.
More work
AI in the workplace · K-Electric
The company's first AI upskilling program
I designed and led the program as the internal SME, so employees could apply AI to real work safely.
- Prompt engineering, business use cases, and responsible and ethical AI
- Partnered with a technology vendor to design and deploy an automated end-to-end Performance & Learning Management System for officer-level staff
Photos · 7
Evidence & inclusion · K-Electric
Inclusion programs backed by research
- Joint study with the World Bank on unconscious-bias training: the World Bank trained our capability-development team on the topic and the study plan, and we then trained our own batches
- The study compared behavioural change in trained and untrained cohorts, and the findings were presented to management to show the value of bias awareness
- Designed DEI learning, including sensitization sessions and a structured women's mentor–mentee program; managed the in-house KE Master Trainer program
Photos · 3
Culture & inclusion · Alkaram Studio
Building an inclusive, recognised workforce in retail
At Alkaram I led culture and D&I work alongside the core HR agenda, so that more women joined and stayed, and people felt seen for their work.
- Grew women's headcount by about 37% in three years (from around 50 to 69), through targeted diversity interventions and a more inclusive, accessible workplace
- Launched 'Aghaaz', an inclusion initiative for persons with disabilities
- Launched the company's first HR newsletter and reward & recognition programs
Photos · 3
Experience
A short career timeline. The case studies above carry the detail.
- Oct 2023 – Jul 2026
K-Electric
Energy & power utility, Karachi · 13,000+ employees- Deputy General Manager, Organizational DevelopmentApr 2026 – Jul 2026
Led the OD function and its team: performance, talent and succession strategy.
- Manager, Learning & Development (HR Center of Excellence)Oct 2023 – Mar 2026
Owned enterprise L&D strategy and the PKR 100M+ budget; launched the company's first AI upskilling program.
- Deputy General Manager, Organizational DevelopmentApr 2026 – Jul 2026
- Sep 2025 – Jun 2026
Visiting Faculty, Strategic Human Resource Management (MBA)
SZABIST University, Karachi · part-time- Taught Strategic HRM to MBA students in the Fall semester, mentoring future HR professionals through practical, industry-based learning
- Jan 2022 – Oct 2023
Manager, Talent & Culture (HRBP, Talent, L&OD, Rewards)
Alkaram Studio (Retail Division, Alkaram Textile Mills), Karachi- Led HR business partnering, talent management, L&OD, rewards and engagement for the retail division, including the performance cycle for 2,000+ employees
- Implemented the first L&D curriculum and LMS, and an e-orientation module that cut orientation from 4 hours to 1
- Sep 2021 – Jan 2022
HR Business Partner
Getz Pharma (Pvt.) Ltd., Karachi · Pakistan's largest local pharmaceutical company- Partnered with a key business unit on talent acquisition, manpower planning, performance cycle execution and L&D initiatives aligned to strategy
- Jun 2019 – Sep 2021
Alkaram Studio
Retail division, Karachi- HR Business PartnerDec 2020 – Sep 2021
Promoted to HRBP; built competency-based job profiles and interview frameworks, and launched the Alkaram Bulletin and reward & recognition programs.
- HR GeneralistJun 2019 – Dec 2020
Ran recruitment, employer branding and HR communications, and supported COVID-19 safety and employee-support measures.
- HR Business PartnerDec 2020 – Sep 2021
- Dec 2018 – Jun 2019
HR Business Partner / Sr. Executive HR
CHS Pakistan Pvt. Ltd. (Community Health Solutions), Karachi
- Ran end-to-end HR operations from onboarding to off-boarding, including benefits and compensation plans, leave, EOBI, and health and life insurance
- Jan 2018 – Dec 2018
HR / Recruitment Officer
Hashmanis Group of Hospitals, Karachi- Managed recruitment and selection end to end; wrote 100+ job descriptions and a new-hire orientation program
- Supported the CEO on a World Memon Organization (WMO) project, including executive recruitment and project coordination
- Jun 2017 – Dec 2017
Internships
Hashmanis Group of Hospitals (Sep – Dec 2017) · Dr. Essa Laboratory & Diagnostic Centre (Jun – Aug 2017)
About
A practitioner, a certified trainer and university faculty
I have spent more than eight years inside large, complex organisations, building the systems that decide who gets developed, promoted and trusted with more. My work sits where learning, talent and organisational design meet.
I like frameworks that people actually use. Competency libraries wired into SAP SuccessFactors, assessments that stand up to calibration, and learning programs that report measured impact instead of attendance.
I am certified through Train the Trainer (TTT) and have served as Visiting Faculty at SZABIST University, teaching Strategic Human Resource Management on the MBA program. I can design a program, and stand in front of the room to deliver it.
- Based in
- Riyadh · KSA resident
- Availability
- Immediately
- Experience
- 9+ years in HR
- Languages
- English (fluent), Urdu (fluent), Arabic (basic)
- Education
- MBA, Human Resource Management
- Systems
- SAP SuccessFactors, LMS, HRIS
Credentials
Certified to design and deliver learning, with formal training in job evaluation.
Certification · 2025
Train the Trainer (TTT) certification
Carnelian, July 2025: a formal 4-day program led by Shireen Naqvi and Fakiha Imran, qualified through a scored assessment by senior trainers on the final day. Also completed Train the Trainer with Learning Minds, November 2025.
Training · 2025
Job Evaluation Training
ABACUS, correspondent of Mercer, February 2025.
Photos · 3
Education
MBA, Human Resource Management
SZABIST, Karachi. GPA 3.75/4.0, Chancellor's Honor List. Bachelor of Science, SZABIST.
In progress
Saudi Labour Law
Currently studying the labour law of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Certificates · 7
Recent programs and certifications. Select one to view it full size.
Roles I'm looking for
Full-time roles in Riyadh across organizational development, learning, talent, DEI, employee experience and people strategy. Available immediately, and open to consulting and advisory work.
Full-time role
Join your team
- Head of Learning & DevelopmentL&D strategy, academies, leadership programs, learning measurement
- Director, People & CulturePeople strategy, culture, engagement and employee experience
- Director, Talent DevelopmentSuccession, leadership pipelines, assessment and high-potential programs
- Talent Development LeadCompetency frameworks, career paths, performance and talent reviews
- Capability Development LeadSkills strategy, upskilling at scale, AI readiness
- Organizational Development LeadOD diagnostics, culture, capability roadmaps, job evaluation
Also available
Consulting & advisory
- Employee engagement & DEI initiatives
- Organizational development & capability-gap analysis
- Learning plans & curriculum design
- Talent management & workforce development
- Skill-building strategies
Across Saudi Arabia, and remotely for international clients.
Request a proposalI want to bring enterprise learning, talent and capability-development practice to Saudi organisations: building leadership pipelines, developing local talent, upskilling the workforce at scale and measuring what learning changes. These are the goals of the Human Capability Development Program under Vision 2030.