Riyadh · KSA resident · Available immediately

I help organisations build skilled teams and strong leaders.

I'm Ariba Faridi, an HR leader in Learning & Development, Organizational Development and Talent Management. For 10+ years I have designed training programs, leadership development and succession plans for companies of up to 13,000 employees, and proved they work with measurable results.

Build your L&D strategy and training programs
Develop leaders and coach executives
Plan succession and assess talent objectively

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Certified Master Trainer (TTT)Mercer Job Evaluation certifiedSAP SuccessFactorsEnglish · Arabic (basic)

13,000+learning opportunities delivered in one year

Impact, in numbers

13,000+

Learning opportunities delivered in one year across the enterprise

K-Electric · FY25

3,000+

Management employees taken through a calibrated year-end appraisal on SAP SuccessFactors

K-Electric · 2026

1,100+

Employees in the 9-box psychometric evaluation I planned to build succession pipelines for critical roles

K-Electric · 2026

26%

More organisational learning hours, delivered on a flat budget

PKR 100M+ (~USD 360K) L&D budget

96%

Measured impact on targeted leadership coaching; 60% average impact across 4,000+ trained

K-Electric · FY25

75%

Faster onboarding after launching an e-orientation module (4 hours to 1)

Alkaram Studio

Where 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.

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.

SAP SuccessFactors (PMGM)
LMS implementation
HRIS automation
Automated performance & learning system
E-onboarding
Learning analytics dashboards
AI upskilling
Prompt engineering training
Responsible AI

Organizational Development

Climate studies, capability and culture roadmaps, and inclusion programs that shift how an organisation works.

OD diagnostics
Culture transformation
Capability roadmaps
DEI
Executive coaching

Talent Management & Succession

Competency frameworks, success profiles and objective assessment that feed real succession decisions.

Succession planning
9-box
Competency frameworks
Success profiles
Psychometric & 360° assessment
IDPs
Performance management
Job evaluation

Learning & Capability Development

L&D strategy and budget ownership, blended and e-learning, and analytics that prove impact.

L&D strategy
Leadership development
Blended learning
E-learning
Learning analytics
Train-the-Trainer
Master Trainer

Selected work

Six programs, each with the problem, what I built, and the result.

Talent & succession

1,100+employees in the 9-box succession evaluation I planned

K-Electric (energy & power) · Deputy General Manager, OD · 2026

An objective succession pipeline for a 13,000-employee energy company

Talent decisions needed evidence, not opinion. I led the enterprise OD function and a team of three to rebuild how top talent is identified and developed.

Launched an AI-powered psychometric assessment mapped to the corporate competency framework, and planned a 9-box evaluation of 1,100+ employees for critical-role succession
Built an enterprise competency library (core, functional, behavioural) and Success Profiles for every Manager-to-Director role, integrated into SAP SuccessFactors
Ran the year-end appraisal cycle for 3,000+ management employees, including leadership calibration and rating distribution
Delivered one-on-one executive coaching for 10+ C-suite leaders with external coaching firms

Learning at scale

+26%learning hours on a flat PKR 100M+ budget

K-Electric · Manager, L&D (HR Center of Excellence) · 2023 to 2026

More learning, same budget, measured impact

I owned the enterprise L&D strategy and annual budget, and made every program report on results.

13,000+ learning opportunities in FY25, training 4,000+ employees at 60% average measured impact
96% impact on targeted leadership coaching
Built a learning analytics dashboard for L&D KPIs, plus e-learning modules and blended delivery
Led a departmental climate study and turned it into a 3-year capability and culture roadmap

AI in the workplace

150+employees trained in prompt engineering and responsible AI

K-Electric · Subject-matter expert and program lead

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

Evidence & inclusion

World Bankjoint research on unconscious-bias training

K-Electric · with the World Bank

Inclusion programs backed by research

Joint research study with the World Bank measuring the impact of unconscious-bias training across trained and untrained cohorts
Designed DEI learning, including sensitization sessions and a structured women's mentor–mentee program; managed the in-house KE Master Trainer program

Culture, diversity & inclusion

~37%gender diversity raised over two years

Alkaram Studio (Retail) · 2019 to 2023

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.

Raised gender diversity ~37% over two years
Launched 'Aghaaz', an inclusion initiative for persons with disabilities
Launched the company's first HR newsletter and reward & recognition programs
Built a feedback culture with 360° leadership assessments from CXO to DGM, IDPs and yearly potential evaluations

HR foundations

4h → 1honboarding time after the e-orientation launch

Alkaram Studio (Retail) · Manager, Talent & Culture · 2022 to 2023

Building talent systems from the ground up in retail

Implemented the company's first L&D curriculum and LMS; automated recruitment, payroll and performance on HRIS
Delivered 360° leadership assessments from CXO to DGM with development plans, potential evaluations, IDPs and succession plans
Ran the annual performance cycle for 2,000+ employees and executed a pay-for-performance bonus model

Experience

From HR generalist to leading enterprise OD, across power, pharma, retail and healthcare.

Apr 2026 – Jul 2026
Deputy General Manager, Organizational Development
K-Electric Ltd., Karachi · energy & power utility, 3.7M+ customers, 13,000+ employees
- Led the enterprise OD function and a team of three, owning talent management and performance strategy across the organisation
- Managed the end-to-end year-end appraisal cycle for 3,000+ management employees on SAP SuccessFactors PMGM: leadership calibration, rating distribution and business-partner alignment
- Launched an AI-powered psychometric assessment mapped to the corporate competency framework for objective identification of top talent
- Planned the psychometric evaluation of 1,100+ employees using the 9-box methodology to build succession pipelines for critical roles
- Delivered one-on-one executive coaching for 10+ C-suite leaders in partnership with external coaching firms
- Built an enterprise competency library (core, functional, behavioural) and Success Profiles for all Manager-to-Director roles, integrated into SuccessFactors
- Partnered with a technology vendor to design and deploy an automated end-to-end Performance & Learning Management System for officer-level staff
Oct 2023 – Mar 2026
Manager, Learning & Development (HR Center of Excellence)
K-Electric Ltd., Karachi
- Owned the enterprise L&D strategy and annual budget of PKR 100M+ (~USD 360K); delivered a 26% increase in learning hours within a flat budget
- Facilitated 13,000+ learning opportunities in FY25, training 4,000+ employees at 60% average measured impact; 96% impact on targeted leadership coaching
- Pioneered the company's AI upskilling program as SME: 150+ employees trained on prompt engineering, business use cases and responsible AI
- Designed functional competency frameworks, system-based assessments and success profiles for GM+ roles
- Led a departmental climate study and built a 3-year capability and culture roadmap from the findings
- Ran a joint research study with the World Bank on the impact of unconscious-bias training across trained and untrained cohorts
- Implemented a learning analytics dashboard for L&D KPIs; developed e-learning modules and blended delivery
- Designed DEI learning, including sensitization sessions and a structured women's mentor–mentee program; managed the in-house KE Master Trainer program
Sep 2025 – Jun 2026
Visiting Faculty, Strategic Human Resource Management (MBA)
SZABIST University, Karachi · part-time
- Taught Strategic HRM to MBA students, translating industry practice into applied learning
Jan 2022 – Oct 2023
Manager, Talent & Culture (HRBP, Talent, L&OD, Rewards)
Alkaram Studio (Retail Division, Alkaram Textile Mills), Karachi
- Led functional and regional HRBP teams; managed the annual performance cycle for 2,000+ employees and executed a pay-for-performance bonus model
- Delivered 360° leadership assessments (CXO to DGM) with development plans; ran yearly potential evaluations, IDPs and succession plans
- Implemented the company's first L&D curriculum and LMS; automated recruitment, payroll and performance on HRIS
- Raised gender diversity ~37% over two years and launched 'Aghaaz', an inclusion initiative for persons with disabilities
- Launched an e-orientation module cutting onboarding time by 75% (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
HR Business Partner / HR Generalist
Alkaram Studio (Retail Division), Karachi
- Managed the end-to-end employee lifecycle; designed competency-based job profiles and interview frameworks
- Automated the performance cycle on HRIS; launched the company's first HR newsletter and reward & recognition programs
Earlier career: HRBP / Sr. Executive HR, CHS Pakistan (2018–2019) · HR/Recruitment Officer, Hashmanis Group of Hospitals (2018) · Internships, Hashmanis & Dr. Essa Laboratory (2017)

Portrait of Ariba Faridi — Ariba Faridi · Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

About

A practitioner, a Master Trainer and university faculty

I have spent more than ten 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 a certified Master Trainer 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: 10+ years
Languages: English (fluent), Arabic (basic)
Education: MBA, Human Resource Management
Systems: SAP SuccessFactors, LMS, HRIS

Credentials

Certified to design and deliver learning, and to evaluate jobs to an international standard.

Certification · 2025

Certified Master Trainer, Train the Trainer (TTT)

Carnelian. Internal SME and program lead for AI in the Workplace at K-Electric (150+ employees trained).

Certification · 2025

Certified Job Evaluation Expert

Mercer Job Evaluation (JE) Certification.

Education

MBA, Human Resource Management

SZABIST, Karachi. GPA 3.75/4.0, Chancellor's Honor List. Bachelor of Science, SZABIST.

Two ways to work with me

Hire me into your team, or bring me in for a defined project. Based in Riyadh, available immediately for either.

Full-time role

Join your leadership team

Head of Learning & DevelopmentL&D strategy, academies, leadership programs
Organizational Development LeadOD diagnostics, culture, capability roadmaps
Talent Management ManagerSuccession, assessment, competency frameworks
Capability Development LeadSkills development, upskilling, AI readiness

Discuss a role

Consulting & training

Engage me for a project

Competency frameworks & success profilesCore, functional and behavioural, ready for your HRIS
Succession & talent assessment9-box, psychometric and 360° assessment programs
L&D strategy & impact measurementTraining plans, blended learning, learning analytics
Leadership & Train-the-Trainer workshopsDelivered by a certified Master Trainer
HR process automationPerformance, learning and onboarding on SuccessFactors, LMS or HRIS
AI in the workplace & job evaluationPrompt-engineering upskilling; Mercer-certified job evaluation
Culture, diversity & inclusion programs

Request a proposal

I want to bring enterprise OD, talent and capability-development practice to Saudi organisations delivering on Vision 2030's human capability goals: building local talent pipelines, upskilling at scale, and measuring what learning changes.