Senior hires for SMEs in Dubai CFO, COO, country manager, head of sales

Full-time, fractional or interim

A senior title is not always a full-time job. Start from the problem you need solved and how long it will take, then choose the format.

• Full-time makes sense when the area needs daily ownership for years: a CFO when there are several entities, investors or a bank to report to; a COO when delivery, suppliers and teams need one owner; a country manager when a foreign company opens or grows a UAE entity; a head of sales when revenue depends on a team, not on the founder
• Fractional (a few days a month) fits when the need is real but not daily: a fractional CFO to set up reporting, budgets and the relationship with auditors while a financial controller or accountant does the daily work
• Interim (full-time for a fixed period) fits a gap or a project: a departure, a restructuring, a system change or a market launch with a clear end date
• A strong second-line hire is often better than a premature senior one: a financial controller before a CFO, an operations manager before a COO, a sales manager before a head of sales
• Whatever the format, write down what the person must own and decide, and what stays with the owner

How to write a senior brief

Candidates at this level read a brief as a signal of how the company is run. A vague brief attracts generalists; a specific one attracts people who have solved your problem before.

• Why the role exists now: the problem in one or two sentences (growth, a second market, investor reporting, the owner stepping back)
• Outcomes for the first year and for the first 100 days, in business terms, not duties
• Scope: entities, markets, team size and who reports to the person, budget authority
• Who they report to and who else decides: founder, board, investors, a parent company abroad
• Must-have experience (for example, a CFO who has prepared a company for a bank or investor process; a head of sales who has built a team, not only sold) versus nice-to-have
• Budget as a range for the full package, checked against the role pages and the Salary Index before the search, and the terms you are open to discuss
• Confidentiality level and the interview steps with dates

How to assess a senior candidate

Interviews alone favour people who present well. At senior level the assessment should show judgement on your real situation.

• A case on your business: a short, anonymised pack (numbers, org chart, a current problem) and a presentation of what they would do and in what order
• A 100-day plan: what they would learn in the first weeks, which quick wins they would aim for, which decisions they would not take before they understand the business
• Structured references: former managers, peers and people who reported to them, with the same questions about results, decisions under pressure and how they leave a team
• A meeting with the people who will work with them most: the founder, a key team member, sometimes a board member or investor
• For a CFO or financial controller: how they would set up management reporting and cash control, and how they work with auditors and tax advisers in practice; for a head of sales: a pipeline review and a hiring plan for the team
• Check the fit with the owner honestly: the most common reason a senior hire leaves an SME is a disagreement on who decides what

Confidential search while someone is in the role

Sometimes the owner needs a new senior person while the current one is still working. This needs care for both sides and for the business.

• Keep the circle small: decide who knows and how information is shared
• Use an anonymised brief in the first contacts and name the company only to shortlisted candidates who have agreed to confidentiality
• Plan the handover before the new person starts: access, client relationships, open projects, bank and signatory matters
• Treat the current employee fairly and according to the contract and the law; take advice from your lawyer or HR on the steps, see our guide to employment contracts
• Avoid public job ads for the exact role until the change is announced

Onboarding a senior hire

Senior people fail in the first months more often from a weak start than from weak skills. Plan the first 100 days together, before day one.

• Access and introductions in the first week: systems, bank, key clients, suppliers, advisers, the team
• A written agreement on decisions: what they decide alone, what with the owner, what stays with the owner
• Agreed first targets for the first 100 days, reviewed in a short meeting every week or two
• Time with the founder: a regular slot, not only when something goes wrong
• A clear probation review with the criteria agreed at the start; see our guide to probation and notice in the UAE

How we help

TLNT is a hiring consultancy. For senior roles we help the owner choose the format (full-time, fractional or interim), write the brief, check the budget against the market, run a confidential search when needed and assess finalists with a case on your business, a 100-day plan and structured reference calls. You make the hiring decision and agree the terms with the candidate yourself; the person is employed directly by your company, the employer sponsors the visa and we give you a step-by-step checklist.

Our fee is fixed for each role and agreed before the search starts. A 10% prepayment of the fee starts the search, the rest is due once the person has started work. If it does not work out, we find a replacement free of charge; the period is set in the contract. Consulting and CRM projects are priced after a free review.