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We'll help you succeed in a globally connected powerhouse of diverse teams and take your career wherever you want it to go.

Join EY and help build a better working world.

The Opportunity

As a Senior Associate - Pre-Joining & Onboarding Specialist, you will play a key role in delivering a seamless, compliant, and engaging onboarding experience for new hires across Bahrain and the wider MENA region. Acting as a trusted advisor to candidates and internal stakeholders, you will manage pre-joining activities including onboarding, employment documentation, regulatory requirements, and employee readiness while ensuring compliance with local regulations and EY policies.

You will work closely with Recruitment, HR, Talent Consultants, Mobility, and business stakeholders to support hiring objectives and enhance the overall candidate experience.

As part of EY's commitment to developing local talent and supporting Bahrain's national workforce priorities, candidates with knowledge of the Bahraini employment landscape and talent ecosystem will be particularly valued.

Your Key Responsibilities

• Act as the primary point of contact for candidates throughout the pre-joining and onboarding journey.
• Manage end-to-end onboarding activities, ensuring all requirements are completed accurately and within agreed timelines.
• Coordinate onboarding documentation, employment requirements, government-related processes, and employee record creation.
• Partner with Recruitment, HR, IT, Talent teams, and business stakeholders to facilitate a smooth onboarding experience.
• Track onboarding progress, identify potential risks or delays, and proactively drive resolution.
• Ensure compliance with Bahrain labor regulations, internal policies, and data privacy requirements.
• Maintain accurate employee records, onboarding trackers, and reporting dashboards.
• Support relocation, mobility, and cross-border onboarding activities where applicable.
• Deliver a positive and engaging new joiner experience aligned with EY's Employee Value Proposition (EVP).
• Support initiatives related to Bahraini talent development programs and workforce localization requirements.
• Contribute to process improvement initiatives and continuously identify opportunities to enhance operational efficiency and candidate experience.

Skills and Attributes for Success

• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Excellent attention to detail and organizational capabilities.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• Proactive, customer-focused, and solution-oriented mindset.
• Ability to handle confidential and sensitive information with professionalism.
• Strong commitment to delivering an exceptional candidate and employee experience.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across multiple teams and functions.
• Strong follow-up and execution skills with a high degree of accountability.

To Qualify for the Role, You Must Have

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Management, or a related discipline.
• Approximately 2-4 years of relevant experience in onboarding, HR operations, employee services, immigration, mobility, recruitment operations, or talent administration.
• Experience supporting onboarding and employee lifecycle processes within a multinational or professional services environment.
• Understanding of Bahrain employment administration requirements and onboarding procedures.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.

Ideally, You'll Also Have

• Experience working within a regional or MENA-focused HR environment.
• Familiarity with HR systems, applicant tracking systems, and onboarding platforms.
• Exposure to process improvement and operational excellence initiatives.
• Arabic language skills would be advantageous.
• Experience supporting Bahraini national hiring initiatives.
• Understanding of Bahrain labor market dynamics, Tamkeen programs, or national workforce development initiatives.

What We Look For

We are looking for a highly organized and detail-oriented professional who is passionate about delivering an outstanding employee experience. The ideal candidate will demonstrate strong relationship-building skills, a collaborative approach, and the ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining a high level of accuracy and compliance.

Candidates who bring knowledge of the Bahraini market, local employment practices, and national talent development initiatives will be particularly valuable to this role.

What We Offer You

At EY, we'll develop you with future-focused skills and equip you with world-class experiences. We'll empower you in a flexible environment and fuel your extraordinary talents in a diverse and inclusive culture of globally connected teams.

Are you ready to shape your future with confidence? Apply today.

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EY | Building a Better Working World

EY is building a better working world by creating new value for clients, people, society, and the planet, while building trust in capital markets.

Enabled by data, AI, and advanced technology, EY teams help clients shape the future with confidence and develop answers for the most pressing issues of today and tomorrow.

EY teams work across assurance, consulting, tax, strategy and transactions in more than 150 countries.