Benjamin joined the IOTA GROUP in 2011. His daily responsibilities include working with our clients in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar ensuring their satisfaction is maintained with our services. See what Benjamin has to say about his role:
How long have you been working at IOTA GROUP ?
I have been with the family business of IOTA for almost 8 years. Starting in 2011 as a Business Development Manager in France with IOTA Industrie, responsible for developing the business activities of this branch. I was afforded the opportunity to progress with IOTA Group and moved to the United Arab Emirates as the Resident Manager in October 2012. Where I coordinate the business interests of this and the new IOTA Qatar branches, with responsibility for the Middle East.
As a Resident Manager, what is your role ?
My role as Resident Manager is to enact the IOTA GROUP Strategy, within my sphere of responsibility.
I actively seek new business opportunities within our sector, accompanying our team locally to pursue business leads and support our clients, consultants and partners. I feel like the ‘Conductor of and Orchestra’ as I coordinate the different parts of the business in the Middle East, which is a challenging everchanging environment.
My team are responsible for overseeing complex projects across the region, which often require a high degree of involvement and technical expertise.
The Middle East presents its own challenges and is a complex ever-changing region. I work daily towards the success of the IOTA Group both Globally and in the Middle East in their business sector.
What are your goals for IOTA Group in the Middle East?
From 2017 there have been two major developments concerning the IOTA Group in the Middle East, which allow our company to be a major player in the Middle East:
- In 2017 the IOTA GROUP acquired TECHMA, a Dubai based company, which delivers training and emergency response management solutions (Health and Safety accredited training, Emergency Response accredited training and Emergency Response Team management).
- In 2018 the IOTA GROUP opened a new branch in Qatar to provide closer support to our Qatari clients, consultants and partners.
We have become a major player in the Middle East, continuing to deliver solutions in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Yemen. We continue to be innovative and provide bespoke solutions to assist our clients in their business aims and deliver their projects. We respect the rules of the host countries and proactively seek to comply with these.
Today, what is your recruitment strategy?
I actively support the IOTA GROUP recruitment strategy, complying with the group guidance, but adapting to the regional needs and challenges.
We are seeking to provide a more representative ‘regional’ profile, actively engaging in recruiting local nationals for the host country. We have already achieved this with an Emirati working for IOTA Abu Dhabi, a Qatari working for IOTA Qatar and Iraqis working for TECHMA in Iraq. This demonstrates the goal of IOTA GROUP in supporting local resourcing where appropriate.
With some of our client requirements presenting rare qualification combinations has some real challenges in the acquisition of suitable talent to fulfil these roles, which is a real challenge to our development. Our aim is to make every employee a ‘Brand Ambassador’, which helps us attract the best candidates. We seek to develop our candidates to meet the role requirements and with the contribution of TECHMA bespoke solutions we can train our candidates to meet the challenges, if the candidates are not readily available.
In the coming months we are planning to develop a dedicated content area for candidates, to produce a pool of talent which conform to the objectives and culture of our Middle East company.
For more information about our Abu Dhabi’s team, our services (Talent Resourcing, Global Mobility, Gateway Services, Recruitment Solution, Training, Expert Consulting), and our opportunities, contact us!
