Stories

In 2016, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman laid out his blueprint for the future of Saudi Arabia, Vision 2030; “The aim is to pave Saudi Arabia’s path to a strong, thriving and stable Saudi Arabia that provides opportunity for all….building a better country, fulfilling our dream of prosperity and unlocking talent, potential and dedication of our young men and women.”

Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman’s efforts to modernize the country has transformed women’s activities in the work environment and in the broader framework of Vision 2030, Saudi women are expected to play a leading role in the workforce.

Echoing this, KBR are committed to improving the diversity of our workforce based in the Middle East, in particular increasing the number of female employees. Ahmed Al-Dadah, KBR Vice President, Energy Solutions, Middle East said: “At KBR-AMCDE we are passionate about creating teams that reflect the diversity and skills of all people. We have worked hard to ensure there are equal opportunities across the board and we are proud of our success.” KBR-AMCDE is a joint venture business providing engineering and project management solutions to Saudi Aramco. 

Last year, Government Solutions EMEA mobilized a team in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as part of the Operational, Maintenance & Training (OM&T) Program, for the UK Ministry of Defence. Now at almost 250 KBR staff working on the program kingdom wide, the positive team culture and inclusive staff has been a real driver behind the successful delivery of the program. Bill Soo, OM&T Program Director said, “I truly believe a big contributor to our success lies in the diversity of our team. The passion and dedication that I have seen firsthand across all our teams in Kingdom has been exceptional. What we have achieved on the OM&T Program over the last six months has been one of my proudest accomplishments in my 30 years at KBR.”

Not only is KBR advocating and encouraging local hiring of females, but we are one of the only western-based companies to hire Saudi nationals with disabilities and are working on gaining a certification from the Ministry of Labour that promotes the inclusive culture to future KBR employees and customers. This year KBR will also be working closely with a Saudi University creating a Graduate Development Program, which is all in line with Vision 2030 and KBR’s own vision to grow and invest in our staff and capabilities.

KBR has regularly attended the female empowering Recruitment Fair Glo Works. As a direct result, the project has hired nine staff members, three of which are deaf females who provide OM&T with data entry, filing, and many other important jobs that keep the team functioning. During their down time, they do online KBR training to improve their administration and language skills.

KBR employees Jenan Al-Sadah, Reem Seraj, Rouu Atif Sindi, and Noora Alotaibi currently work within KBR-AMCDE or the OM&T Program in Saudi Arabia.

Jenan Al-Sadah, Principal Account Representative, Business Development (AMCDE)

“My dream was to be an engineer, but the opportunities were very limited in Saudi Arabia at the time I joined the University. As a female project engineer working in the oil & gas industry in Saudi Arabia was not easy at the beginning, however, with the support provided by KBR-AMCDE management I have had the opportunity to work on a numberr of Saudi Aramco’s mega pipeline projects and to work at KBR’s HQ in Houston.”

“I have just completed my MBA and have moved to Business Development for a new challenge. KBR-AMCDE certainly offers me the opportunity to further my career and to ensure I have the same opportunities available to me as my male colleagues.”

Reem Seraj, Vision Realization Manager (OM&T Program)

“I am half English half Saudi, I love people and I am forever bridging the information gap between my two countries.”

“I have been empowered from day one to learn, grow and succeed. I have never felt stifled or boxed in and I have loved everyone I have had the pleasure of meeting at KBR. Courage to Care has become part of my daily life and I now always hold the banister when I take the stairs.”

“Uniquely, we have hired three local Saudi women to work on the project who are deaf, which is amazing for our diversity and inclusion as well as the social value impact of hiring people who live locally to the program. I have become proficient in Arabic sign language (YES!! It’s not the same as English! Who knew?) and no longer require the interpreter to speak with them.”

Rouu Atif Sindi, HR Associate (OM&T Program)

“I graduated from Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, and have a Master’s in Information Technology and Management.”

“My passion is Human Resources and being part of this prestigious company, helping it grow in the region is a big part of that. I am now more experienced working with SAP which is on the top of my goals list. I like meeting and interacting with other KBR employees and learning from their experiences.”

Noora Alotaibi, Project Engineer (AMCDE)

“One of my key highlights so far has been a recent nomination to speak at ‘The Big Five’ event in April in Jeddah, KSA at the panel of ‘Saudi Women in Construction Fireside Chat’. ‘The Big Five’ is the oldest and largest construction exhibition in the Middle East and last year welcomed over 13,000 attendees. It is an honor that I can cease ‘The Big Five’ opportunity and talk about female engineers who have been involved in managing and monitoring the daily process of projects for the KBR-AMCDE business.

“I am looking forward to progressing in my career until I am in a position to help other talented female engineers break into the business.”

It is clear that the strong reputation that KBR has in the Middle East is testament to the brilliant and diverse men and women that make up the KBR family. KBR will continue to advocate and encourage a more representative workplace across all KBR offices around the world.