Gulf_European

Jumping on this thread again as I've been offered a position at NEOM and trying to find out as much as possible about how it is to work and live there (Sharma).
Some questions for those of you who are already there and working:

- When speaking about the salary, did you have to prove your current salary? They are giving a 30% bump on my current salary, but that sounds weird especially if you are coming from a european job where a 30% salary increase (as salaries are much less here than the gulf in general) wouldnt justify moving to such a remote location. I'd think they would just have a budget in mind for the salary and thats what you would be offered, open to negotiations. Going off previous salary is something new to me, and I've been working in my industry for 10+ years.
- Did you get to choose your accommodation? Living in cabins vs. living in the NC2 or whatever they're called seems to be VERY different experiences.
- How long did it take for your degree etc to get verified, or was this something you even had to get done?
- Been reading about work visa issues, is an iqama not issued and you have to rely on a business visa to get renewed every 90 days? Seems very unstable position to be in.

Coming from Scandinavia and as couple, no kids.

ZeroCool_HTP

I think there is a salary range for each grade level, if your existing salary +30% is within this range I doubt you will have much room for negotiation, although it is always worth trying.

I believe all new starts will be living in NC2 until they expand NC1, probably 2023 at the earliest but others can chip in if they know better.

Allow 6 weeks for degree attestation, probably close to 3 months for total visa application.

All employees must join on work/residency visa, and then NEOM will get your IQAMA within the country. It seems they stopped issuing business visas entirely since 1st Jan 2022.

Hope this helps, and others will probably provide you with more detail.

Trailing_Hubby

30% increase on a Scandinavian salary and not paying taxes wouldn’t be worth moving?

Gulf_European

Thank you! NC1 seems much nicer, I assume its what is seen on @siselarabia on Instagram, where she is living.

Yeah, they said I'd probably be able to join closer to summer due to all processed taking time.

I'm lucky to be in a position where I have 2 other offers in the region (not KSA) where the salary is at least double, or more. And then I wouldnt have to live in the desert basically.
But in terms of opportunity, being able to work with such a big project and with the vision, NEOM would be the best choice.
However, doesnt feel right leaving money on the table so to speak... So wanted to know if negotiation to match the other offers were even possible.

Trailing_Hubby

Anecdotally there isn't much negotiation at the moment, it's more formula based. Worth asking though if you have directly comparable offers..

ZeroCool_HTP

In my experience they wont even take into consideration other offers. If you are in contact with whoever will be your director in your department, they may be able to submit a request for special circumstances to get you an increase, but its not gauranteed to be successful and its unlikely they will be able to get a large increase.

scrubbedexpat141

Just don't tell them your current salary.

Ask what the role is paying. There's a few in Kingdom who do this, "oh we pay X% increase on your current". It's the most bizarre and stupid practice on earth.

Tell them to make you an offer, then go from there. **** going to NEOM for average cash.

Laguna_1

Just joined folks but been reading about neom for a while too.

I’m currently in the process myself, I was told that there is a general delay with onboarding (no surprise given what I’ve already read here) but around 8 weeks for the attestationn element so expect a 3-4 month timeline. I’m on a 6 month notice but will negotiate that down.

In terms of salary, does anyone know what the ranges are for Manager and Senior Manager roles. I am assuming the corporate hierachy here is Manager > Senior Manager > Director. I’m being told that:-

i) managers here are more like senior managers in the Uk

ii) Senior Managers are more like Directors.

iii) Directors are more like MD’s.

30% increase seems light to me compared to moving to the camps if I am honest, however the appeal of neom vs other offers you may have which are doubling your salary are very minimal expenses (no accommodation, cleaning, travel or food costs).

however, given the move to Nc2 for potentially a year I would expect at least a 50% increase. I have lived in a world where previous salaries are looked at heavily but that in itself isn’t always a good measure of candidate worth. Eg someone whom lives in London would always get paid circa 30% more than someone on the regions where I am based (I am toying with idea of getting another london job offer to show what my salary is in reality).

I have been told though that they are paying big money there for the right people and therefore depending what level of role you are going for and which area it’s in with the organisation, there is a strong chance of a large monthly saving.

Laguna_1

Is it 30% on base salary or base salary and benefits (healthcare, pension etc) ?

ZeroCool_HTP

I wish i had asked this too, but I am guessing total packages based off of info I know:

Manager - 35000 to 45000
Senior Manager - 45000 to 70000
Director - 70000 to 100000

Remember, they are basing them off previous salary, alot of people are moving from roles in the west where salaries are just average e.g. Northern England. If youre lucky youre moving from a Riyadh salary.

Example: Senior Manager in England earning £60k, with the 25% uplift they will be offered a total salary package of SAR 31,375 (based on £1 = SAR 5.02).

I dont know if they then uplift it into the salary range baed on the grade of the new role.

nonthaburi

Absolutely, people should never forget that the overriding reason for being in KSA is money. Anything else should be secondary.

Forget career development, "the cultural experience", etc etc.

And for anyone with school age children, if they're secondary school age leave them at home. If they're primary age, come out on your own first and get settled.

My kids are midteens now and getting them to visit Saudi is no easy matter. Anyone thinking a teenager from the UK is going to enjoy their expat experience is deluding themselves.

ZeroCool_HTP

Its their policy to base it off current salary, if you take the approach mentioned above the conversation will end there and then. There is zero flexibility. I believe its a Saudi PIF policy.

Agree with the statement about teenage kids. I dont think I would even take them to Riyadh never mind the desert.

Saff_Parker

My husband had to prove his salary, yes. Used payslips to do so. The percentage increase offer is standard here in Neom at the moment. I've not seen it done this way anywhere else.
You do not get to choose your accommodation at the moment. It really is first come first serve.
The two accommodation camps are NC1 (main base camp) and NC2. NC1 has one bed cabins and two bed cabins plus the school and majority of the offices. NC2 has several studio type rooms and some offices, mainly for procurement. No school there.
Degree attestation - my husband's degree is from North America and we carried out the attestation from London. Took around 4 weeks if I remember correctly. Used an agent to help out and do everything for him. I've done it myself before for my own degree when I moved from the UK to the UAE and I did it very quickly myself but had to do lots of running around. Easier with an agent probably. And yes you do need to do this before coming to Neom.
You'll either enter KSA on a business visa (renewable every 90 days but you have to exit the country and re-enter, it's a visa for travelling businessmen to be honest) or a work visa (the more appropriate visa to have as a new employee.. an Iqama will be arranged for you after arrival).

Saff_Parker

Based on my experience, I'd go for the double-salary offer in a different country.

Saff_Parker

Your last line is completely correct in our case.