Saudi Offer - Riyadh - advise needed
Nov 2nd 2020, 7:54 am
#1
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 3
Saudi Offer - Riyadh - advise needed
Hi all,
I was given an offer recently to join a multinational based in Riyadh, for the role of Head of Marketing.
It's a big company and the job sounds exciting. Nevertheless I am not sure they are giving me the best I could get and I am completely clueless as to what is the norm / good conditions while moving to Riyadh.
Here is what I'm at currently:
London-based with a salary of 80k GBP a year
Car allowance (~400GBP / month)
Yearly bonus of 15-30% depending on performance
What I'm offered:
Base of 40,000 SAR / month
Car allowance ~3,000 SAR / month
Health insurance
Housing allowance: 10,000 SAR / month (which I believe will go in full towards an accommodation in a compound)
Discretionary bonus, verbally indicated at around 10-20%
Shares options, no clarity here, it just "happens sometimes at the discretion of management"
2 return flights for me and my family. The wife won't join me in KSA so that's just for me.
40 days holiday
End of service as per law
Education allowance for kids which I won't use
It sounds like a lot of stuff, comparing to my current much slimmer package, but I'm not sure if it makes a lot of sense to go for it & how it compares to other similar level jobs in KSA? The role reports to a VP who reports to CEO.
Thank you very much in advance!
I was given an offer recently to join a multinational based in Riyadh, for the role of Head of Marketing.
It's a big company and the job sounds exciting. Nevertheless I am not sure they are giving me the best I could get and I am completely clueless as to what is the norm / good conditions while moving to Riyadh.
Here is what I'm at currently:
London-based with a salary of 80k GBP a year
Car allowance (~400GBP / month)
Yearly bonus of 15-30% depending on performance
What I'm offered:
Base of 40,000 SAR / month
Car allowance ~3,000 SAR / month
Health insurance
Housing allowance: 10,000 SAR / month (which I believe will go in full towards an accommodation in a compound)
Discretionary bonus, verbally indicated at around 10-20%
Shares options, no clarity here, it just "happens sometimes at the discretion of management"
2 return flights for me and my family. The wife won't join me in KSA so that's just for me.
40 days holiday
End of service as per law
Education allowance for kids which I won't use
It sounds like a lot of stuff, comparing to my current much slimmer package, but I'm not sure if it makes a lot of sense to go for it & how it compares to other similar level jobs in KSA? The role reports to a VP who reports to CEO.
Thank you very much in advance!
Nov 2nd 2020, 11:22 am
#4
Joined: Feb 2010
Location: Buraydah , Saudi Arabia
Posts: 2,863
Re: Saudi Offer - Riyadh - advise needed
Hi all,
I was given an offer recently to join a multinational based in Riyadh, for the role of Head of Marketing.
It's a big company and the job sounds exciting. Nevertheless I am not sure they are giving me the best I could get and I am completely clueless as to what is the norm / good conditions while moving to Riyadh.
Here is what I'm at currently:
London-based with a salary of 80k GBP a year
Car allowance (~400GBP / month)
Yearly bonus of 15-30% depending on performance
What I'm offered:
Base of 40,000 SAR / month
Car allowance ~3,000 SAR / month
Health insurance
Housing allowance: 10,000 SAR / month (which I believe will go in full towards an accommodation in a compound)
Discretionary bonus, verbally indicated at around 10-20%
Shares options, no clarity here, it just "happens sometimes at the discretion of management"
2 return flights for me and my family. The wife won't join me in KSA so that's just for me.
40 days holiday
End of service as per law
Education allowance for kids which I won't use
It sounds like a lot of stuff, comparing to my current much slimmer package, but I'm not sure if it makes a lot of sense to go for it & how it compares to other similar level jobs in KSA? The role reports to a VP who reports to CEO.
Thank you very much in advance!
I was given an offer recently to join a multinational based in Riyadh, for the role of Head of Marketing.
It's a big company and the job sounds exciting. Nevertheless I am not sure they are giving me the best I could get and I am completely clueless as to what is the norm / good conditions while moving to Riyadh.
Here is what I'm at currently:
London-based with a salary of 80k GBP a year
Car allowance (~400GBP / month)
Yearly bonus of 15-30% depending on performance
What I'm offered:
Base of 40,000 SAR / month
Car allowance ~3,000 SAR / month
Health insurance
Housing allowance: 10,000 SAR / month (which I believe will go in full towards an accommodation in a compound)
Discretionary bonus, verbally indicated at around 10-20%
Shares options, no clarity here, it just "happens sometimes at the discretion of management"
2 return flights for me and my family. The wife won't join me in KSA so that's just for me.
40 days holiday
End of service as per law
Education allowance for kids which I won't use
It sounds like a lot of stuff, comparing to my current much slimmer package, but I'm not sure if it makes a lot of sense to go for it & how it compares to other similar level jobs in KSA? The role reports to a VP who reports to CEO.
Thank you very much in advance!
Car and housing allowance will do exactly that, pay for a house and car.
Health insurance - hopefully you'll never need it.
2 tickets sounds a bit stingy if it's just you. You will be travelling a lot to see your family.
40 days is good. Clarify if that's just working days or will they count the weekend in the middle of a 2 week holiday. Plus you'll get 2x5 days for the Eids.
Education allowance immaterial as you won't be using it.
Only you know what costs you have in the UK, but to me it sounds like a lot of upheaval for an extra 1k or so GBP a month.
Are there any career advancement benefits for the future? How easy to get a decent job back in the UK if it doesn't work out?
Nov 2nd 2020, 11:40 am
#5
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 3
Re: Saudi Offer - Riyadh - advise needed
Thank you very much for such a detailed answer!
Regarding the tax benefits, I'm not a UK national, so assume I'll be eligible for a 0% income tax from day 1?
So in principle from getting around 4500 GBP / month I would move to ~8000 GBP / month with very little things to spend on. Of course the move will be putting my life on pause in terms of social interactions and everything else, but that is what makes me think about this offer - difference in disposable income. I will have to send around 1000 back home, but that's that.
Agreed on traveling, this is definitely going to be at least 500 GBP every month / second month.
Not sure how easy it will be to get a decent job when back... I guess it's doable, but of course no one knows for sure.
Guess at this point I'm leaning towards a no on this one. And just thinking, what would make sense if they want to negotiate? I'm guessing what they offered me is on a low side. What would be a decent salary for senior manager's / director's level position in big Saudi company? 50k / month base? 70k?
Regarding the tax benefits, I'm not a UK national, so assume I'll be eligible for a 0% income tax from day 1?
So in principle from getting around 4500 GBP / month I would move to ~8000 GBP / month with very little things to spend on. Of course the move will be putting my life on pause in terms of social interactions and everything else, but that is what makes me think about this offer - difference in disposable income. I will have to send around 1000 back home, but that's that.
Agreed on traveling, this is definitely going to be at least 500 GBP every month / second month.
Not sure how easy it will be to get a decent job when back... I guess it's doable, but of course no one knows for sure.
Guess at this point I'm leaning towards a no on this one. And just thinking, what would make sense if they want to negotiate? I'm guessing what they offered me is on a low side. What would be a decent salary for senior manager's / director's level position in big Saudi company? 50k / month base? 70k?
