The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is fast transforming itself into one of the world’s Top 10 most competitive economies and one of most lucrative markets for expats. Riyadh, the nation's capital city and economic hub, has experienced a tremendous intake of foreigners and locals from far flung areas and towns in recent years.

The infrastructure of the city is quickly expanding and in accord, job opportunities in construction, engineering, banking, IT, and medicine are increasing. Expats working in Riyadh are managed in a fair but controlled way; they are paid well, treated well and most of the time rewarded for their efforts.  It follows that Riyadh is becoming one of the top expat destinations in the Middle East.

Sponsorship for working in Riyadh

All expats need a sponsor to visit, live or work in Riyadh and Saudi Arabia as a whole. A sponsor acts as a type of guardian, a guarantor, and an administrator for paperwork; including applications for work and residence, opening a bank account, buying a car or renting an accommodation.

A sponsoring employer can take the form of a government organisation (all the ministries are located in Riyadh), an individual, a company or institution, a hospital or even a bank.

The majority of contract and freelance appointments are made outside Saudi Arabia in lieu of the strict visa regulations. It’s only in extremely rare cases that expats can arrive in Riyadh without a job and find one locally, and it’s often a matter of who you know rather than what you know in this situation.

Recruitment agencies for Riyadh

Most of the recruiters who recruit expats are not based in Riyadh and generally operate outside the Kingdom. Many agencies tends to specialise in particular areas of work, e.g. medical, nursing staff, teaching, accountants, construction, IT, executives and office staff. Normally the agency and consultancy fees are paid by the employer.

Large-scale reputable recruiters include:

• Monsters.com
• Gulfjobhunt.com
• Mymiddleeastjobs.com
• Gulftalent.com
• Saudiheadhunters.com

Teaching English in Riyadh

A demand for teaching English is growing rapidly in Riyadh as the population of school-going kids now numbers over one million. The English language acts as a bridge between locals and expats, and staff in hotels, airports, hospitals and other services are increasingly being required to have knowledge of the language.

The Saudi national curriculum requires English to be taught as a second language, but native English speakers are rarely found in Riyadh. Private English lessons are popular in Riyadh with national families; therefore, this is a significant source of employment and often a great job for a trailing spouse.
 
Furthermore, there’s a large number of private schools in Riyadh catering to the expatriate population. These schools and the language centres used by local nationals to learn English both require teachers. Those who are fluent in Arabic and English can find work as translators and interpreters.

IT, engineering and temporary jobs

Temporary and casual work might be available in Riyadh in the following areas:

• Office administration, secretarial work
• Customer services jobs
• Various jobs in ports such as crewing or making deliveries
• IT field jobs such as Programmers and DBA’s
• Engineering field jobs in construction and various industries

The growing number of hospitals in the city has also created a demand for more doctors, nurses and medical professionals.

Business Etiquette in Riyadh

Expats working in Riyadh will most likely need to educate themselves about workplace etiquette. The city is the most conservative in the KSA and it follows that customs in the business world should be respected and adhered to.

• Never show bare shoulders, stomach, calves and thighs
• Visitors are expected to abide by local standards of modesty. Avoid discussing women and issues
• Despite the heat, most of the body must always remain covered
• Men should avoid wearing visible jewellery, particularly around the neck
• Women should always wear modest clothing in public

Salaries in Saudi Arabia are usually similar to or greater than those paid in western countries. Additionally, because the region has no personal taxation net income is usually much greater.

Some advantages like basic salary, car provision, housing provision, medical cover, education for children, paid annual leave and air tickets for home visits are often provided as extra perks.

The working week in Riyadh is Saturday to Wednesday; employees are expected to put in between 40 and 48 hours, depending on the particular employer's policy. 

Office hours are usually from:

Private Clients: 8.30 or 9.00 am to 5.30 or 6.00 pm.
Banking Sector: 8.00 am to 5.00 pm
Health Sector: 8.00 am to 5.00 pm
Nursing Sector: 8.00 am to 8.00 pm
Government Sector: 7.30 am to 3.00 pm