DON’T PUBLISH: US consultancy beefs up MENA military advisory with raft of new hires

Dubai: The US consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton has overseen a recent flurry of hiring activity at its Middle Eastern military advisory practice, with at least 19 new defence-related jobs advertised since last month.

The majority of the roles are based in either Abu Dhabi or Saudi Arabia.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia are spearheading a military campaign in Yemen in support of the country’s internationally-recognised government in a fight against Iran’s allied Al Houthi militants.

Of the 22 vacant jobs based in the UAE currently showing on the company’s website, almost half are for military positions.

One job description — for a lead military analyst — asks for a candidate who has “20+ years of experience as a US military officer in a warfare speciality or intelligence speciality,” and experience as a “Land Forces expert.”

Other requirements for the role include “military doctrine development,” “military manpower requirements determination,” and “experience with foreign military personnel related to security assistance and cooperative programs.”

The publicly-listed consultancy has posted two such roles this week. It advertised a further six Abu Dhabi-based military analyst positions in April.

That same month, the company was searching for at least five analysts to work on the development of Saudi Arabia’s air force.

The jobs all involved work on Saudi Arabia’s fleet of Boeing F-15 fighter jets, a critical component of the kingdom’s air capabilities.

In September, Booz Allen advertised for a Saudi Arabia-based senior maritime military analyst who had over 20 years of experience as a US or Nato naval officer in warfare speciality.

The company was simultaneously looking for a military intelligence expert with seven or more years of experience as a “US intelligence systems operator” dealing with “foreign intelligence personnel.”

In the 2018 fiscal year, Booz Allen earned $4.32 billion in contracts with defence and intelligence agencies around the world, accounting for 70 per cent of its total revenues.

Outside of the US, the Middle East and Southeast Asia remain the company’s strongest markets.

“Whatever the challenge and whatever the battleground — cyberspace, foreign soil or a country’s own backyard,” the company says on its regional website, “our experts help the Middle East and North Africa’s defence agencies to make mission-critical decisions and to build, deploy and support the military and civilian personnel tasked with keeping the region’s countries safe and secure.”

The company adds that it provides assistance on a wide array of military functions, from strategy development to operations.

“We have declined, and will continue to decline, proposed assignments anywhere in the world when we believe they are inconsistent with our firm’s purpose and values,” a Booz Allen spokesperson told Gulf News in a statement.

“Consistent with United States foreign policy and trade regulations, Booz Allen has worked in the Middle East and North Africa region for more than 40 years helping governments solve complex management and technology challenges.”

Booz Allen isn’t the only management consultant working with the region’s security forces.

According to a report in the New York Times last year that cited two unnamed sources, the US-based Boston Consulting Group (BCG) was also working with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defence to update its procurement systems and improve its management of finances and personnel.

Much like Booz Allen’s competitors — which include BCG, McKinsey, and Accenture — Booz Allen also offers both the public and private sectors a spectrum of traditional consultancy services.

In the Middle East, the company counts energy, data science, financial services, health care, and civil government among its areas of expertise, according to its website.

In its 2018 annual report, Booz Allen listed defence, intelligence, and civil agencies as its key areas of focus, with US government agencies accounting for 97 per cent of the company’s entire revenue for 2018.

It noted that the global commercial market, or the private sector, remained the “smallest but fastest growing part of our business, with revenue increasing nearly 30 per cent in fiscal 2018.”