Mohammed Bukhari

01AynX02Tamara03SCET04Achievements05Off hours06Contact

Contact

02Talent strategy

Tamara

  • Already running or planned
  • What the umbrella would add

Tamara is a Saudi fintech unicorn with multi-billion-dollar backing from Goldman Sachs and Citi.

I joined as an intern on its talent brand and partnerships team.

They kept me on to build the strategy and automations behind its partnerships and hiring.

Role
Intern, then kept on as an external consultant
Team
Tamara’s talent acquisition team, with its operations lead in Riyadh
When
June to August 2026 in Riyadh, then remote
Result
A CRM across 700K+ records, and the 2027 strategy

Status Strategy written. I led the national competition, SAR 100,000 in prizes.

Context

When I joined Tamara’s talent team in Riyadh as an intern, from June to August 2026, the company already met young talent at events at home and abroad. Each event had its own name, so a student who met the team once had little reason to recognize it the next time.

The talent acquisition team asked for one strategy that covered all of it, not only competitions.

Sourcing and the CRM

Before the strategy, I mapped how the COO, Talent Brand, Partnerships and recruiting teams worked, then built the tools that connect them.

  • Sourcing. I ran LinkedIn Sales Navigator sourcing and outreach funnels for Tamara’s events, connecting prospect engagement and follow-up with recruiting workflows. In summer 2026 I added 500+ qualified early-career candidates to a warm pipeline.

  • The CRM. A Greenhouse-integrated CRM connecting the Sales Navigator sourcing workflows and event intake across 700K+ applicant, prospect and event-attendee records.

  • One view. Unified intake, deduplication, shared ownership, engagement histories and follow-up tracking across the talent pipelines, with OpenAI-assisted search for candidate filtering and shared views.

  • Partnerships. I evaluated 40+ organizations and secured 7 partnerships, spanning global hackathons and campus programs.

The 2027 strategy

One strategy for every way Tamara meets young talent, written for its talent acquisition and operations leads. The hackathon’s tracks go to Tamara’s COO for sign-off.

  • A 2027 strategy in three pillars, with a calendar and a plan for the months before the first event.

  • The design of its first flagship, a two-day hackathon in Riyadh: who can apply, how teams are selected and what they hand in.

  • A partner map: potential partners scored, and student clubs mapped.

The decision

My first version made the umbrella a program of its own, with its own governance. The feedback was that it should be a name and a mission that existing events sit under, not one more thing to run. I cut it back to that.

It is a smaller idea, and one that every existing event can adopt without waiting for a new structure.

The program map

Four routes leave one point. Each is a pillar of the proposed 2027 program, with Campus split into Saudi and abroad. Filled stops are events already running or planned; open stops are what the umbrella would add.

  • Compete. One flagship a year, fed by campus challenges. It starts in January.

  • Campus, Saudi. Standing partnerships instead of one-off visits, beginning in the first quarter.

  • Campus, abroad. One name on campus in the UK, US and UAE, in two windows a year, January and June.

  • Connect. A yearly rhythm for experienced people, built around an event in August.

  • Already running or planned
  • What the umbrella would add
The program mapDiagram of the proposed 2027 program: four routes leave one point. Compete, one flagship challenge a year fed by campus challenges. Campus in Saudi, standing university partnerships. Campus abroad, two campus windows a year in January and June. Connect, a yearly event for experienced people. Filled stops mark events already running or planned; open stops mark what the umbrella would add.The program mapDiagram of the proposed 2027 program: four routes leave one point. Compete, one flagship challenge a year fed by campus challenges. Campus in Saudi, standing university partnerships. Campus abroad, two campus windows a year in January and June. Connect, a yearly event for experienced people. Filled stops mark events already running or planned; open stops mark what the umbrella would add.
Proposed 2027 program, drawn for this site from my strategy. A proposal under review, not yet run.

Outcome

The strategy is written and its first hackathon is designed. I led Tamara’s national credit-risk fintech competition, with SAR 100,000 in prizes. The partnerships have begun, and Tamara kept me on to carry the work forward.

  • Kept on as an external consultant after the internship, on the same talent and partnerships work.

    SourceMy role since August 2026; strategy and design work dated September 2026

  • Built a Greenhouse-integrated CRM across 700K+ applicant, prospect and event-attendee records.

    SourceMohammed Bukhari’s résumé, October 2026

  • Added 500+ qualified early-career candidates to a warm pipeline in summer 2026, and secured 7 partnerships after evaluating 40+ organizations.

    SourceMohammed Bukhari’s résumé, October 2026

  • Led Tamara’s national credit-risk fintech competition, with SAR 100,000 in prizes.

    SourceMohammed Bukhari’s résumé, October 2026

  • Wrote the 2027 talent strategy for Tamara’s talent acquisition and operations leads.

    SourceStrategy deck, September 24, 2026

  • Designed the first hackathon: who can apply, how teams are selected and what they hand in.

    SourceProgram design workspace, September 2026

  • Started partnerships with top companies and organizations, starting multi-year relationships for the company.

    SourceMohammed Bukhari, in his own words, October 6, 2026

What’s next

Tamara will announce the competition’s dates.

Proposed, not yet done

  • Teams would be selected in stages, before and during the event.

  • Campus challenges through 2027 would feed the next flagship.

  • Smaller dinners for experienced people would lead up to the annual Connect event in August.

Credits

Company
Tamara, a Saudi fintech unicorn
Prepared for
Tamara’s talent acquisition team
People
Written for Danny Thomas (talent acquisition) and Batool Al Yousif (operations, Riyadh). The hackathon tracks go to Turki Bin Zarah, COO, for sign-off.