A defining moment in Rania Khandaqji’s life came when she realized how much our environments influence our energy, wellbeing, and collaboration. Early in her career, she noticed a powerful truth: when spaces are designed thoughtfully and with care, people feel happier and perform better. This realization became the foundation of her career and inspired her to dedicate herself to workplace and facility management.
Rania Khandaqji’s journey spans several industries, including aviation, consultancy, hospitality, and technology. But no matter the sector, her focus remained the same: creating inclusive, safe, and inspiring spaces that enable people to thrive. What makes her work unique is her holistic approach to facility management, blending hard services such as physical infrastructure, maintenance, safety, and security with soft services like hospitality, events, and employee experience. This combination ensures that workplaces are not just functional, but truly alive.
A Passion Rooted in People, Culture, and Space
What truly drives Rania Khandaqji is the connection between people, culture, and the spaces they occupy. Workplace and facility management became the perfect career path for her because it allowed her to shape both the physical environment and the emotional experience of employees. Over time, working across various industries gave her valuable insight into how different environments influence human behavior and productivity.
Studies have proven what Rania Khandaqji experienced firsthand: the emotional connection employees have with their workplace strongly affects their performance. This inspired her to champion diversity and inclusivity, making sure every voice is heard, every facility runs efficiently and securely, and every space feels welcoming to all.
Leading Workplace Transformations That Matter
One of Rania Khandaqji’s proudest accomplishments has been leading major workplace and facility transformations across multiple regions. These projects have consistently increased employee satisfaction and engagement, proving that prioritizing people leads to higher productivity and loyalty.
As a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, Rania Khandaqji focuses on building workplaces where everyone feels they belong. She thrives on creating social connections through events and shared experiences. While her team jokingly calls their gatherings “events for the workplace,” their true purpose is much deeper: they are designed to spark friendships, boost morale, and create joyful memories that tie people to their organization.
Merging Efficiency with Empathy
Starting her career in the aviation industry and later moving into consultancy, hospitality, and technology, Rania Khandaqji always worked within workplace management. Early on, she faced the challenge of convincing others that emotional factors like inclusivity, belonging, and the aesthetics of spaces are as important as technical operations such as maintenance, vendor management, and security.
This challenge shaped her leadership style, balancing operational efficiency with empathy. For Rania Khandaqji, a workplace is not just a building; it is a community where people feel safe, valued, and connected. She ensures that both hard services such as building systems and safety measures and soft services such as hospitality and events are managed proactively to deliver outstanding experiences.
Driving Workplace Strategy Across the Region
Today, Rania Khandaqji leads workplace strategy across the MENA region, bringing her rich experience from the broader MEA region. Her mission is simple but powerful: to make every office happy, healthy, productive, safe, sustainable, inclusive, efficient, and effective.
To strengthen her expertise, Rania Khandaqji earned a certification in facility management. This qualification allows her to oversee both hard services such as building maintenance and security and soft services such as employee hospitality and experience with confidence and authority.
Her comprehensive approach to facility governance includes ensuring seamless security measures, crisis readiness, and access control, all integrated smoothly into daily workplace operations.
Creating Workplaces Ready for the Future
Rania Khandaqji views workplaces as living ecosystems that need careful nurturing to thrive. She actively listens to employees, incorporates data insights, and manages facilities with precision and care. By focusing on both hard infrastructure and soft employee services, she has witnessed how well-designed, inclusive environments unlock creativity, resilience, and stronger collaboration.
This belief guides every decision she makes. For Rania Khandaqji, workplaces should not just serve functional needs but also inspire and include every individual, making them feel proud and connected.
Building a Legacy of Belonging and Innovation
Looking forward, Rania Khandaqji hopes to leave behind workplaces that are much more than just operational spaces. She dreams of environments where wellbeing, sustainability, and belonging are central. These workplaces would foster innovation and personal growth, creating spaces where people want to come every day.
She also wants to be remembered as a connector, a leader who uses events and experiences to bring people together and create lasting memories. Even their “workplace events,” though lightheartedly named, are carefully designed to balance enjoyment with business goals. As Rania Khandaqji explains, when employees laugh, bond, and feel proud of their workplace, that pride reflects the brand and culture that have been built.
Behind the scenes, Rania Khandaqji ensures hard and soft services work seamlessly together. This proactive management keeps workplaces reliable, secure, and ready for the future.
Advice to Her Younger Self
If she could speak to her younger self, Rania Khandaqji would say: trust the journey and embrace change. Every challenge is an opportunity to grow, and passion for people will always guide you in the right direction.
She encourages focusing on creating workplaces that are efficient and effective but also inclusive and emotionally resonant. According to her, the happiest moments come when employees share pride in their workplace, knowing that behind the scenes, every detail, whether infrastructure or hospitality, is managed to ensure a smooth, safe experience.
Who is Rania Khandaqji?
Rania Khandaqji is a visionary leader in workplace and facility management who has dedicated her career to transforming offices into ecosystems of wellbeing and connection. With a background spanning aviation, consultancy, hospitality, and technology, she has become an expert at blending operational excellence with emotional intelligence.
Her leadership across the MENA and MEA regions has helped raise standards for diversity, inclusion, sustainability, and security in workplaces. Through her holistic approach, she continues to inspire teams and create environments where people can thrive both professionally and personally.
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