In today's competitive world, governments strive to accelerate their development by improving the quality of human resources. The attraction and retention of elite human capital is of particular importance to governments, as when placed in the right positions and under favorable conditions, elites can play a more effective role in helping countries achieve higher levels of progress. This study aims to design an integrated model of indicators for Recruiting elites in the public sector using a mixed-methods approach (qualitative content analysis of 10 legal documents and thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 16 senior public sector managers). The findings identified six key indicators across two domains: Hard indicators ) Ability to translate specialized knowledge into practical solutions ، Designing roadmaps while considering administrative constraints ( and Soft indicators (Inter-organizational networkin, Sustaining motivation in non-meritocratic environments , Prioritizing national interests , Ability to drive change in stagnant systems) .

The results revealed a significant gap between legal criteria and practical needs: while hard indicators were more emphasized in legal documents, managers prioritized soft indicators. The proposed model integrates these two perspectives, providing a comprehensive framework for redefining elite recruitment criteria that can inform future policymaking.