Operations Director

Job description / Role

Operations director

Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Operations director (contract)
Mid May 2025 to end of January 2026
Based in Dubai office until October
Must be able to go onsite from October/November to January

Lead the seamless delivery of a world class festival

About us

Why you should join us

• Be at the helm of a major festival. Lead the full operations lifecycle for one of the region's most anticipated events.
• High level leadership. Drive coordination between teams, government stakeholders, and global vendors.
• Make an impact. Your work will directly affect guest experience, public safety, and event success.

About the role

As operations director (contract, Liwa):

What you'll do

• Learn rational planning. Own the full event operations lifecycle from pitch through to post-event debrief.
• Government and stakeholder liaison. Manage day-to-day coordination with clients, authorities, vendors, and regulatory bodies.
• Team and contractor management. Recruit, train, and manage internal teams and external contractors across key functional areas.
• Oversee live delivery. Lead real-time event operations including security, HSE, toilets, guest services, ticketing, crowd management, and vendor logistics.
• Run the MOC. Oversee the Main Operations Centre during the event, acting as the decision-making hub for operational control.
• Manage budgets and procurement. Own the operations budget, forecast accurately, and lead procurement cycles with a focus on value and efficiency.
• Implement HSE and risk protocols. Collaborate with internal and external teams to ensure safety compliance and readiness for emergencies.
• Report and improve. Produce clear documentation, event reports, and learnings to feed into future projects and improve internal processes.

About you

• Senior operations leader with 10 years experience managing operations for large scale outdoor public events.
• Detail oriented planner skilled in developing systems, workflows, and scalable event plans.
• Confident negotiator and communicator able to manage multiple stakeholders and align diverse partners.
• Resilient under pressure, capable of leading live operations in remote and high pressure environments.
• Collaborative leader known for motivating teams, managing complexity, and leading by example.

What you need to apply

• Minimum 10 years of event operations experience.
• Experience with festivals, mass participation events, or citywide activations.
• Proven ability to manage large teams, vendors, and logistics.
• Experience working in the Middle East.
• Advanced stakeholder management skills.
• Fluent in written and spoken English (Arabic highly desirable).
• Valid UAE driving license.
• Strong budgeting and procurement capabilities.

Required experience

Director

Key skills

• Employee relations
• Employee evaluation
• Management experience
• Profit & loss
• Conflict management
• Operations management
• Project management
• Budgeting
• Leadership experience
• Supervising experience
• Leadership management
• Financial planning

Employment type: Full time
Vacancy: 1