head of events

Position - Head of Events
Joining - Immediate
Location - Abu Dhabi

Role Overview

The Head of Events is responsible for leading the strategic planning, development, and execution of a comprehensive events portfolio that supports the organisation’s strategic objectives, strengthens stakeholder engagement, and enhances brand positioning.

This role oversees large-scale conferences, summits, exhibitions, and international forums, as well as executive roundtables, workshops, networking engagements, and high-level stakeholder events.

In addition to event delivery, the Head of Events will build, manage, and mentor a high-performing events team, fostering professional development, operational excellence, and a culture of innovation and collaboration. The role requires strong leadership, commercial acumen, and operational expertise to ensure world-class execution and measurable business impact.

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  Develop and implement a comprehensive events strategy aligned with organisational objectives.

  
  


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  Position events as strategic platforms to drive engagement, partnerships, business growth, and brand visibility.

  
  


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  Identify opportunities to enhance event formats, audience targeting, and market positioning.

  
  

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  Lead the end-to-end planning and delivery of large-scale conferences, summits, exhibitions, and high-profile ceremonies.

  
  


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  Oversee smaller-scale executive events including roundtables, workshops, and networking engagements.

  
  


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  Direct event concept development, thematic design, agenda curation, and speaker acquisition.

  
  


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  Manage venue selection, production design, and overall event experience.

  
  


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  Lead and oversee the RFP process, ensuring clear ownership and accountability within the team.

  
  


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  Ensure consistent brand alignment and world-class execution standards across all events.

  
  

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  Develop and manage annual event budgets.

  
  


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  Oversee cost planning, forecasting, and financial reporting.

  
  


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  Negotiate contracts with venues, production agencies, suppliers, and service providers.

  
  


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  Ensure cost efficiency while maintaining premium delivery standards.

  
  

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  Build and maintain relationships with senior executives, government representatives, sponsors, partners, and industry leaders.

  
  


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  Oversee protocol requirements and high-level guest experiences.

  
  


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  Collaborate cross-functionally with marketing, communications, operations, procurement, and leadership teams to ensure alignment and seamless delivery.

  
  

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  Lead, mentor, and develop the events team.

  
  


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  Establish best practices, operational frameworks, and governance standards.

  
  


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  Drive performance management and continuous professional development.

  
  


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  Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and innovation.

  
  

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  Ensure compliance with legal, procurement, and regulatory requirements.

  
  


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  Develop and implement contingency planning and risk mitigation strategies.

  
  


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  Maintain governance standards and audit readiness.

  
  

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  Establish KPIs and success metrics to measure event effectiveness.

  
  


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  Conduct post-event evaluations and performance reporting.

  
  


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  Provide monthly, quarterly, and annual reporting aligned with organisational governance standards.

  
  


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  Use data-driven insights to continuously improve event strategy and operational efficiency.

  
  

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  15+ years of experience in event management, with a minimum of 5 years in a senior leadership role.

  
  


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  Proven track record in delivering large-scale, high-profile events.

  
  


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  Strong expertise in vendor management and contract negotiations.

  
  


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  Experience managing multi-million budget portfolios.

  
  


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  Demonstrated ability to lead and scale high-performing teams.

  
  


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  Strong stakeholder management skills at executive and board levels.

  
  


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  Excellent strategic planning, organisational, and communication skills.