Business Operations Lead

About the Role

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) seeks a Business Operations Lead for a critical project to enhance Abu Dhabi’s gaming sector. This role involves ownership of the sector’s internal operating framework, day-to-day operation management, and direct reporting to the Executive Director. The successful candidate will ensure operational excellence, fiscal discipline, and effective team leadership over a 12-month freelance contract based in Abu Dhabi.

Primary Responsibilities

• Manage and improve daily operational workflows of Abu Dhabi Gaming to maximize efficiency.
• Resolve operational issues, facilitate team communication, and coordinate resource allocation.
• Analyze and optimize operational procedures to elevate service quality and efficiency.
• Create and align operational plans with the overall strategic goals of Abu Dhabi Gaming.
• Ensure execution and tracking of critical projects, regularly reporting on performance metrics.
• Participate in strategic planning to synchronize department objectives with Abu Dhabi’s gaming industry vision.
• Maintain strong relationships with stakeholders and external partners to support sector advancement.
• Oversee contract drafting, negotiation, and review ensuring alignment with organizational and legal standards.
• Collaborate with legal advisors to update contracts reflecting changes in regulations and business needs.
• Ensure compliance with governance and regulatory requirements in all agreements.
• Manage subsidy claim processing, ensuring accuracy and timely payments.
• Facilitate strategic integration by cascading functional strategies through business plans and coordinating with other sections.
• Lead people management initiatives by setting objectives, performance management, and talent development within the section.
• Create and monitor section budgets, ensuring adherence to approved guidelines.
• Implement policies, procedures, and controls ensuring regulatory compliance and high-quality service delivery.
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement focusing on sustainability, productivity, and cost efficiency.
• Ensure timely, accurate reporting that meets DCT standards.
• Comply with Occupational Safety and Health policies, supporting investigations of OSH incidents as needed.
• Promote a culture open to change by communicating business benefit and motivating proactive engagement with new initiatives.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• 8 to 12 years of experience in operations, business or organizational management, or related disciplines at managerial to senior managerial levels.
• Experience with shared services functions including HR, Finance, or Procurement.
• Background in budget planning, financial reporting, procurement processes, and operational governance.
• Stakeholder management experience with leadership teams, budget owners, and operational groups.
• Proven capability managing operational processes and cross-functional delivery, preferably with direct team leadership.
• Experience in large multinational corporations, government/public sector, startups, or structured program/project management highly preferred.

Preferred Background

• Management of shared services or central functions in HR, Finance, or Procurement.
• Expertise in financial planning and analysis, risk management, and SOP development.
• Government or public sector operational experience.
• Operations in large multinational organizations or startup environments with dynamic roles.
• Strong stakeholder engagement across leadership and support functions.

Core Competencies

• Strong operational discipline with hands-on execution approach.
• Ability to challenge and hold accountable budget owners and procurement execution.
• Excellent financial, risk, issue, and performance management skills.
• Effective communication of risks and progress to executive leadership.
• Skilled in building practical processes, risk registers, SOPs, trackers, and reporting.
• Team leadership combined with continuous stakeholder interaction.
• Proactive, structured, detailed, and adaptable within fast-paced, highly organized environments.

Success Criteria

• Sustained achievement of service-level requirements for core operations.
• Delivery of annual planning and budgeting cycles on schedule with firm adoption by budget owners.
• Consistent provision of timely and accurate financial, risk, and progress reports to Executive Director.
• Early identification and escalation of significant risks, delays, and performance issues.
• Maintenance and sector-wide adoption of risk registers, SOPs, and operational documents.
• Budget owners assume responsibility for operational and financial results.
• Operations team achieves consistent quality and punctuality in their deliverables.

Contract Details

This is a 12-month freelance contract based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.