Associate Vice President - UAE

joinus; United Arab Emirates; On-site; AED 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

FINN Partners in Abu Dhabi, UAE, seeks an experienced senior account lead to manage day-to-day delivery for major international travel and tourism accounts, ensuring editorial quality and strong client relationships.

You will help grow the practice through new business pitches and be comfortable briefing and reviewing junior staff, while traveling as needed to client meetings and market visits.

Qualifications

• Communications and PR experience with travel or destination-marketing accounts.
• Fluent in English with strong writing skills; able to produce client-ready copy.
• Experience managing multi-market or multi-office client programmes.
• Proven new business pitching experience.
• Strong editorial judgement and sourcing discipline.
• Able to manage senior client relationships with limited oversight.
• Able to work in a small, start-up-style regional team; adaptable across projects.
• Arabic language skills a plus, not required.
• Willingness to travel internationally.

Responsibilities

• Manage day-to-day delivery of significant client accounts in travel and tourism.
• Lead freelance and junior support, briefing, review, and quality control.
• Write and lead new business proposals, including research-led pitch platforms.
• Represent the agency with clients on campaign positioning, trade activation, and design.
• Manage account budgets and reporting.
• Quality-control materials prepared by junior staff against sourcing standards.
• Work across multiple concurrent client projects in a small-team, start-up-style environment.
• Travel as required for client meetings and market visits.

Skills

Communications and PR experience

Fluent in English

New business pitch experience

Editorial judgement

Managing senior client relationships

Startup/team environment adaptability

Arabic language skills (a strong plus)

Willingness to travel internationally

Job description

About FINN Partners

Founded in 2011, FINN Partners is one of the world's fastest-growing independent, integrated marketing and communications agencies. The firm operates from offices across North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, working across health, travel and tourism, technology, financial services, consumer and lifestyle, and public affairs.

The UAE office is based in Abu Dhabi. It is a small, close-knit regional team operating inside a large global network: the agency's scale and specialist resources sit behind a team where every hire has direct, visible impact on client work.

More about the role

Lead day-to-day management of significant international client accounts within FINN's travel and tourism practice, acting as the senior client relationship holder. Alongside this, contribute to new business development for the practice, including hands-on pitching for prospective clients.

Own the day-to-day delivery, quality, and client relationship for major accounts within the travel and tourism practice. Contribute to growth of the practice through new business development and pitching.

What you’ll do

Manage day-to-day delivery of significant client accounts within the travel and tourism practice, including editorial quality control

• Serve as the senior day-to-day relationship holder for the client
• Lead and manage a freelance and junior support structure, including briefing, review, and quality control of first-draft content
• Write and lead new business proposals within the travel and tourism space, including research-led pitch platforms
• Represent the agency directly with clients on campaign positioning, trade activation, and research-based programme design
• Manage account financials, budgets, and reporting
• Review and quality-control materials prepared by junior staff against sourcing and editorial standards
• Work comfortably across multiple concurrent client projects in a small-team, start-up-style environment, moving quickly between them as priorities shift
• Travel as required for client meetings, trade shows, and market visits

• Reports directly to the Senior Partner, Middle East. May supervise freelance and junior account staff assigned to the accounts.
• Works with FINN's global network, client representatives, external vendors, news media, and other PR and advertising agencies.

Experience that contributes to success

• Communications and PR experience, with demonstrated travel, tourism, or destination-marketing account experience
• Fluent in English, with strong, confident writing skills; this role requires producing and reviewing client-ready copy directly
• Track record of managing multi-market or multi-office client programmes
• Demonstrated new business pitch experience; has personally written and presented proposals that won
• Strong editorial judgement and sourcing discipline, particularly on government or reputationally sensitive content
• Comfortable managing senior client relationships with limited oversight
• Comfortable in a small, start-up-style regional team environment; able to move quickly across different projects and accounts without extensive process or handholding
• Arabic language skills a strong plus, not a requirement
• Availability to travel internationally

#LI-SF1