Chief of Staff: Commercial Programs & Execution

Destinusgroup; Dubai; On-site; AED 500,000 - 700,000; Full time

Job summary

Destinus is seeking a Head of Commercial Programs to act as senior chief of staff to the Commercial leadership, driving governance and cross-functional coordination across major pursuits, partnerships, and initiatives.

Reporting to the CCO, you will translate leadership priorities into disciplined programme plans, manage milestones, and ensure accountability in a fast-moving, defense-focused commercial environment.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Business Administration, Programme/Project Management, Engineering, or related field.
• 8–12 years of experience spanning programme management, chief-of-staff or business-management roles in commercial or defence/aerospace contexts.
• Proven track record running complex, multi-stakeholder programmes end to end.
• Experience as a chief of staff or senior business-management partner to executive leadership.
• Strong command of programme management tools and methods (RAID logs, stage-gate governance, KPI/dashboard reporting).
• Excellent judgement and discretion in handling sensitive, leadership-level information.
• Fluent in English.
• Eligibility to obtain or hold security clearance in an EU member state.

Responsibilities

• Act as trusted right hand to the CCO, managing priorities and decision tracking across the commercial leadership agenda.
• Own the leadership rhythm: prepare board materials, run leadership reviews, ensure decisions are documented and closed.
• Filter signal from noise across the commercial organisation and surface priorities for leadership.
• Own the end-to-end programme management of major commercial pursuits and cross-functional initiatives, from kickoff to closeout.
• Establish and maintain governance connecting programmes to reporting, budgets, and compliance requirements.
• Design and enforce escalation paths so risks reach the right decision-maker.
• Partner with Commercial Strategy on process design and continuous improvement.
• Coordinate cross-functional with Business Development, PM, Legal, Finance, and Manufacturing; align timelines and dependencies.
• Represent Commercial in steering committees and ensure priorities are reflected in wider governance.
• Produce concise, decision-ready reporting for executive and board audiences.

Skills

English fluency

Programme management

Chief of staff experience

Cross-functional coordination

Education

Master’s degree in Business Administration, Programme/Project Management, Engineering, or related discipline

Tools

RAID logs

Stage-gate governance

KPI/dashboard reporting

Job description

Destinus is seeking a Head of Commercial Programs to act as senior chief of staff to the Commercial leadership, driving governance and cross-functional coordination across major pursuits, partnerships, and initiatives.

Reporting to the CCO, you will translate leadership priorities into disciplined programme plans, manage milestones, and ensure accountability in a fast-moving, defense-focused commercial environment.