Chief of Staff: Commercial Programs & Execution

Destinus; Dubai; On-site; AED 400,000 - 650,000; Full time

Job summary

Destinus is seeking a Head of Commercial Programs to act as a senior chief of staff to the Commercial leadership, translating strategy into disciplined programme plans and ensuring milestones are met. You will orchestrate governance, cadence, and cross‑functional coordination across Business Development, Programme Management, Legal, Finance, and Manufacturing in a high‑impact defense/aerospace context.

The role requires a master’s degree and 8–12 years of experience in programme management or

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Business Administration, Programme/Project Management, Engineering, or a related discipline.
• 8–12 years of professional experience spanning programme management, chief-of-staff or business-management roles, and commercial or business development functions; experience in the defense or aerospace industry is an advantage.
• Proven track record running complex, multi-stakeholder programmes end to end.
• Demonstrated experience operating 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)
• Eligibility to obtain or hold a security clearance in an EU member state

Responsibilities

• Act as a trusted right hand to the CCO, managing priorities, follow-through, and decision tracking across the commercial leadership agenda
• Own the leadership rhythm: prepare board and executive materials, run leadership reviews, and ensure decisions are documented, assigned, and closed out
• Filter signal from noise across the commercial organisation, surfacing the issues that need leadership attention before they become critical and push the correct prioritisation
• Own the end-to-end programme management of major commercial pursuits and cross-functional initiatives, from kickoff through milestone tracking to closeout
• Establish and maintain the governance framework that connects commercial programmes to corporate reporting, budget cycles, and defense-sector compliance requirements
• Design and enforce escalation paths so risks and blockers reach the right decision-maker at the right time
• Partner with Commercial Strategy on process design and continuous improvement, ensuring programme management practices scale with the business
• Serve as the central coordination point across Business Development, Programme Management, Legal, Finance, and Manufacturing, aligning timelines and dependencies for major pursuits and strategic partnerships
• Represent Commercial in cross-functional steering committees, ensuring commercial priorities and constraints are properly reflected in wider programme decisions
• Produce concise, decision-ready reporting for executive and board audiences, translating programme detail into clear strategic narrative

Skills

Fluent English

Education

Master’s degree (MBA or related)

Job description

Destinus is seeking a Head of Commercial Programs to act as a senior chief of staff to the Commercial leadership, translating strategy into disciplined programme plans and ensuring milestones are met. You will orchestrate governance, cadence, and cross‑functional coordination across Business Development, Programme Management, Legal, Finance, and Manufacturing in a high‑impact defense/aerospace context.

The role requires a master’s degree and 8–12 years of experience in programme management or