Chief Operating Officer

RAILBUS; Dubai; On-site; AED 1,000,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

RAILBUS in Dubai seeks an experienced Chief Operating Officer to lead corporate operations, administration, and organizational development. You will work with the CEO, CFO, and department heads to ensure disciplined execution, strong controls, and scalable infrastructure.

The role focuses on internal operations, governance, budgeting, and process improvement to support rapid growth and international expansion while keeping product engineering under technical leadership.

Qualifications

• Significant senior management experience in operations, administration, corporate services, finance, or general management.
• Experience as COO or senior leadership roles in growing companies.
• Proven ability to build organizational structures, policies, and controls.

Responsibilities

• Lead the company's overall corporate and administrative operations.
• Oversee HR, recruitment, onboarding, contracts, policies, and workforce planning.
• Supervise accounting and finance administration in coordination with CFO and auditors.
• Establish internal controls, approval procedures, and reporting processes.
• Oversee payroll, records, expenses, invoices, and budgets.
• Develop company-wide policies, SOPs, and internal management systems.
• Coordinate licenses, insurance, documentation, renewals, and regulatory compliance.
• Manage Development Hub operations, facilities, and services.
• Oversee procurement, supplier management, and contract tracking.
• Collaborate with legal, accounting, audit, HR, insurance, banking, and service providers.
• Support CEO decisions and coordinate with department heads.
• Improve cross-department communication and establish KPIs.
• Identify inefficiencies and implement productivity and cost-control measures.

Skills

Senior management

Operations management

Finance administration

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration

MBA or related postgraduate qualification (advantage)

Job description

Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Location: Dubai Silicon Oasis, UAE (Full-Time)

Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Location: Dubai, UAE (Full-Time)

RAILBUS is seeking an experienced Chief Operating Officer (COO) to join our executive leadership team in Dubai and lead the Company’s corporate operations, administration, and organizational development. RAILBUS is an international transportation technology company developing a next-generation elevated public transportation system focused on sustainable, intelligent, and autonomous urban mobility. The Company is entering an important stage of growth as we expand our team and develop the RAILBUS Development Hub in Dubai, which will serve as our center for engineering, assembly, systems integration, testing, demonstrations, and corporate operations. We are looking for a hands‑on senior executive who can build the internal structure, processes, controls, and administrative capabilities required to support a rapidly growing technology company.

The Role Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer, the COO will be responsible for the efficient management and coordination of RAILBUS's day-to-day corporate and administrative operations. The position will work closely with the CEO, CFO, engineering leadership, project teams, and other department heads to ensure that the Company operates with strong internal organization, financial discipline, clear processes, and effective execution. This role is primarily focused on corporate operations and administration. Engineering, technical development, and product engineering will remain under the Company's technical leadership.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the Company's overall corporate and administrative operations.
• Oversee Human Resources, including recruitment, onboarding, employee administration, contracts, policies, performance processes, and workforce planning.
• Supervise the accounting and finance administration functions in coordination with the CFO and external accountants/auditors.
• Establish strong internal financial and administrative controls, approval procedures, and reporting processes.
• Oversee payroll, employee records, expenses, invoices, payment workflows, and administrative budgets.
• Develop and implement company-wide policies, procedures, SOPs, and internal management systems.
• Coordinate corporate administration, licenses, insurance, documentation, renewals, and regulatory requirements.
• Manage office and Development Hub administrative operations, facilities, employee services, and supporting infrastructure.
• Oversee administrative aspects of procurement, supplier management, purchase approvals, and contract tracking.
• Coordinate with legal, accounting, audit, HR, insurance, banking, and other professional service providers.
• Support the CEO in implementing executive decisions and following up with department heads.
• Improve communication and coordination between departments.
• Establish management reporting systems and monitor operational KPIs.
• Identify inefficiencies and implement processes that improve productivity, accountability, and cost control.
• Support organizational planning as RAILBUS expands its team and operations.
• Assist with corporate governance, board and shareholder documentation where required.
• Ensure the Company's administrative infrastructure can scale as RAILBUS expands internationally.
• RAILBUS's Dubai operating company is responsible for engineering, development, and day-to-day operations, while the wider corporate structure includes the Cayman Islands holding company and related entities.
• The COO will therefore need to be comfortable operating within a growing international corporate structure.

Candidate Profile

We are looking for an experienced executive who combines strategic thinking with hands‑on execution. The ideal candidate will have:

• Significant senior management experience in operations, administration, corporate services, finance, or general management.
• Previous experience as a COO, Operations Director, General Manager, Chief Administrative Officer, Finance & Administration Director, or similar senior leadership position.
• Strong experience managing HR, accounting/finance administration, corporate operations, and internal business processes.
• Experience building organizational structures, policies, procedures, and controls within a growing company.
• Strong understanding of budgeting, cost control, management reporting, and financial administration.
• Experience managing multidisciplinary teams and external service providers.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and organizational skills.
• Strong ability to prioritize and operate effectively in a fast-moving entrepreneurial environment.
• High level of integrity, discretion, accountability, and attention to detail.
• Ability to work closely with founders and senior executives while independently managing day-to-day responsibilities.

Preferred Experience

• Technology companies
• Engineering companies
• Transportation or mobility
• Manufacturing
• Infrastructure
• Startups or scale-ups
• Companies undergoing rapid organizational growth
• UAE corporate operations
• Dubai Free Zone organizations
• International or multi-entity corporate structures
• Previous experience working in the UAE or GCC is strongly preferred.

Education

Bachelor's degree in one of the following or a related discipline:Business Administration Finance Accounting Management Human Resources Operations Management An MBA or other relevant postgraduate qualification is an advantage but not mandatory.

What We Are Looking For

This is not a purely advisory position. We are looking for someone who is comfortable building systems, solving problems, managing people, following through on decisions, and creating organizational discipline. The successful candidate should be able to take ownership of the Company's internal operations and give the CEO and technical leadership greater capacity to focus on strategy, technology development, government relationships, partnerships, investors, and growth.

Location

Dubai, United Arab Emirates The position is primarily office-based and will work closely with the RAILBUS headquarters and Development Hub operations.

Employment Type

Full-time | Executive / C-Level

Compensation

Competitive executive compensation package, based on experience and qualifications. I would personally not publish the AED 25000-35000 salary in the Linked In post initially. For a C-level position, leaving it as "competitive executive compensation" gives you more flexibility. You can discuss the range with shortlisted candidates rather than potentially losing a very strong applicant over the advertised number before speaking with them.

About RAILBUS

RAILBUS is developing an integrated transportation ecosystem designed to provide cities with a scalable and sustainable alternative to traditional urban transit systems. Dubai serves as the Company's operational base, with the RAILBUS Development Hub designed to support engineering development, prototype manufacturing, system integration, testing, demonstrations, and future commercialization. The Company is progressing from development toward commercialization and international expansion.