Director of Retail & Commercial Assets

Confidential Careers; Dubai; On-site; AED 900,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Confidential Careers is seeking an Associate Director of Retail & Commercial Assets in Dubai to lead value creation across a mixed-use portfolio including retail, dining, hotels, and lifestyle experiences. You will drive portfolio performance, shape tenant strategies, strengthen partnerships, and guide commercial transformation programs, ensuring long-term growth and visitor appeal.

This leadership role requires strategic thinking beyond leasing, operations, and traditional asset management,

Qualifications

• Experience managing large-scale retail, mixed-use, destination, or hospitality-led assets.
• Measurable improvements in tenant productivity, footfall, dwell time, guest spend, occupancy, and asset value.
• Strong understanding of retail economics, leasing structures, consumer behaviour, placemaking, and destination-led environments.
• Experience leading portfolio strategy, asset repositioning, tenant mix evolution, asset enhancement initiatives, and commercial transformation programs.
• Strong relationships with retailers, F&B operators, entertainment brands, and strategic partners.
• Ability to combine commercial performance with guest experience to create destinations people visit and return to.
• Strong financial and analytical skills reviewing asset performance, business plans, investment opportunities, and capital projects.
• Experience in major retail destinations, hospitality or destination-led developments, entertainment districts, or lifestyle portfolios.

Responsibilities

• Maximise portfolio performance and asset value.
• Shape tenant and guest experience strategies.
• Lead key commercial partnerships and drive investment performance.
• Influence the development pipeline and placemaking initiatives.
• Work at the intersection of asset management, destination development, and commercial strategy.

Skills

Asset management

Retail strategy

Portfolio management

Destination development

Commercial partnerships

Financial modelling

Tenant mix optimization

Placemaking

Job description

An exceptional opportunity has arisen for a commercially minded and strategically driven Associate Director of Retail & Commercial Assets to join the leadership team of a world-class destination developer and asset owner of a world-class portfolio of retail, dining, and lifestyle assets

About the role

This is not a traditional retail management role.

This is an opportunity to influence the future direction, commercial success, and long-term value creation of a portfolio that brings together retail, dining, hotels, leisure, and lifestyle experiences within one of the region's most exciting destination environments.

As the owner's representative, you will be responsible for maximizing portfolio performance, driving asset value, shaping tenant and experience strategies, leading key commercial partnerships, and influencing the future development pipeline. You will work at the intersection of asset management, destination development, consumer experience, commercial strategy, investment performance, and placemaking.

We are particularly looking for the leaders who have:

• Successfully managed and optimized large-scale retail, mixed-use, lifestyle, destination, entertainment, or hospitality-led assets.
• Driven measurable improvements in tenant productivity, footfall, dwell time, guest spend, occupancy, and asset value.
• Strong understanding of retail economics, leasing structures, consumer behaviour, placemaking, and destination-led commercial environments.
• Experience leading portfolio strategy, asset repositioning, tenant mix evolution, asset enhancement initiatives, and commercial transformation programs.
• Strong relationships with retailers, F&B operators, entertainment brands, and strategic commercial partners.
• A proven ability to combine commercial performance with guest experience, creating destinations that people choose to visit, explore, and return to.
• Strong commercial, financial, and analytical skills with experience reviewing asset performance, business plans, investment opportunities, and capital improvement projects.
• Experience working within major retail destinations, hospitality or destination-led developments, entertainment districts, mixed-use projects, lifestyle portfolios or destination ecosystems.

The Ideal Candidate

• You are likely an Asset Management, Commercial Asset Management, Destination Development, Retail Strategy, Portfolio Management, or Commercial Real Estate leader who understands that successful destinations are built on the right blend of experiences, brands, partnerships, and long-term value creation.
• You think beyond leasing.
• You think beyond operations.
• You think about how destinations grow, evolve, remain relevant, and create sustainable commercial success.