Education & Skills Development Manager

Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi); Abu Dhabi Emirate; On-site; AED 240,000 - 360,000; Part time

Job summary

Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) is seeking an Education & Skills Development Manager on a 12-month freelance contract to design, launch, and manage education and skills initiatives across school, vocational, university, and employment pathways in the UAE.

The role focuses on translating the talent pathway into concrete curricula, partnering with schools, universities and industry experts, and delivering programs with strong outcomes tracking and reporting.

Qualifications

• Strong program-management skills, with the ability to run multiple programs and partners in parallel against timelines, budgets, and quality standards.
• Experience managing a diverse set of stakeholders across different levels and functions.
• Fluency in English.

Responsibilities

• Translate the talent pathway blueprint into concrete program designs: learning objectives, target cohorts, curriculum outline, delivery model, duration, certification, and progression to the next pathway stage.
• Work with partner institutions and industry experts to develop or adapt curricula.
• Benchmark international programs and certifications and adapt proven models to the UAE context.
• Create pitch documents for the identified partners, structuring the potential initiatives and supporting the negotiations.
• Manage the day-to-day operational relationship with delivering institutions, including schools, universities, vocational providers, academies, and bootcamps.
• Own program launch and operations, including enrollment campaigns, student selection, scheduling, instructor and mentor sourcing, facilities and tooling, and issue resolution.
• Monitor delivery quality against the agreed program design and partnership agreements.
• Maintain cohort-tracking data for all programs, including enrollment, completion, certification, progression, and placement into employment.
• Prepare program performance reporting for the Head’s KPI framework and recommend program improvements or discontinuation based on outcomes.
• Provide program-level input to business cases and partnership negotiations, including costs, capacity, delivery feasibility, and expected outcomes.
• Support annual planning and budgeting for the education and skills program portfolio.

Skills

Program management

Stakeholder management

Fluency in English

Job description

We are currently looking for an Education & Skills Development Manager to support a key initiative within the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) on a 12-month freelance contract.

DCT Abu Dhabi is the government entity responsible for driving the sustainable growth of Abu Dhabi’s culture, tourism and creative industries, playing a central role in positioning the emirate as a global hub.

This role is responsible for translating the talent pathway into operational education and skills programs. The successful candidate will develop, launch, and manage initiatives spanning school-level exposure, vocational training, bootcamps, university programs, certifications, and employment-linked pathways.

Key Responsibilities

Program Design and Curriculum Development

• Translate the talent pathway blueprint into concrete program designs: learning objectives, target cohorts, curriculum outline, delivery model, duration, certification, and progression to the next pathway stage.
• Work with partner institutions and industry experts to develop or adapt curricula.
• Benchmark international programs and certifications and adapt proven models to the UAE context.
• Create pitch documents for the identified partners, structuring the potential initiatives and supporting the negotiations.

Program Delivery and Institutional Coordination

• Manage the day-to-day operational relationship with delivering institutions, including schools, universities, vocational providers, academies, and bootcamps.
• Own program launch and operations, including enrollment campaigns, student selection, scheduling, instructor and mentor sourcing, facilities and tooling, and issue resolution.
• Monitor delivery quality against the agreed program design and partnership agreements.

Cohort Tracking and Outcomes

• Maintain the cohort-tracking data for all programs, including enrollment, completion, certification, progression, and placement into employment.
• Prepare program performance reporting for the Head’s KPI framework and recommend program improvements or discontinuation based on outcomes.

Support to Partnerships and Planning

• Provide program-level input to business cases and partnership negotiations, including costs, capacity, delivery feasibility, and expected outcomes.
• Support annual planning and budgeting for the education and skills program portfolio.

Candidate Requirements

Must Have

• Strong program-management skills, with the ability to run multiple programs and partners in parallel against timelines, budgets, and quality standards.
• Experience managing a diverse set of stakeholders across different levels and functions.
• Fluency in English.

Strongly Preferred

• Arabic-language ability is an asset.