Global Summit Director: Strategy & Delivery Lead

Ethara; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 350,000 - 700,000; Full time

Job summary

Ethara seeks an exceptionally experienced Project Director to lead the end-to-end planning and delivery of a major international government summit in Abu Dhabi. You will drive governance, manage budgets, and coordinate multi-stakeholder teams across Programme, Protocol and Operations.

The role requires 20+ years of high-profile event delivery, direct engagement with ministers and VIPs, and the ability to operate under tight deadlines in complex governmental environments.

Qualifications

• Minimum 20 years' experience in major international events, summits or complex programme delivery.
• Significant experience operating at Project Director, Programme Director or Event Director level.
• Demonstrable experience personally leading the delivery of COP, UN, G20, World Government Summit, ministerial forums or comparable large-scale international government events.
• Proven experience working directly with government ministries, senior public-sector stakeholders and international organisations.
• Demonstrable experience managing Ministers, Heads of Delegation, VIPs and VVIPs.
• Strong expertise in project governance, programme management, risk management and contingency planning.
• Proven leadership of large, multidisciplinary and multi-workstream teams.
• Strong commercial management experience, including oversight of significant project budgets, procurement and change control.
• Extensive live-event delivery and operational command experience.
• Strong stakeholder-management, communication, negotiation and decision-making capabilities.
• Ability to operate effectively in complex, high-pressure environments requiring discretion, judgement and senior-level stakeholder engagement.
• UAE, GCC or Abu Dhabi experience is highly advantageous.
• Must be available immediately or at very short notice.

Responsibilities

• Lead the overall project governance, planning and end-to-end delivery of the summit.
• Act as the senior interface with clients, government entities and key institutional stakeholders.
• Lead and integrate multiple workstreams, including Programme, Creative, Marketing & Communications, Operations, Production, Protocol and Hospitality.
• Manage the Master Project Programme, critical milestones, dependencies, approvals and delivery priorities.
• Lead a large multidisciplinary project team and senior workstream directors.
• Maintain oversight of project budgets, commercial performance, procurement and change control.
• Manage complex government, ministerial and international stakeholder requirements.
• Oversee VIP/VVIP protocol, international delegations and high-level summit operations.
• Lead project risk, contingency and crisis-management planning.
• Oversee venue readiness, operational planning and Event Control / Command and Control.
• Ensure effective coordination across internal teams, government stakeholders, venues, suppliers and specialist delivery partners.
• Maintain rigorous project reporting, governance and escalation processes.
• Provide senior leadership, direction and decision-making throughout planning and live delivery.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Leadership

Governance

Job description

Ethara seeks an exceptionally experienced Project Director to lead the end-to-end planning and delivery of a major international government summit in Abu Dhabi. You will drive governance, manage budgets, and coordinate multi-stakeholder teams across Programme, Protocol and Operations.

The role requires 20+ years of high-profile event delivery, direct engagement with ministers and VIPs, and the ability to operate under tight deadlines in complex governmental environments.