Manager - Partnerships & Events

Confidential; Dubai; On-site; AED 279,000 - 502,000; Full time

Job summary

Confidential in Dubai is seeking a Partnerships & Events Manager to lead the planning, development, and delivery of our corporate and internal events portfolio, ensuring alignment with business priorities, communications, employee engagement, and culture objectives.

You will coordinate with Communications, HR, leadership, and external agencies to translate objectives into engaging experiences, manage budgets and timelines, mitigate risks, and deliver events to a consistently high standard while

Qualifications

• Proven experience delivering corporate and internal events.
• Strong project management and stakeholder coordination.
• Ability to manage budgets, timelines, and risks.

Responsibilities

• Own events from planning through close-out and evaluation.
• Develop project plans with timelines and milestones.
• Coordinate multiple workstreams and stakeholders.
• Maintain event trackers and status updates.
• Manage event-day operations and post-event reports.
• Lead post-event wrap-ups and continuous improvement.

Skills

Event management

Project management

Stakeholder management

Budget management

Risk management

Vendor management

Communication

Strategic planning

Job description

• The purpose of the Partnerships & Events Manager is to lead the planning, development, and delivery of the organisation’s corporate and internal events portfolio, ensuring events are strategically aligned with business priorities, corporate communications, employee engagement, and organisational culture objectives.
• The lead will oversee the end-to-end planning and delivery of a diverse portfolio of programmes, including corporate and internal events, town halls, gala dinners, employee engagement initiatives, National events and leadership and executive events and other high-profile corporate activations.
• Working closely with Communications, HR, leadership teams, business functions, and external agencies, the role will translate business and employee objectives into impactful, engaging, and well-executed event experiences. The role will ensure strong project management, stakeholder coordination, budget management, timeline adherence, risk and contingency planning, and high-quality operational delivery across the events portfolio.
• The Partnerships & Events Manager will lead by example and be tasked with executing events at a very high standard, building high brand visibility and enhancing stakeholder engagement by active development of relationships with internal business units and external entities whilst improving the processes and ROI. The role reports directly to the Director – Partnerships, Events & Delegations, GCC.

Capabilities & Responsibilities

• Own events from initial planning through execution, close-out, and post-event evaluation.
• Develop clear project plans, timelines, milestones, and deliverables for each event.
• Coordinate multiple workstreams, stakeholders, suppliers, and internal teams simultaneously.
• Ensure all event requirements are understood, documented, assigned, and tracked.
• Maintain strong organisation and attention to detail across all stages of the project.
• Proactively identify dependencies, risks, and develop contingency plans.
• Ensure internal teams and external partners remain accountable to timelines.
• Escalate delays or risks early, with a proposed solution or recovery plan.
• Maintain accurate project trackers and status updates throughout the event lifecycle.
• Manage the operational delivery of events to a consistently high standard.
• Develop detailed run-of-show documents, event schedules, checklists, and briefing materials.
• Manage event-day operations and ensure smooth execution from setup through breakdown.
• Identify potential risks and operational challenges before they impact the event.
• Develop contingency plans for key risks, dependencies, suppliers, logistics, and operational issues.
• Manage communication with internal stakeholders, clients, partners, venues, and suppliers.
• Track event budgets, commitments, invoices, and expenditure.
• Monitor costs against approved budgets and flag variances early.
• Ensure resources are allocated efficiently across projects.
• Maintain accurate financial records and supporting documentation.
• Communicate proactively rather than waiting for issues to escalation.
• Produce clear and concise management updates when required.
• Ensure all relevant stakeholders have visibility of project status.
• Lead a structured post-event wrap-up process.
• Ensure all post-event actions, payments, documentation, and supplier follow-ups are completed.
• Prepare post-event reports covering outcomes, performance, challenges, and key learnings.
• Support the development and implementation of events and partnerships strategies, objectives, and KPIs, ensuring alignment with the broader Communications business plans and priorities.
• Manage and develop relationships with a roster of specialist external agencies, to enhance the overall event experience, quality, and delivery.
• Review and continuously improve event and partnership processes, frameworks, tools, and procedures, identifying opportunities to enhance efficiency, consistency, governance, and overall impact.

Key Accountabilities

• Events Strategy & Planning - Support in development and execute events strategies and plans aligned with Communications objectives, business priorities, and KPIs.
• End-to-End Event Delivery - Own the successful planning and delivery of events and initiatives, from briefing and concept development through execution, wrap-up, and evaluation.
• Project & Timeline Management - Ensure all event projects, deliverables, dependencies, and stakeholders are effectively managed and delivered on time.
• Event Quality & Experience - Maintain high standards across event planning and execution, ensuring a seamless, engaging, and on-brand experience for stakeholders and audiences.
• Partnership & Agency Management - Build and manage effective relationships with specialist external agencies and partners, ensuring they provide the right expertise, quality, creativity, and value to complement internal capabilities.
• Risk & Contingency Management - Proactively identify risks and challenges, establish contingency plans, and resolve issues efficiently to protect successful event delivery.
• Budget & Resource Management - Ensure events and initiatives are delivered within agreed budgets, with appropriate resource allocation and effective cost management.
• Reporting, Measurement & Insights - Track and report on event and partnership performance against agreed KPIs, providing clear insights, outcomes, and recommendations.
• Post-Event Evaluation & Continuous Improvement - Lead structured event wrap-ups, capture learnings and stakeholder feedback, and continuously improve processes, frameworks, and future event delivery.
• Governance & Process Excellence - Ensure events and partnerships follow agreed processes, frameworks, policies, and governance standards, while identifying opportunities to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
• Stakeholder Management - Establish strong relationships across Communications and relevant business functions, ensuring clear communication, alignment, accountability, and timely decision-making.
• Operational Excellence & Agility - Effectively manage competing priorities and ad hoc events or initiatives, demonstrating sound judgement, adaptability, and the ability to deliver under pressure