Operations Director

Confidential Careers; Ras Al Khaimah; On-site; AED 800,000 - 1,100,000; Full time

Job summary

Confidential Careers seeks a senior operations leader in the UAE to oversee and strengthen key functions across government relations, HR, legal, compliance, licensing, and internal processes. The role reports to the CEO and focuses on scalable operational governance and cross-functional collaboration.

The candidate will build governance structures, drive efficiency, and ensure regulatory alignment while leading and developing high-performing teams in a complex environment.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive operational leadership experience.
• Strong understanding of the UAE regulatory and government landscape.
• Experience managing multiple functions and cross-functional teams.
• Senior stakeholder and government relationship management experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead and oversee core operational functions across the organization.
• Develop and implement operational frameworks, policies, SOPs, and end-to-end processes.
• Drive collaboration between departments and resolve operational challenges.
• Manage senior relationships with government entities, regulators, partners, and key stakeholders.
• Oversee licensing, registration, compliance, and governance-related activities.
• Improve service delivery through process optimization and technology-enabled workflows.
• Establish KPIs and performance dashboards to monitor operational effectiveness.
• Identify and mitigate operational risks.
• Build, lead, and develop high-performing teams.

Skills

Operational leadership

Stakeholder management

Regulatory compliance

Cross-functional leadership

Gov't relations

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Law, Public Policy

Job description

About the Role

This is a senior leadership position responsible for overseeing and strengthening key operational functions across the organization, including government relations, HR, legal, compliance, licensing/registry operations, and internal processes. The original scope places the role as a key member of the leadership team reporting directly to the CEO. The successful candidate will play a key role in building scalable operational frameworks, improving cross-functional collaboration, strengthening governance, and ensuring the organization operates efficiently and in line with UAE regulatory requirements.

Responsibilities

• Lead and oversee core operational functions across the organization
• Develop and implement operational frameworks, policies, SOPs, and end-to-end processes
• Drive collaboration between departments and resolve operational challenges
• Manage senior relationships with government entities, regulators, partners, and key stakeholders
• Oversee licensing, registration, compliance, and governance-related activities
• Improve service delivery through process optimization and technology-enabled workflows
• Establish KPIs and performance dashboards to monitor operational effectiveness
• Identify and mitigate operational risks
• Build, lead, and develop high-performing teams

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Law, Public Policy, or a related discipline

Required Skills

• 8+ years of progressive operational leadership experience
• Strong understanding of the UAE regulatory and government landscape
• Proven experience managing multiple functions and cross-functional teams
• Strong senior stakeholder and government relationship management experience
• Experience developing operational frameworks and driving process improvement

Preferred Skills

• Experience within a government entity, free zone, regulatory authority, business setup environment, or similarly complex organization is highly preferred