Senior Associate - Retail Festivals & Events (National Talent)

Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism; Dubai; On-site; AED 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism is seeking a Senior Associate Retail Festivals & Events to coordinate operational requirements for retail festivals, DSF events, activations, and related initiatives. You will prepare workplans, trackers, and updates to support timely event delivery, while coordinating with internal teams, vendors, and external partners.

The role focuses on on-ground readiness, reporting, budgeting, procurement coordination, and compliance, ensuring alignment with the

Responsibilities

• Coordinate operational planning and delivery of assigned retail festivals, DSF events, activations, and related initiatives by preparing workplans, tracking timelines and deliverables, and following up on stakeholder inputs.
• Prepare and maintain detailed event workplans including timelines, milestones, and dependencies.
• Develop event briefs, project summaries, and internal updates to support planning and execution.
• Maintain action trackers covering requirements, approvals, procurement progress, vendor deliverables, risks, and decisions.
• Coordinate with internal teams to align events with the broader calendar and delivery priorities.
• Track event budgets, commitments, quotations, invoices, and expenditure updates with Finance and Procurement.
• Prepare procurement inputs, supplier documentation for RFIs, RFQs, and contracting processes.
• Coordinate with vendors, agencies, venues, malls, sponsors, and service providers to meet timelines and deliverables.
• Ensure proper documentation: approvals, contracts, invoices, reports, and post-event records.
• Coordinate permits, health and safety requirements, and compliance documents with stakeholders.

Job description

Note – This role is part of our "Emiratisation initiative" and is open exclusively to UAE National candidates. Eligible applicants are encouraged to apply.

JOB OBJECTIVE:

The Senior Associate Retail Festivals & Events coordinates the operational requirements of assigned retail festivals, DSF events, activations, and related initiatives. The role is responsible for preparing workplans, maintaining trackers, following up on deliverables, coordinating with internal and external parties, monitoring on-ground readiness, and preparing event updates and reports to support timely and effective event delivery.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES:

Core Functional Responsibilities & Subject Matter Expertise

• Coordinate the operational planning and delivery of assigned retail festivals, DSF events, activations, and related initiatives by preparing event workplans, tracking timelines and deliverables, following up on stakeholder inputs, coordinating vendor and partner requirements, monitoring on-ground readiness, and escalating issues to ensure delivery in line with DFRE’s approved calendar and timelines.
• Prepare and maintain detailed event workplans for assigned activities, including timelines, milestones, task trackers, deliverables, dependencies, required approvals, and follow-up actions.
• Develop event briefs, project one-pagers, presentation materials, planning documents, trackers, and internal updates to support the planning and execution of assigned retail festival initiatives.
• Maintain action trackers covering event requirements, approvals, stakeholder inputs, procurement progress, vendor deliverables, risks, pending decisions, and implementation status.
• Coordinate with relevant internal teams to ensure assigned events and activations are aligned with the wider DFRE calendar, campaign timelines, operational requirements, and delivery priorities.
• Track assigned event budgets, commitments, purchase requests, quotations, invoices, and expenditure updates in coordination with Finance, Procurement, and relevant internal teams.
• Compile procurement requirements for assigned events, including scope inputs, technical specifications, supplier requirements, evaluation inputs, and supporting documentation for RFPs, RFIs, supplier onboarding, and contracting processes.
• Follow up with Procurement, agencies, vendors, venues, malls, retailers, sponsors, and service providers to ensure required inputs, approvals, quotations, contracts, and deliverables are completed within agreed timelines.
• Maintain accurate procurement and budget-related documentation, including approvals, contracts, purchase requests, invoices, payment follow-ups, and supplier correspondence.
• Coordinate with internal teams, government entities, retailers, mall operators, sponsors, commercial partners, agencies, venues, and service providers to support the smooth implementation of assigned retail festivals and activations.
• Arrange and attend coordination meetings with internal and external stakeholders, prepare meeting notes, document action points, and follow up on agreed deliverables.
• Act as an operational contact point for assigned stakeholders by sharing updates, collecting inputs, following up on pending actions, and escalating issues where required.
• Coordinate with Event Marketing and Communications teams by providing event details, content inputs, activation information, promotional requirements, timelines, and stakeholder updates.
• Maintain strong working relationships with assigned partners, malls, retailers, sponsors, vendors, and service providers to support effective event delivery.
• Conduct site visits and operational checks to review venue readiness, setup requirements, branding locations, access arrangements, logistics, crowd flow, and on-ground implementation requirements.
• Prepare and update event run-sheets, implementation schedules, contact lists, operational checklists, site requirements, delivery timelines, and escalation trackers.
• Coordinate on-ground event requirements, including setup arrangements, supplier attendance, delivery schedules, branding installation, access passes, operational readiness, and issue escalation.
• Monitor assigned events and activations during implementation to track delivery progress, identify operational issues, and adjust risks, delays, or stakeholder concerns for timely resolution.
• Coordinate required permits, approvals, NOCs, health and safety requirements, and compliance documents with the relevant internal and external parties.
• Ensure assigned event activities are coordinated in line with DET/DFRE policies, procurement requirements, contractual obligations, operational standards, and applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
• Coordinate with Health, Safety, and Environment and other relevant functions to maintain required safety, compliance, and operational readiness across assigned events.
• Monitor operational, scheduling, stakeholder, and delivery-related risks for assigned activities and adjust issues with proposed mitigation actions where required.
• Maintain complete and accurate event documentation, including approvals, budgets, contracts, reports, trackers, meeting minutes, permits, correspondence, and post-event records.
• Ensure all assigned event files and records are organized and maintained to support governance, audit readiness, reporting, and future reference.
• Prepare periodic updates and post-event reports covering delivery progress, outcomes, challenges, stakeholder feedback, lessons learned, and recommendations for improvement.
• Collect and consolidate feedback from retailers, malls, sponsors, vendors, partners, participants, and internal teams to identify improvement areas for future events and activations.
• Identify operational improvement opportunities related to event planning, stakeholder coordination, supplier performance, visitor experience, documentation, reporting, and process efficiency.
• Maintain awareness of local regulations, event management standards, market trends, retail activation practices, and best practices relevant to festivals, public events, and customer-facing experiences.