Senior Manager Destination Development Strategy

JOB OBJECTIVE:

The Senior Manager, Destination Development Strategy is responsible for developing and managing Dubai’s destination product-side strategy, ensuring alignment with market trends and tourism goals. This role involves scoping strategic refreshes, overseeing destination development projects, and managing internal and external stakeholder collaborations. The senior manager will prioritize and hand over projects to project managers across DET, develop business cases for public-private partnerships (PPP), and monitor strategic performance metrics to optimize impact and return on investment. Additionally, they will directly manage select high-impact projects to drive Dubai’s long-term tourism development.

Core Functional Responsibilities & Subject Matter Expertise

• Develop and manage the Dubai Destination product-side strategy by scoping periodic strategy refreshes, ensuring alignment with internal priorities and external market trends.
• Conduct destination product gap and opportunity analyses, integrating findings into strategic reviews and updates to adapt to Dubai’s evolving tourism landscape.
• Frame and scope strategic destination development projects, identifying challenges, opportunities, and solutions to define structured projects with clear objectives and business cases.
• Supervise external consultants and advisors to ensure strategic project alignment with Dubai’s tourism vision, guiding their contributions effectively.
• Package and hand over scoped projects to project managers and relevant DET departments, ensuring clear briefing and a seamless transition from strategy to execution.
• Develop business cases for Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects, defining and structuring initiatives that integrate DET’s objectives with private sector priorities.
• Onboard key stakeholders and facilitate smooth project handovers, ensuring PPP initiatives are well-positioned for execution.
• Strategically prioritize destination development projects based on projected impact and return on investment (ROI), ensuring resource allocation aligns with Dubai’s long-term tourism goals.
• Monitor, report, and optimize strategic portfolio impact by tracking macro and micro key performance indicators (KPIs) to ensure alignment with Dubai’s tourism objectives and maximize return on investment.
• Continuously assess, adapt, and realign strategic priorities in response to evolving internal dynamics and external market conditions to optimize destination development initiatives and ensure alignment with Dubai’s tourism objectives.
• Take direct ownership and management of select high-impact strategic projects, overseeing their successful implementation and contribution to Dubai’s tourism development objectives.

Qualifications & Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Tourism Management, Marketing or a related field. A Master's degree or MBA is a plus.
• Professional certifications such as the Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Destination Management Executive (CDME); are advantageous.
• Minimum of 7 years of experience in destination development, strategic planning, management consulting, strategic project management, or a related field.
• Strong track record in framing and scoping strategic projects, including internal initiatives and collaboration with external consultants.
• Experience in stakeholder management and cross-functional coordination, particularly in handing over scoped projects to project managers and relevant departments.
• Expertise in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) development, including building business cases and aligning private sector priorities with tourism objectives.
• Hands-on experience in strategic performance management, including monitoring and reporting on macro and micro KPIs and optimizing portfolio impact.