Special Projects Lead (12-Month Contract)

Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi); Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 350,000 - 650,000; Full time

Job summary

Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) seeks a Special Projects Lead for a 12-month freelance contract to drive high-impact initiatives within a strategic program leveraging AI and emerging tech.

The role requires extensive management consulting experience, a track record of delivering transformation programs, and the ability to shape partnerships, governance, and investment theses while navigating ambiguity to accelerate sector growth.

Qualifications

• 7–10 years of experience in top-tier management consulting (MBB or Tier 2 firms).
• Career progression with 1–2 promotions within the same firm.
• Proven track record delivering high-impact strategic or transformation projects.
• Exceptional structured thinking and problem-solving.
• Ability to operate in ambiguous, zero-to-one environments.
• Strong executive presence and stakeholder management at senior levels.
• Experience in business case development and financial modelling.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with comfort around innovation and risk.
• Minimum 2+ years GCC experience.

Responsibilities

• Identify, evaluate, and shape high-impact, innovative initiatives across priority sectors.
• Scan global markets for disruptive trends, emerging technologies, and whitespace opportunities.
• Develop business cases and investment theses for new initiatives.
• Present concepts to senior leadership for prioritization.
• Translate approved ideas into structured, executable project plans.
• Define scope, success metrics, governance frameworks, and risk mitigation strategies.
• Identify and engage partners, vendors, and potential co-investors.
• Establish reporting cadences and governance models.
• Drive execution of special projects from concept through launch phase.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams and manage interdependencies.
• Track progress, resolve blockers, and escalates risks where required.
• Transition projects to permanent teams once stabilized.
• Act as a thought partner to leadership on high-priority strategic topics.
• Provide ad hoc analysis and contribute to long-term strategic roadmap.
• Support the setup of a Special Projects function, including structure and processes.
• Build and scale teams for each initiative (define skillsets, hiring needs, operating models).

Skills

Management consulting

Executive presence

Financial modelling

Business case development

Strategic thinking

Problem-solving

GCC experience

Job description

We are currently looking for a Special Projects Lead to support a key initiative within the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) on a 12-month freelance contract.

DCT Abu Dhabi is the government entity responsible for driving the sustainable growth of Abu Dhabi’s culture and tourism sectors, playing a central role in positioning the emirate as a global hub for culture, creativity, and tourism.

This role sits within a high-impact program focused on delivering transformative, high-impact initiatives leveraging AI, emerging technologies, and innovative business models to accelerate sector growth and unlock new opportunities.

Key Responsibilities

Ideation & Opportunity Development

• Identify, evaluate, and shape high-impact, innovative initiatives across priority sectors
• Scan global markets for disruptive trends, emerging technologies, and whitespace opportunities
• Develop business cases and investment theses for new initiatives
• Present concepts to senior leadership for prioritization

Project Design & Structuring

• Translate approved ideas into structured, executable project plans
• Define scope, success metrics, governance frameworks, and risk mitigation strategies
• Identify and engage partners, vendors, and potential co-investors
• Establish reporting cadences and governance models

Launch & Execution Oversight

• Drive execution of special projects from concept through launch phase
• Coordinate cross-functional teams and manage interdependencies
• Track progress, resolve blockers, and escalates risks where required
• Transition projects to permanent teams once stabilized

Strategic Advisory

• Act as a thought partner to leadership on high-priority strategic topics
• Provide ad hoc analysis and contribute to long-term strategic roadmap

Function Setup & Incubation

• Support the setup of a Special Projects function, including structure and processes
• Build and scale teams for each initiative (define skillsets, hiring needs, operating models)

Requirements

• 7–10 years of experience in top-tier management consulting (MBB or strong Tier 2 firms such as Strategy&, Kearney, Oliver Wyman, Roland Berger, ADL)
• Demonstrated career progression (minimum 1–2 promotions) within the same firm
• Proven track record delivering high-impact strategic or transformation projects
• Exceptional structured thinking and problem-solving
• Ability to operate in ambiguous, zero-to-one environments
• Strong executive presence and stakeholder management at senior levels
• Experience in business case development and financial modelling
• Entrepreneurial mindset with comfort around innovation and risk

Experience & Exposure

• Strong exposure to emerging technologies (AI, digital platforms, metaverse, blockchain, etc.) with practical understanding
• Engineering or technical background is a plus
• Minimum 2+ years of experience in the GCC (required)