Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Deputy CEO) – Integrated Real-Estate Development

Job description

Company: Confidential – Leading Developer of Master-Planned Communities (Iraq) - building livable, future-ready mini-cities: safe streets, reliable utilities, vibrant retail, and service that keeps its promises. Join a leadership team that values facts over noise, governance over guesswork, and customers beyond handover. Grow leaders, not just projects. Function: Group Leadership – Communities, High-Rise, Mixed-Use, Infrastructure & Services

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Location: Baghdad HQ, with frequent travel to sites across Iraq
Languages: Arabic (native/near-native) – mandatory; English – professional proficiency

Span of Control (indicative): Development, PMO/Projects (Delivery), Sales & Marketing, Customer Experience/After-Sales, Procurement & Contracts, Strategy/Transformation (incl. Digital/BI). Dotted: Finance, HR, Legal/Compliance, HSE/ESG.

Role Summary

The Deputy CEO converts Board vision into executable portfolio plans and runs a disciplined operating system that spans design, approvals, construction delivery, sales, cash, and post-sales care. You will orchestrate cross-functional leaders, de-risk decisions early, and make performance transparent—so communities are delivered on time, to spec, and loved after handover.

Short version: hard hat optional; diplomacy, numbers, and nerve—mandatory.

Scope & Impact

1) End-to-End Development:

Land use & master-planning → design & permits → construction & HSE → sales & collections → handover, DLP, and community activation.

• P&L Influence: Phasing, pricing, cash S-curves, procurement frameworks, VE programs, and partner/JV structures.
• Stakeholders: Regulators/utilities, lenders/escrow, EPC/PMC & consultants, brokers, O&M/community partners, media/PR, JV partners.
• Geography: Baghdad HQ with travel to key projects (e.g., Baghdad, Kirkuk) and regional partner hubs.
• Core Responsibilities 1) Portfolio Strategy & Investment
• Build 3–5-year portfolio roadmaps and an annual operating plan with clear phasing, cash curves, and risk posture.
• Lead investment papers: market sizing, feasibility & sensitivity models, land valuation logic, capital structure options.
• Sequence releases by micro-market demand, construction progress, and collection cadence; re-balance as signals shift.
• Establish an Investment Committee cadence (templates, pre-reads, decision memos) to speed up high-quality decisions.

2) Development, Master-Planning & Approvals

• Direct master-planning and concept/schematic design to design-to-cost per GFA without diluting experience quality.
• Create an Authority Engagement Plan (municipalities, utilities, civil defense, environment) with SLA targets, escalation ladders, and permit trackers.
• Institutionalize design management (RFI/RFP standards, VE checkpoints, spec discipline, long-lead item strategies).
• Ensure infrastructure readiness (power/water/roads/ICT) aligns with construction and sales release milestones.

3) PMO, Construction Delivery & Quality

• Run PMO with baseline schedules, EVM (CPI/SPI), cost-to-complete, risk & issue logs, and recovery plans.
• Enforce contractor pre-qualification, performance scorecards, change control, and forensic delay analysis (EOT/claims governance).
• Standardize QA/QC: inspection & test plans, material approvals, mock-ups, commissioning & handover protocols.
• Embed HSE Golden Rules (toolbox talks, PTW, near-miss capture, behavioral safety) and ensure transparent incident investigations.

4) Commercial Engine: Sales, Marketing, Pricing & Collections

• Approve pricing architecture, release strategy, inventory allocation, and broker commission ladders by segment.
• Synchronize marketing calendars with site milestones; set channel mix (direct, brokers, digital) and ROI targets.
• Align promises with build progress; run collections discipline (S-curve adherence, dunning, escrow coordination) and customer comms during build.
• Govern product changes (upgrades/options) with cost, schedule, and customer transparency impacts.

5) Customer Journey, Handover, DLP & Community Operations

• Design a friction-light customer journey from reservation to DLP closure (updates, inspections, payment plan clarity, snagging standards).
• Stand up after-sales SLAs (first-fix, recurrence, escalation paths) and track root causes to feed back into design and delivery.
• Launch community activation (security, amenities, retail curation, events) to raise livability and reputation.
• Ensure O&M readiness: FM contracts, spares, manuals, warranties, and service charge transparency.

6) Funding, Treasury, Partnerships & Procurement

• Partner with Finance on project finance/escrow, covenant discipline, liquidity look-ahead, and FX/commodity risk guardrails.
• Build a JV/alliance pipeline (design innovation, EPC/PMC capacity, O&M/community services, retail anchors) with performance scorecards.
• Oversee category strategies and framework agreements; apply should-cost models, VE programs, and supplier risk heatmaps.
• Drive ethical sourcing and local-supplier development where feasible.

7) Governance, Risk & Compliance

• Run a transparent operating cadence: weekly portfolio stand-ups, monthly Board packs, quarterly deep-dives with lessons-learned.
• Maintain an enterprise risk register (delivery, market/price, FX, regulatory, contractor capacity, HSE, reputation) with owners and mitigations.
• Uphold regulatory compliance, escrow/AML/KYC, data privacy, anti-bribery, contract obligations (incl. FIDIC where applicable).
• Coordinate Internal Audit actions and close findings within agreed timelines.

8) People, Culture & Leadership Bench

• Shape a performance culture with clear meeting rhythms, decision rituals, and feedback loops; model calm, integrity, and follow-through.
• Coach functional heads; upgrade critical roles decisively; build succession for pivotal seats; align incentives to delivery and customer trust.
• Promote cross-functional collaboration and knowledge reuse; reward safety leadership and ethical conduct.
• Sponsor Arabic-first communication and customer empathy across frontline teams.

9) Digital, Data & Business Intelligence

• Stand up a single source of truth: automated pipelines from ERP/CRM/PMIS into Power BI with portfolio dashboards (time, cost, quality, cash, CX).
• Reduce decision latency via one-page decision briefs, standardized templates, and data governance.
• Champion site digitization (Aconex/Procore, mobile snagging, IoT safety) and commercial digitization (CRM, e-signing, portals).
• Ensure records management and document control integrity for claims, audits, and handover.

10) ESG, HSE & Community Impact

• Set sustainability targets (energy/water intensity, materials choices, waste diversion) at design and procurement—not as afterthoughts.
• Ensure HSE programs meet international best practice; lead by presence on sites and in incident reviews.
• Support local employment and supplier development; partner on community safety and inclusion initiatives.

Ways of Working (Operating Cadence)

• Daily: PMO critical path & exceptions; CX/DLP TAT alerts; cash/collections watchlist.
• Weekly: Portfolio stand-up (schedule/cost/risks), sales & release readiness, procurement & VE checkpoints, authority tracker.
• Monthly: CEO/Board pack (one-truth dashboards), lender/escrow compliance, enterprise risk review, leadership bench & succession review.
• Quarterly: Lessons-learned summit; vendor/JV scorecards; community liveability & NPS reviews.

Tools & Systems (Experience Expected)

• PMIS/Planning: Primavera P6 / MS Project; Aconex/Procore (or equivalent).
• Enterprise: ERP (Dynamics/SAP), CRM (Dynamics/Salesforce), SharePoint/DMS, e-signing.
• Analytics: Power BI dashboards, Excel modelling (IRR/NPV, sensitivity), cash S-curve tracking.
• Collaboration: Arabic/English documentation; action logs, decision registers, site memos.

Candidate Profile Track Record

• 15–20+ years of end-to-end real-estate development in MENA, with multi-asset portfolios (compounds, towers, mixed-use, master-planned).
• Demonstrated leadership across Development, PMO/Projects, and Commercial through handover & DLP, improving margin, schedule adherence, cash discipline, and customer trust.
• Hands-on exposure to Iraqi (or comparable) approvals/utilities and delivery contexts; credible with authorities and utilities.
• Experience in JV structuring, major procurement frameworks, claims/EOT governance, and dispute resolution.

Education & Credentials

• Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering/Architecture/Urban Development/Business; MBA preferred.
• PMP/PgMP and/or real-estate finance credentials are advantageous.

Technical Depth

• Feasibility/IRR-NPV, design-to-cost & VE, procurement/category strategy, project finance/escrow, EVM/CTC, QA/QC & HSE systems, after-sales & community ops.
• Digital fluency across PMIS/ERP/CRM; builds simple, reliable, repeatable Power BI dashboards.

Leadership Behaviours

• Strategic integrator; decisive under uncertainty; calm in escalation; principled and diplomatic.
• Arabic-first communicator with board-ready storytelling in Arabic & English.
• Coaches, leaders, confront reality early and course-correct without drama; models safety and integrity.

Language & Mobility

• Arabic – native/near-native (required); English – professional proficiency (required).
• Frequent domestic travel; occasional regional/international partner travel.

Success Signature (3/6/12 Months)

• 90 Days: Portfolio & risk deep-dive; authority/utility map; integrated master schedule live; collections & cash watchlist operational; top recovery plans launched.
• 180 Days: Release strategy synchronized to site progress; PMO cadence stable; priority VE and framework agreements signed; CX/DLP upgrades live; visible uplift in safety culture.
• 12 Months: Communities delivered to plan with predictable cash and high trust—customers at handover rate the journey strongly; board and lenders view the operating system as mature, transparent, and repeatable.

Selection Process

• Executive Conversation (Arabic-led): Career arc, portfolio scale, stakeholder diplomacy.
• Written Case: Portfolio phasing & funding memo (≤10 pages) + 12-slide board pack.
• Delivery Deep-Dive: EVM walkthrough, approvals strategy, risk/recovery for an under-pressure project.
• Customer & Community Review: Reservation-to-DLP journey critique; operational readiness for handover.
• Final Panel: Ethics/HSE scenarios; authority engagement role-play; Arabic/English communication.
• References & Integrity Checks.

Employment Terms

• Contract: Full-time executive role with performance-linked incentives; potential LTI.
• Compensation: Competitive base + annual bonus linked to portfolio, commercial, and customer outcomes.
• Mobility: Support for travel and on-ground logistics.

Compliance: Adherence to anti-bribery, AML/KYC, data privacy, conflict-of-interest, and HSE/ESG policies.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: From AED55,000.00 per month

Application Question(s):

• Are you willing to relocate to Baghdad, Iraq? If yes, what is your target move date and do you have any relocation or visa constraints we should be aware of?
• What is your current notice period and your earliest possible start date?
• What are your salary expectations (please specify base, any allowances/benefits, and bonus), your preferred currency, and your flexibility range (e.g., ±10%)?