Group Director – Reputation & Thought Leadership

The Group Director – Reputation & Thought Leadership will lead DP World’s Global Centre of Excellence (CoE) for reputation, executive communications and thought leadership, with enterprise-wide accountability for protecting, enhancing and advancing the company’s global reputation.

Operating as a senior strategic advisor to the Executive Leadership Team, the role will shape and steward DP World’s corporate narrative globally, ensuring the organisation is consistently positioned as a trusted, influential and future-focused leader in global trade, logistics and supply chain innovation.

The role spans four core pillars: Executive Communications, Crisis & Issues Management, Corporate Communications, and Thought Leadership, working in close partnership with Group Communications, Government Relations & Public Affairs (GRPA), regional communications leaders, and external stakeholders.

1. Executive Communications

• Define and deliver a high-impact global Executive Communications strategy for DP World’s senior leadership, aligned to enterprise priorities and long-term positioning.
• Lead the development of speeches, key messages, briefing materials and presentation content for high-profile public, policy, investor and industry engagements.
• Strengthen the visibility, credibility and influence of senior leaders across global platforms including major industry forums, international events and digital channels.
• Act as a trusted advisor to executives, supporting them to navigate reputational opportunities and risks through clear, confident and strategically aligned communications.

2. Crisis & Issues Management

• Own the global crisis and issues communications framework, ensuring DP World is prepared, coordinated and resilient in the face of reputational risk.
• Serve as a senior advisor during high-profile or complex issues, supporting rapid decision-making and clear, consistent communications.
• Establish and embed global best practice crisis protocols, working closely with regional communications teams to ensure readiness and alignment.
• Partner with Legal, Risk, Security and external agencies to manage sensitive situations with discipline, discretion and strategic judgement.

3. Corporate Communications

• Lead the development and delivery of strategic corporate communications content across owned, earned and paid channels, including oversight of the DP World Annual Report and other flagship corporate publications.
• Ensure corporate narratives, messaging and storytelling are tightly aligned with DP World’s business strategy, commercial priorities and ESG commitments.
• Build and manage senior-level relationships with key external stakeholders, including media, industry bodies, investors and strategic partners.

4. Thought Leadership

• Define and execute a global thought leadership strategy that positions DP World at the forefront of conversations shaping the future of trade, logistics and supply chains.
• Lead the creation of insight-led, integrated communications campaigns for the DP World, including the Global Trade Observatory and DP World Effect flagship reports.
• Partner with the Government Relations & Public Affairs (GRPA) function to develop and deliver thought-leadership-driven content and campaigns, supporting DP World’s engagement at major global platforms such as World Economic Forum (Davos), UNGA, and other priority policy forums.
• Identify emerging global, geopolitical, economic and industry trends, translating insight into compelling narratives, reports, opinion pieces and executive content.
• Represent DP World within international forums, policy discussions and industry platforms, strengthening influence and advocacy.
Build partnerships with research institutions, think tanks and key opinion leaders to amplify DP World’s expertise, insight and global contribution.

This role is critical to shaping how DP World is understood, trusted and engaged with globally. By integrating executive communications, reputation management and thought leadership into a single strategic centre of excellence, the Group Director will elevate DP World’s influence, resilience and relevance, supporting long-term enterprise value, stakeholder trust and global leadership.

Job Responsibilities:

Centre of Excellence Leadership

• Build, lead and scale DP World’s Global Reputation & Thought Leadership Centre of Excellence (CoE), setting the strategic direction, operating model, governance and priorities across the enterprise.

• Establish clear global standards, frameworks and toolkits while enabling regions and business units to execute effectively and consistently.

• Lead, develop and inspire high-performing global teams, providing strategic direction, coaching and mentorship to deliver measurable impact against enterprise objectives.

Executive Communications

• Define and execute an integrated global Executive Communications strategy for DP World’s senior leadership, including the Group Chairman, Group Deputy CEO and CFO, ensuring alignment with corporate strategy, reputation priorities and business objectives.

• Embed a best-in-class executive positioning framework across Group, Regional and Business Unit teams, ensuring consistency while allowing for contextual nuance.

• Lead the editorial and writing function for executive communications, setting clear direction and standards for speeches, talking points, briefing packs and key messages for global C-suite engagements.

• Personally brief senior executives ahead of major speaking opportunities and, where required, manage on-the-ground participation at high-profile events.

• Oversee a dedicated team responsible for the development, execution and ongoing management of public speaking programmes and LinkedIn content strategies for all Global C-suite executives.

• Design and deliver executive and spokesperson training programmes, strengthening the confidence, credibility and effectiveness of senior leaders and subject-matter experts representing DP World externally.

2. Crisis & Issues Management

• Establish and lead DP World’s global crisis and issues communications capability, including strategy, governance, policies, playbooks and escalation frameworks for Head Office, Regions and Business Units.

• Partner closely with Group Risk, Legal, Security and other critical functions to ensure communications preparedness is fully integrated into enterprise risk management.

• Oversee crisis simulation, training and readiness programmes globally, ensuring preparedness is focused on DP World’s most material operational and reputational risks.

• Monitor geopolitical, industry and market developments to proactively identify emerging risks and reputational issues.

• Lead internal teams and external agency partners in the execution of crisis communications strategies, ensuring disciplined, timely and aligned responses in high-pressure situations.

• Drive the creation and global distribution of strategic corporate communications content across owned, earned and paid channels, including oversight of the DP World Annual Report and corporate communications for the DP World Foundation.
• Establish and chair the DP World Knowledge Council, bringing together communications leaders and key functional stakeholders to ensure accuracy, quality, governance and consistency of corporate content.

3. Corporate Communications

• Through the Knowledge Council, lead the development of a centralised knowledge ecosystem, including global, regional and country-level databases, fact sheets and core content resources for use across the business.
• Identify and monitor DP World’s key reputation drivers, proactively shaping narratives and content that strengthen trust, credibility and long-term enterprise value while complementing risk mitigation strategies.

4. Thought Leadership

• Identify, develop and manage strategic partnerships and collaborations with external organisations to create proprietary thought leadership content and intellectual property aligned to DP World’s business and communications objectives.

• Define and execute a Government Relations & Public Affairs (GRPA) thought leadership and communications strategy, aligned with DP World’s policy priorities, brand positioning and commercial agenda.

• Lead cross-functional teams to deliver integrated communications, marketing and activation campaigns across GRPA partnerships and platforms, driving reputation, influence and stakeholder engagement.

• Develop and manage GRPA audience segmentation and a partnership activation measurement framework to assess effectiveness and inform future investment and optimisation.

• Act as the primary communications lead and strategic advisor to GRPA as well as key external partners.

• Manage multiple internal teams and agency partners simultaneously, ensuring integrated delivery, high standards and measurable outcomes.
  

Key Deliverables

• Fully established Reputation & Thought Leadership CoE platform, including strategy, governance frameworks, toolkits and templates

• Global Executive Positioning Strategy and tailored communication plans for senior executives

• Established and actively managed LinkedIn profiles and content programmes for Global C-suite executives

• Integrated global database of approved spokespeople and engagement opportunities (global, regional and local)

• Executive-ready speeches, talking points and briefing materials for Global C-suite engagements

• Editorial leadership and design oversight of the DP World Annual Report

• Centralised, approved content and knowledge platform housing facts, figures and core narratives

• Enterprise-wide Crisis & Issues Communications framework, including policies, playbooks, toolkits and templates

• Audit and prioritisation of external partnerships to develop new thought leadership IP

• Master GRPA Partnership Activation Plans

• Master DP World Foundation Communications Strategy and channel plans

• Regional and Business Unit engagement and enablement plans
  

Job Context:

As DP World’s communications function has scaled and channel-led strategies have been established for senior leaders, there is a growing need to ensure these activities are anchored in clear strategic thought leadership and executive positioning, tailored to each Global C-suite leader while remaining fully aligned to the company’s overarching corporate strategy.

With the largest and most visible global speaker bench the organisation has had to date, a dedicated senior leader and specialist team are required to support Global C-suite Executives in delivering high-impact external communications—particularly across public speaking engagements and LinkedIn, where influence, credibility and consistency are critical.

The role is also essential to professionalising DP World’s approach to spokesperson readiness, ensuring leaders and subject-matter experts at all levels are trained, supported and enabled with the right frameworks, tools and governance to represent the business confidently and consistently on global platforms.

DP World currently lacks a formalised Crisis & Issues Communications function, creating an urgent need for a senior leader to establish the strategy, governance, playbooks and operating model required to manage reputational risk effectively. This role will build and embed a global crisis communications capability that enables disciplined, rapid and coordinated responses, protecting the organisation’s reputation during high-pressure situations.

The development of strategic, scalable thought leadership IP has to date been inconsistent across the enterprise. To maximise impact, streamline investment and strengthen reputation, clear ownership is required to identify, develop and disseminate insight-led content that can be leveraged across Head Office, Regions and Business Units.

The accelerated expansion of DP World’s Government Relations & Public Affairs (GRPA) partnership portfolio, including platforms such as the World Economic Forum, UN General Assembly, B20/G20 and COP, alongside year-round strategic partnerships, demands a senior role to create integrated communications and activation strategies. This includes connecting moments, platforms and narratives; driving clear audience segmentation; and establishing robust measurement frameworks to support GRPA leadership and C-suite engagement with governments and public institutions.

Qualifications, Experience & Skills:

• Bachelor’s degree and minimum of 10 years of experience in strategic communications

• A process-driven individual and proven project Director with a positive and proactive approach to everything they do

• Self-starter who thrives under pressure, can prioritise multiple projects, take the initiative and is driven to achieve results in a dynamic environment

• The ability and confidence to deal with all levels of the organisation, up to Senior Executives

• Fast and capable with a strong work and teamwork ethic, attention to detail and a commitment to quality; ability to prioritise effectively and meet tight deadlines

• Strong interpersonal skills, sensitive to working collaboratively with many different cultures and at different levels

• Exceptional communicator – written and oral. Proficient in written and verbal English. Arabic a plus but not a must

• Strong understanding of media relations, social media and other digital channels, and internal communications is highly beneficial

• Experience of developing plans and supporting materials for communicating on a crisis on behalf of a global company

• Knowledge of the industry landscape and understanding of government relations and public affairs is strongly desired

• Willingness to roll up sleeves and get the work done, no matter how big or small the task

• Ability to effectively manage and delegate whilst demonstrating clear and concise upward reporting

• Flexibility with working hours – DP World is a global company, and some opportunities may be outside regular working hours