Head of Strategic Storytelling

Rooted in Mina Zayed’s legacy as Abu Dhabi’s historic port and shaped by Sheikh Zayed’s enduring vision for progress, MiZa is an innovation-driven neighbourhood where bold ideas are shaped into transformative solutions.

It is a place designed to address the complex challenges of Abu Dhabi and the UAE, generating both intellectual and material innovations not just for today, but for the future ahead.

MiZa is a multi-disciplinary ecosystem where the in-betweens of sectors are the starting point for entirely new possibilities, industries of the future that don’t yet exist.

The Head of Strategic Storytelling is a senior leadership role that brings together communications, narrative, strategic planning, and content development to shape how MiZa tells its story locally and globally. This role is responsible for embedding MiZa’s vision and values into every message and medium, ensuring all narratives reflect our community, national context, ambitions for innovation, and the character of Mina Zayed.

Why This Role Matters

Strategic storytelling is one of the core pillars at MiZa. This role is not just about messaging, it’s about shaping how the MiZa tells its story of progress, possibility, and purpose to the world. As Head of Strategic Storytelling, you will define how this vision lives in hearts, minds, and headlines.

Key Responsibilities

Narrative Development & Strategic Communication

• Develop MiZa’s overarching storytelling and communications framework rooted in identity, innovation, and cultural authenticity.
• Translate complex strategies into compelling narratives that engage public, private, and community stakeholders.
• Craft and oversee implementation of strategic messaging across all channels, ensuring consistency, resonance, and impact.

Communications Strategy & Execution

• Lead development and delivery of integrated communication strategies, spanning media, digital, internal comms, and stakeholder engagement.
• Design long-term comms plans aligned with MiZa’s milestone projects and activation calendar.
• Prepare briefs and narratives for key events, stakeholder and community interactions, public launches, and overall external representation.

Leadership & Cross-functional Collaboration

• Act as a thought partner to the leadership team, shaping MiZa’s voice in alignment with its values, spatial vision, and economic proposition.
• Collaborate with other MiZa teams to ensure storytelling supports end-to-end experience delivery.
• Lead a small, high-performing team of communication specialists, content producers, and creatives; mentor talent and build capabilities in narrative thinking.

Stakeholder Engagement & External Relations

• Cultivate and manage relationships with relevant government and private entities, media outlets, creative partners, and communications agencies.
• Support MiZa’s spokesperson(s) when required; lead on engagements with national and international press and bring alignment with all Group entities as well as the Board of Directors as required.
• Oversee briefing and coordination with key communication partners (local and international) to safeguard the integrity of MiZa’s narrative.

Content Oversight

• Guide the creation of all strategic content including key messaging, press releases, thought leadership pieces (op-eds), multimedia, and campaign messaging.
• Ensure storytelling reflects the intersection of MiZa’s “hard” and “soft” infrastructure, its built environment and the values it seeks to enable.

Evaluation & Innovation

• Establish metrics to assess the performance and reach of MiZa’s communications efforts; lead insight-gathering and iteration.
• Stay ahead of communication trends and tools to keep MiZa’s storytelling relevant, bold, and forward-looking.

Profile of the Ideal Candidate

Experience & Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in strategic communications, storytelling with proven leadership of full marketing mix/communications in complex, high-profile environments.
• Proven experience in PR within the UAE is a strong preference, ideally with awareness and exposure to creative, innovation, entrepreneurship or related specialist press and media
• In-depth understanding of digital communications strategies and techniques, with experience of developing a team to deliver highly technical campaigns which deliver significantly improved reach, targeting and insight as a result.
• Background in crafting successful and unique public brands and identities, ideally those with related qualities to MiZa
• Degree-level education or other suitable qualification in the likes of Communications, Strategic Design, Cultural Studies, Public Affairs, or a related field.
• Deep familiarity with UAE’s cultural and creative landscape;
• Experience working in multidisciplinary teams and translating vision into public-facing narratives at scale.
• Strong Arabic and English fluency.

Mindset & Capabilities

• A strategic thinker and creative leader who can navigate ambiguity and build structure.
• Passion for place-making, creative sectors, innovation, and cultural identity.
• Exceptional writing, speaking, and visual communication skills.
• Able to work quickly and adaptably, with small and matrix-managed teams to drive results
• High cultural intelligence; able to craft narratives that resonate with diverse audiences.
• Driven by purpose and capable of turning belief into brand and strategy into story.