Growth & Operations Lead (UAE)
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Posted 7 days ago
About the role
UAE Growth & Operations Lead
Dubai, UAE | Full-time
We are looking for a UAE Growth & Operations Lead to help build the next chapter of INTERWEAVE in the region.
This is a pivotal role for INTERWEAVE: part business development, part market builder, part local operator.
Based in Dubai, you will work closely with our Founder & CEO and leadership team to establish and grow INTERWEAVE's presence across the UAE and, progressively, the wider GCC.
Your mission is twofold: build the business and build the platform around it.
You will open doors, create relationships, identify opportunities, develop partnerships and help convert conversations into meaningful business. At the same time, you will take ownership of the day-to-day development of our Dubai presence — helping us establish the right ecosystem of partners, suppliers, networks, processes and local infrastructure needed for sustainable growth.
We are not looking for someone to simply "sell agency services."
We are looking for an entrepreneurial, commercially sharp professional who understands how business is done in the UAE, can navigate senior decision-makers, spots opportunities before they become briefs, and is excited by the challenge of helping build a market from the ground up.
INTERWEAVE operates at the intersection of Consulting, Creative and Technology, working with ambitious organisations on transformation, strategy, brands, experiences, digital ecosystems, AI and innovation.
You will help translate this proposition into the UAE market.
As UAE Growth & Operations Lead, you will:Drive UAE & GCC growth- Develop and execute INTERWEAVE's business development approach for the UAE, with progressive expansion into priority GCC markets.
- Identify high-potential sectors, organisations, decision-makers and opportunities aligned with our expertise.
- Build and manage a qualified pipeline across consulting, brand, experience, digital, technology, AI and integrated transformation opportunities.
- Proactively open doors and build relationships with C-level executives, founders, government and semi-government organisations, developers, hospitality groups, destination organisations, cultural institutions and other strategic prospects.
- Attend meetings, conferences, industry gatherings and networking opportunities, representing INTERWEAVE with confidence and credibility.
- Develop strategic partnerships, referral networks and alliances that can accelerate our presence in the region.
- Identify RFPs, tenders, procurement opportunities and major transformation programmes relevant to our capabilities.
- Take ownership of opportunities from first conversation through qualification, proposal, negotiation and close.
- Understand the real business challenge behind the brief and connect it with the right INTERWEAVE capabilities.
- Work closely with our strategy, consulting, creative, technology and leadership teams to shape compelling solutions.
- Scope opportunities and contribute to proposals, credentials, pitch decks, budgets, commercial models and presentations.
- Coordinate responses to RFPs and tenders, ensuring quality, relevance and timely submission.
- Participate in and, increasingly, lead client presentations and commercial conversations.
- Maintain disciplined pipeline management, forecasting and follow-up through our CRM.
- Act as the key day-to-day INTERWEAVE representative on the ground in Dubai.
- Support the establishment and continuous development of our local operating setup.
- Coordinate relationships with local service providers, business partners, workspace providers and other operational stakeholders.
- Work with our central finance, people and operations teams to ensure smooth local administration and business operations.
- Help establish efficient processes for prospects, clients, suppliers and partners in the UAE.
- Support local recruitment and onboarding as the Dubai team grows.
- Help us understand how INTERWEAVE needs to adapt - commercially and operationally - to succeed in the market without losing what makes us INTERWEAVE.
- Develop a strong ecosystem around INTERWEAVE across business, government, technology, innovation, hospitality, real estate, culture and the creative industries.
- Continuously map the market: major organisations, investment programmes, government agendas, upcoming developments, competitors and emerging opportunities.
- Bring market intelligence back into the company and help leadership determine where we should focus.
- Identify relevant communities, associations, events, awards, platforms and speaking opportunities.
- Support local thought leadership, events, roundtables and content that strengthen INTERWEAVE's reputation in the region.
- Help turn our existing international credentials, case studies and expertise into locally relevant stories.
- Be an active ambassador for INTERWEAVE and help create a network around the company.
During your first year, we expect you to help us:
- Establish a strong and credible INTERWEAVE presence in Dubai.
- Build a structured network of relevant decision-makers and strategic partners.
- Develop a healthy, measurable pipeline of qualified opportunities.
- Convert new UAE clients and develop recurring relationships.
- Create greater visibility for INTERWEAVE among the organisations and communities that matter.
- Establish the operational foundations required for the Dubai office to grow.
- Generate actionable market intelligence that shapes our regional strategy.
- Build the foundations for future team expansion across the UAE and GCC.
Requirements
We're looking for someone who:
Combines commercial instinct, strategic thinking and entrepreneurial energy.
You should have:
- 8+ years of experience in business development, strategic partnerships, consulting, client leadership, market development or a related commercial role.
- Significant professional experience in the UAE, ideally Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and a strong understanding of the local business environment.
- An existing network - or demonstrated ability to build one quickly - among senior business decision-makers in the region.
- Experience within a consulting firm, creative/digital agency, innovation company, technology business or sophisticated B2B professional-services environment.
- A track record of developing and converting complex B2B opportunities.
- Confidence engaging with founders, CEOs, C-level executives and senior government or institutional stakeholders.
- Strong proposal, presentation and commercial storytelling skills.
- Experience working with RFPs, tenders and procurement processes.
- Strong commercial judgement and the ability to qualify opportunities rather than simply chase leads.
- Excellent written and spoken English.
- Strong organisational skills and comfort managing multiple commercial and operational priorities simultaneously.
- Familiarity with CRM and pipeline management.
- The independence to operate effectively on the ground while collaborating closely with an international team.
- Experience across the wider GCC / MENA region.
- Relationships within government, semi-government, real estate, hospitality, destinations, tourism, culture, technology or major enterprise organisations.
- Experience helping establish or scale a new market, office, practice or business unit.
- Understanding of branding, customer experience, digital transformation, AI, innovation or organisational transformation.
- Arabic language skills.
You are a builder.
You enjoy walking into a market, understanding how it works and figuring out where the opportunities are.
You are equally comfortable having coffee with a founder, presenting to a CEO, navigating a procurement process, attending an industry event, working with our strategists on a proposal, or solving the practical realities of establishing a growing office.
You don't wait for briefs to arrive.
You create conversations.
You connect dots between organisations, people, needs and ideas.
You understand that relationships matter deeply in this market - but that relationships alone are not enough. You know how to turn trust into opportunities and opportunities into lasting partnerships.
And you want to build something, not simply inherit a territory.
Benefits
Why INTERWEAVE
We are an ideas and innovation company working at the intersection of:
Consulting × Creative × Technology
We partner with organisations facing moments of change - helping them rethink businesses, brands, experiences, destinations, products and digital ecosystems.
From Athens, London and Dubai, our multidisciplinary teams work across markets and industries, combining strategy with imagination and implementation.
The UAE represents an important next chapter for INTERWEAVE.
This role will have the opportunity to help shape it.
What we offer- A central role in building INTERWEAVE's UAE and GCC presence.
- Direct collaboration with our Founder & CEO and senior leadership team.
- Significant autonomy and ownership.
- Exposure to ambitious regional and international organisations and projects.
- Access to INTERWEAVE's integrated Consulting, Creative and Technology capabilities.
- An international, multidisciplinary team and network.
- Competitive remuneration.
- A structured performance and commission scheme linked to new business growth and strategic partnerships.
- The opportunity to grow with the market and potentially build and lead the future UAE team.
If you're commercially ambitious, well connected, strategically minded and excited by the prospect of building a business presence rather than simply filling a role, we'd like to meet you.
Send us your CV and a short note telling us:
Why Dubai, why INTERWEAVE, and what would you build here?