Head of Community Engagement

About the role

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) seeks a Head of Community Engagement on a 12‑month freelance contract. You will own the community and events pillar of a high‑impact sector activation program, designing and delivering a year‑round portfolio of activities, events and global IP collaborations.

Key responsibilities

• Design and implement a community‑building strategy, defining target segments, engagement channels and a calendar of flagship events.
• Develop and run recurring community programs, from concept through execution, to grow and activate the ecosystem.
• Create and manage a B2B and B2C event portfolio, building business cases, budgets, sponsorship models and overseeing delivery with partners.
• Identify, negotiate and secure global IPs to host in the UAE, structuring rights, obligations and support requirements.
• Define, monitor and report on KPI framework covering community growth, event performance, sponsorship revenue and economic impact, while managing the overall budget.

Required profile

• Proven track record of building end‑to‑end event portfolios and delivering high‑profile MICE events.
• Experience negotiating and managing commercial partnerships, sponsorships and IP hosting agreements.
• Strong commercial and financial assessment abilities, including business case development and budget ownership.
• Deep familiarity with creative industries, media and interactive entertainment ecosystems is strongly preferred.
• Established network among event organizers, content creators and industry media.
• Fluency in English required; Arabic language ability is an asset.

Required skills