Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi is looking for a Strategy & Opportunity Assessments Unit Head.
Role Purpose:
Manage carrying out strategy engagement including and not limited to market and opportunity assessments, destination development strategies, benchmarking, feasibilities, business plan assessment and others in-line with the defined priorities and goals and in close collaboration with the relevant tourism departments.
Key Responsibilities:
Annual Plans and Performance Management:
- Contribute to the development of the Market Assessments section annual business plan in order to ensure that unit’s activities and plans are aligned and congruent with the needs and plans of office
- Monitor performance of the unit in accordance with the direction set by the office, and prepare periodic reports on the performance of the unit to ensure that the employees’ performance is continually measured and addressed in a timely and effective manner
Markets Assessments:
- Lead on the development and implementation of strategy and opportunity market assessments including the vision, mission and values, in cooperation and coordination with the tourism senior management
- Manage and ensure the application of hypothesis-driven approach to develop conclusions relating to the market engagements in-line with the department’s goals
- Communicate, cascade, and raise awareness on hypothesis-driven approach, modeling, storyboarding, and strategic objectives to relevant Department teams
- Lead on the development of financial and market models using best practices and leverage these models to support the analyses required while ensuring alignment with the objectives
- Manage conducting and benchmarking feasibility studies for any tourism project proposed in close collaboration with the relevant tourism department, ensuring alignment with the defined objectives and strategies
- Engage and manage relevant Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) such statisticians, researchers, market assessments and other professionals both internal and external consultants for specialized services to support tourism’s strategic planning and to ensure accurate strategy and opportunity assessments are conducted
- Build strategic partnerships with a diverse array of stakeholders and identify areas of potential collaboration in-line with the defined goals of the section and office
- Provide market strategy and opportunity assessment inputs on project briefs and concepts from tourism perspective for the relevant tourism departments in-line with the objectives
- Identify and align with government entities and investment bodies on investment priorities and opportunities for the tourism sector
- Assist in detailing market opportunities by providing information and support to relevant tourism departments, and government stakeholders (if required) that seek to create or expand tourism opportunities within the region
- Assess investment proposals from tourism market perspective in-line with the defined strategies and objectives of the office
Reporting and Budgeting:
- Prepare progress reports on key updates for key strategy and opportunity assessments, including hypotheses, underlying narratives, escalate red flags / potential delays for timely resolution and identifying areas of improvement, in order to achieve the defined KPIs and SLAs and present them to tourism management and leadership
- Contribute to the preparation of the unit’s budget (in close cooperation with the concerned departments/sections) in order to serve the achievement of the desired results and objectives
Shared Activity:
- Ensure effective cascading of the functional strategy into section business plans to ensure vertical alignment and horizontal integration with other interfacing sectional strategies
- Lead the identification of opportunities for continuous improvement and sustainability of systems, processes and practices considering global standards, productivity improvement and cost reduction
- Carry out any other duties and responsibilities related to the role at the request of the direct manager
- Manage and ensure effective implementation of functional policies, procedures and controls covering all areas of assigned section activity so that all relevant procedural/legislative requirements are fulfilled while delivering a quality, cost-effective service
- Follow all relevant departmental policies, processes, standard operating procedures, and instructions so that work is carried out in a controlled and consistent manner
- Demonstrate compliance to organization’s values and ethics at all times to support the establishment of a value drive culture within the organization
- Contribute to the identification of opportunities for continuous improvement and sustainability of systems, processes and practices considering global standards, productivity improvement and cost reduction
Communication and Business Relationships:
Internal:
- Tourism Sector
- DCT Relevant Sectors / Departments
External:
- Key vendors & supplies
- Government entities
- Other Agencies / Partners / Stakeholders
- Market Research Firms & Consultants
- Tourism Entities (Hotels, Tourist Attractions, DMCs, Consultants, etc.)
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s (Master’s degree preferred) in Market Strategy, Tourism, Business Administration, Economics, Public Policy or any other decree within relevant industry
Experience:
- At least 4 to 7 years of experience in Market Strategy, Market Assessments, Economics, or any other experience within similar role or industry
- Proven previous experience in tourism/hospitality is preferable
- Previous experience in big research companies that cover the tourism sector is preferable
Skills:
- Full professional English proficiency both in speaking and writing
- Arabic bilingual desirable but not mandatory
- Skilled in MS Office (PowerPoint, Word and Excel)
- Strong strategic decision making: ability to make timely decisions, and explain decisions to ensure commitment and execution
- Analytical and problem-solving skills: ability to analyze problems, identify alternative solutions, anticipate consequences, and provide recommendations
- Critical thinking skills: ability to analyze situations, understand connections between ideas and make informed decisions
- Excellent communication skills: ability to prepare written documents and reports, as well as prepare oral presentations
- Strong understanding of both quantitative and qualitative research and analysis
- Proficient in numerical analysis and able to work with large and diverse data sets
- Administrative skills and attention to detail
- Self-motivated with a proven ability to complete work in a timely manner
- Expert knowledge on rebates schemes, preferably accustomed with UAE best practices
- Experience with business planning
- Extensive experience with program management related to finance and policy