Assistant Manager, Retail Festivals & Events

Role overview

This position supports the planning, coordination, and delivery of Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) activities. The role focuses on aligning festival execution with the goals of the wider Dubai economy and tourism strategy, while improving attendee experience, managing budgets, coordinating stakeholders, and ensuring operational and regulatory compliance.

Key responsibilities

• Contribute to the creation and management of DSF event plans, including resource allocation, budgeting, and timeline tracking against milestone targets.
• Support the strategy and planning team in building event budgets, applying financial controls, and tracking spend and performance across the festival period.
• Work with internal teams to align DSF activities with the broader event calendar and resolve planning or delivery conflicts early.
• Help classify events by scale, audience, duration, location, budget, and resource needs.
• Prepare and circulate briefings for the event marketing team so they can develop targeted promotional plans.
• Assist in developing project one-pagers that define objectives, budgets, content elements, and relevant market examples or benchmarks.
• Coordinate with procurement on RFPs/RFIs, supplier evaluation, and contract administration, while maintaining agency relationships after award.
• Support on-ground delivery of projects and events by coordinating internal and external stakeholders.
• Build and maintain effective relationships with vendors, sponsors, government entities, and other partners to support smooth festival execution.
• Act as a main contact point for stakeholder questions, issue resolution, and relationship management throughout the DSF lifecycle.
• Identify practical improvements and new event-management approaches to raise attendee satisfaction and operational efficiency.
• Recommend creative content ideas and activations that keep DSF fresh, engaging, and aligned with leading event practices.
• Ensure activities follow DET policies, legal requirements, and industry regulations, especially in procurement and contract handling.
• Support risk management and contingency planning for issues such as delays, overspending, or unexpected operational challenges.
• Coordinate with HSE colleagues to make sure safety procedures are in place and followed during all events.
• Keep complete records of contracts, budgets, communications, and other DSF documents for audit and reference purposes.
• Prepare performance reports that highlight delivery challenges and suggest improvements for future editions.
• Review satisfaction feedback from retailers, malls, and partners to identify areas for enhancement in upcoming festivals.
• Stay current on local laws and international standards relevant to major public and private events.

Requirements

• A bachelor’s degree in Event Management, Business Administration, Marketing, Hospitality, or a closely related discipline.
• Professional qualifications such as PMP are considered an advantage.
• At least 4 years of experience in event management, ideally with retail and large-scale public events.
• Demonstrated success in delivering large festivals or retail-focused events, preferably in a comparable market.
• Experience handling budgets and allocating resources to meet strategic objectives.
• Strong background in stakeholder coordination, including work with government bodies, sponsors, vendors, and partners.
• Experience preparing and managing RFPs/RFIs, along with supplier and agency contract processes.
• Ability to juggle several projects at once while working to tight deadlines.
• Familiarity with compliance standards and safety procedures in event delivery.

Additional information

This is a full-time, onsite contract role based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The position sits within the Marketing, Promotion and Events stream and is open to UAE nationals only. Salary was not specified. The posting date is 25/06/2026 and the listing closes on 26/07/2026.

Core capabilities

• Ability to coordinate event planning activities so delivery stays aligned with strategic goals and deadlines.
• Comfort with budget preparation and tracking to support financial discipline across the event lifecycle.
• Skill in building productive working relationships with vendors, sponsors, and public-sector stakeholders.
• Clear communication style for sharing updates with internal teams and external partners.
• Working understanding of marketing principles for event promotion and audience engagement.
• Ability to contribute to campaign content and communications that are relevant and consistent with the brand.
• Competence in gathering and interpreting event data to support reporting and decision-making.
• Good problem-solving ability, especially for contingency planning and rapid issue resolution.
• Familiarity with digital tools and event management systems used to organize and track delivery.
• Knowledge of local compliance requirements to help ensure events are legal and safe.
• Capacity to support smaller teams or subgroups within a larger event structure.
• Collaborative mindset for working across departments and keeping execution aligned.
• Ability to adapt quickly when plans change during event preparation or live delivery.
• Sensitivity to Dubai’s multicultural environment and audience expectations.