Operations Lead
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Key skills for this role
About the Role
The Operations Lead is responsible for overseeing all operational, regulatory, and facility-related functions of Forbes Middle East. This role ensures compliance with licensing, facility management, vendor coordination, and crisis management to support business continuity.
Key Skills for This Role
Responsibilities
- Act as the primary liaison with government authorities, regulators, and free zones to ensure smooth communication and timely approvals
- Support all licensing, permits, renewals, and regulatory approvals to maintain uninterrupted business operations
- Ensure continuous compliance with local laws, regulations, and operational requirements to mitigate legal and operational risks
- Maintain accurate and secure records of all licenses, permits, and regulatory documentation to ensure audit readiness
- Ensure all company facilities are managed and maintained to the highest standards to support productivity and brand image
- Lead and manage facility expansions, refurbishments, and the onboarding of new offices to support business growth
- Ensure timely resolution of urgent facility issues to minimize disruption while safeguarding branding and identity
- Develop and monitor preventive maintenance schedules across all facilities to ensure safety and operational continuity
- Ensure consistent adherence to health, safety, and environmental standards
- Support the management and upkeep of the company car fleet to ensure availability and reliability
- Ensure full fleet compliance with insurance, licensing, and safety requirements
- Monitor fleet utilization, maintenance costs, and operational efficiency to optimize expenses
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in business administration, Operations Management, Engineering, or a related field
- 12 14 years of proven experience in operations, facilities, or administrative management
- Proven experience dealing with government authorities in UAE, regulators, and licensing bodies
- Experience managing facilities, assets, and vendor relationships in a multi site environment
- Strong background in UAE Facilities laws, H&SE Laws
- Proficiency in MS Office, project management tools and scheduling tools
- Strong written and verbal communication skills in English; Arabic proficiency is highly desirable
- Strong knowledge of regulatory and compliance frameworks
- Excellent organizational and multitasking skills
- Strong negotiation and vendor management capabilities
- Crisis management and problem solving skills
- Strong communication and stakeholder management skills
Full Job Posting
Job Purpose
- The Operations Lead is responsible for overseeing and supporting all operational, regulatory, and facility related functions of Forbes Middle East.
- This role ensures full compliance with licensing and regulatory requirements, high standards of facility and asset management, effective coordination with external stakeholders, and proactive crisis and risk management to support business continuity and growth.
Duties & Responsibilities
- Acting as the primary liaison with government authorities, regulators, and free zones to ensure smooth communication and timely approvals, in close coordination with Legal, Finance, and Senior Management.
- Supporting all licensing, permits, renewals, and regulatory approvals to maintain uninterrupted business operations, working closely with Legal, Finance, and relevant external authorities.
- Ensuring continuous compliance with local laws, regulations, and operational requirements to mitigate legal and operational risks, in alignment with Legal, HR, and Finance teams.
- Maintaining accurate and secure records of all licenses, permits, and regulatory documentation to ensure audit readiness and data protection, in coordination with Legal, Finance, and IT departments.
- Ensuring all company facilities are managed and maintained to the highest standards to support productivity and brand image, in collaboration with Director of Operations, HR, and Marketing teams.
- Leading and managing facility expansions, refurbishments, and the onboarding of new offices to support business growth and operational needs, in coordination with Management, Finance, IT, Procurement and external contractors.
- Ensuring timely resolution of urgent facility issues (quick fixes) to minimize disruption while safeguarding Forbes Middle East branding and identity, in close collaboration with Marketing team.
- Developing and monitoring preventive maintenance schedules across all facilities to ensure employee safety, satisfaction, and operational continuity, working with HR, and external service providers.
- Ensuring consistent adherence to health, safety, and environmental standards to protect employees and company assets, in coordination with relevant regulatory bodies.
- Supporting the management and upkeep of the company car fleet to ensure availability and reliability for business use, in collaboration with Administration, Finance, and external vendors.
- Ensuring full fleet compliance with insurance, licensing, and safety requirements to reduce operational and legal risks, in coordination with Finance, Legal, and insurance providers.
- Monitoring fleet utilization, maintenance costs, and operational efficiency to optimize expenses and performance, working closely with Finance and Administration.
Additional Duties
- Coordinating with landlords, venue operators, suppliers, and service providers to ensure seamless facility operations and service delivery, in align with purchasing team.
- Ensuring facilities are fully set up, functional, and aligned with business requirements to support teams' daily operations, in collaboration with IT, HR, and Department Heads.
- Managing service level agreements (SLAs) and vendor performance to ensure quality, cost efficiency, and compliance, working with Procurement, Finance, and Legal.
- Supporting negotiations and renewals of operational contracts to secure favorable terms and continuity of services, in coordination with Finance, Procurement, and Senior Management.
- Identifying operational risks and recommending mitigation strategies to minimize disruption and exposure, working closely with Management, Legal, and Finance.
- Participating in business continuity and emergency response planning to ensure preparedness across all functions, in coordination with HR, IT, and Finance teams.
- Ensuring readiness and effective coordination during incidents or disruptions to maintain business continuity, working with all relevant internal departments and external stakeholders.
Job Specification
- Bachelor's degree in business administration, Operations Management, Engineering, or a related field. Professional certifications in Facilities Management, Operations, or Risk Management are an advantage.
- 12 14 years of proven experience in operations, facilities, or administrative management.
- Proven experience dealing with government authorities in UAE, regulators, and licensing bodies.
- Experience managing facilities, assets, and vendor relationships in a multi site environment.
- Strong background in UAE Facilities laws, H&SE Laws.
- Proficiency in MS Office, project management tools and scheduling tools.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills in English; Arabic proficiency is highly desirable.
- Strong knowledge of regulatory and compliance frameworks.
- Excellent organizational and multitasking skills.
- Strong negotiation and vendor management capabilities.
- Crisis management and problem solving skills.
- Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
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