Community and Growth Manager

About This Role

We are growing the team at Dubai Founders HQ, Dubai's newly launched phygital platform supporting startups and scaleups. DFHQ - A joint initiative by the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) and the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy.

Growth & Community Manager plays a pivotal role in driving the growth, visibility, and engagement of Dubai Founders HQ (DFHQ).

This role serves as a central pillar in DFHQ’s core team, blending digital marketing, ecosystem engagement, and program delivery, ensuring DFHQ continuously attracts, engages, and retains founders, partners, and stakeholders across its physical and digital platforms.

The candidate will lead DFHQ’s community growth strategy – curating program activations, content, products, and campaigns, that bring the ecosystem to life and amplify the platform’s impact. They will also play a key role in shaping DFHQ’s brand voice and ensuring all programs, events, and digital initiatives contribute to sustainable community and user growth.

The ideal candidate is an entrepreneurial operator and storyteller – someone who can move seamlessly between strategy and execution, leveraging digital tools, partnerships, and creative programming to position DFHQ as the central hub of Dubai’s startup ecosystem. The candidate thrives in dynamic environments and can translate DFHQ’s strategic vision into tangible initiatives, managing programs and growing an active founder community end-to-end.

Responsibilities include:

● Develop and execute a growth strategy to increase awareness, membership, and engagement across DFHQ’s physical and digital channels.

● Build, nurture, and activate a thriving DFHQ founder community through programs, events, activations, and peer learning opportunities.

● Identify and activate new growth levers, such as referral programs, partnerships, ambassador initiatives, and performance-driven campaigns.

Support the development of co-branded programs, initiatives, and sponsorships with partners, in collaboration with the Programs and Partnerships leads.

● Liaise with corporate and ecosystem partners to co-create activations that drive participation and visibility.

● Shape DFHQ’s content and storytelling strategy, ensuring consistent voice and positioning across all touchpoints.

● Manage cross-functional workstreams across program delivery, partnerships, operations, and community management.

● Establish dashboards and KPIs to measure DFHQ’s community growth, engagement, and campaign performance.

Qualifications & Experience:

● Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or a related field (Master’s preferred).

● 7-10 years of experience in roles spanning digital marketing, growth, product management, community management, and innovation ecosystems.

● Experience working with startups, investors, corporates, or accelerators and incubators is a plus.

● Proven track record of growing digital audiences and communities.

● Experience managing programs, activations, or campaigns that drive user acquisition and engagement.

● Knowledge of the startup ecosystem and innovation landscape in Dubai and globally.