Director - Corporate Innovation & RDI Partnerships

Life at Dubai Future Foundation

Director - Corporate Innovation & RDI Partnerships

Your Responsibilities

• You will define a corporate RDI incentive offering that encourages companies, both local and global, to invest in Dubai-based RDI activities
• You will approve incentive allocations to corporates following a thorough assessment of their RDI proposals
• You will identify and engage Dubai RDI ecosystem players that can offer complementary incentives, such as subsidized land and shared infrastructure
• You will align corporate acceleration incentives and broader corporate RDI activities with Dubai’s RDI and economic priorities
• You will monitor supported corporates’ performance against strategic metrics to track outcomes and impacts, and refine incentives based on derived insights
• You will represent the organization at high-level forums, showcasing corporate incentivization success stories
• You will lead efforts to attract global and regional corporates and innovation-driven enterprises to establish or expand RDI activities in Dubai.
• You will establish and manage strategic partnerships across government, industry, academia, investors, and innovation ecosystem stakeholders to strengthen Dubai’s RDI landscape.
• You will develop governance frameworks and evaluation criteria to ensure effective allocation of incentives and measurable economic impact.
• You will support commercialization pathways, regulatory readiness, technology adoption, and scalable market deployment of RDI outcomes
• Why this role is important?
• This role is key to attracting and mobilizing private-sector investment into Dubai’s RDI ecosystem.
• By structuring corporate incentives, guiding commercialization pathways, and aligning company activity with strategic priorities, it accelerates innovation adoption, strengthens public-private collaboration, and translates RDI into measurable economic impact.
• What Dubai Future Foundation offers?
• We will offer you a unique opportunity to work with people who are passionate about the future and establishing Dubai as one of the leading cities of the world.
• You will have the chance to work on exciting and new projects, work in a highly diverse and fast paced environment that fosters creativity, disruptive ideas, and innovation.
• Who We're Looking For?
• You will have a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Business, STEM, Policy, or a related field; advanced qualifications are preferred
• You will have 12+ years of experience leading large-scale innovation, corporate R&D, corporate business development, tech acceleration programs or economic development agencies.
• You will have a strong understanding of industry trends within RDI, emerging technologies, and best practices in corporate innovation
• You will have familiarity with public-private partnership models, corporate innovation funding mechanisms, or regulatory innovation
• You will have excellent leadership, project management, and strategic planning skills, with a record of driving measurable outcomes
• You will have a demonstrated history of executive stakeholder management in a multinational landscape and ability to influence C-suite stakeholders.
• You will have familiarity with financial models and performance metrics for evaluating corporate RDI impact
• Proficiency in Arabic is a plus