{"id":81145,"date":"2026-03-08T22:49:58","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T18:49:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/herecareers.com\/job\/sports-division-director\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T22:49:59","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T18:49:59","slug":"sports-division-director","status":"publish","type":"job_listing","link":"https:\/\/herecareers.com\/ar\/job\/sports-division-director\/","title":{"rendered":"Sports Division Director"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>411_3313183<\/p>\n<p><h3>ROLE OVERVIEW <\/h3>\n<p>The Director of Sports will define and lead Miral\u2019s transversal sports agenda across its destinations and assets. This includes designing and implementing a group-wide sports strategy, overseeing the delivery of activations and events, and unlocking new business opportunities through partnerships with global rights\u2011holders, brands, and key government stakeholders. <\/p>\n<p>The role requires a senior leader with extensive experience in sport, esports, entertainment, and tourism, strong commercial acumen, and the ability to operate at both strategic and executional levels. Acting as Miral\u2019s representative within the sports ecosystem, the Director of Sports will drive internal alignment, manage cross\u2011functional teams, and ensure that Miral\u2019s sports initiatives are impactful, innovative, and sustainable. <\/p>\n<h3>Role Scope <\/h3>\n<h3>Strategy Development <\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Audit and integrate current group sports initiatives; identify strengths, gaps, and opportunities across attractions and destinations. <\/li>\n<li>Design and lead Miral\u2019s transversal Sports Strategy across all assets and business units, covering (but not limited to) product, events, communication, sponsorship, and partnerships. <\/li>\n<li>Ensure sport contributes to Miral\u2019s business, brand, and CSR objectives in line with Abu Dhabi\u2019s wider tourism and lifestyle agenda. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Delivery &#038; Activation <\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Lead the execution of sports-related events, programs, and initiatives across Miral\u2019s ecosystem. <\/li>\n<li>Ensure best\u2011in\u2011class operational standards, from planning to guest experience. <\/li>\n<li>Introduce new sports properties and formats aligned with Miral\u2019s positioning and visitor expectations. <\/li>\n<li>Drive innovation to continuously enhance impact and value creation. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Business Development <\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Identify and build relationships with major sports organizations, rights\u2011holders, and industry partners to bring new opportunities to Miral. <\/li>\n<li>Develop long\u2011term collaborations with global and regional stakeholders to strengthen Yas Island and Abu Dhabi\u2019s positioning as a sports destination. <\/li>\n<li>Represent Miral as the \u201cface of sport\u201d at conferences, industry forums, and expert gatherings, positioning the company as a thought leader in sport, tourism, and entertainment. <\/li>\n<li>Champion Miral\u2019s vision in external engagements to attract partners, investors, and new business opportunities. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Stakeholder Engagement <\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Act as the primary point of contact with key government and institutional stakeholders (e.g., DCT, Ethara, Abu Dhabi Sports Council). <\/li>\n<li>Ensure internal alignment across departments to integrate sports initiatives into Miral\u2019s wider offering. <\/li>\n<li>Serve as a catalyst to connect entities and ensure coordination at group level. <\/li>\n<li>Act as the primary liaison between the department and Miral Destinations Sponsorships and Partnerships team to ensure alignment on external brand alliances, brand positioning &#038; campaign integration. <\/li>\n<li>Work in close collaboration with the Miral Events &#038; Production team to plan, deliver, and execute all sporting events to the scale, quality, and operational standards required by Miral, ensuring alignment with brand, guest experience, safety, and commercial objectives. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Governance &#038; Leadership <\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Define clear KPIs to measure the impact of sports initiatives (visitation, guest satisfaction, financial performance, community participation, brand visibility). <\/li>\n<li>Oversee budgets and ensure compliance with governance standards. <\/li>\n<li>Build and lead a high\u2011performing team, while managing external agencies and partners. <\/li>\n<li>Ensure all sponsor deliverables are executed to contractual standards, on time and within agreed brand guidelines. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Qualifications, Experience and Skills <\/h3>\n<h3>Essential <\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Bachelor\u2019s degree in business, Marketing, Strategy, or related field. <\/li>\n<li>12+ years at senior level in partnerships, sponsorships, or business development within sport, esports, entertainment, tourism, with direct responsibility for both strategy design and hands\u2011on execution. <\/li>\n<li>Proven ability to design and implement large\u2011scale partnership strategies for leading Middle East stakeholders. <\/li>\n<li>Strong negotiation and deal\u2011making track record. <\/li>\n<li>Deep knowledge of the Middle East ecosystem, including government entities, rights\u2011holders, federations, and brands. <\/li>\n<li>Demonstrated leadership of cross\u2011functional teams and complex programs; vendor\/agency management. <\/li>\n<li>Excellent communication in English; C\u2011level stakeholder management and executive presence. <\/li>\n<li>International exposure with global IPs, combined with strong local\/regional expertise in the GCC. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Desirable <\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Master\u2019s degree \/ MBA preferred. <\/li>\n<li>Experience across both venue environments (e.g., major arenas\/theme parks) and agency\/consultancy roles, providing strong end\u2011to\u2011end perspective. Exposure to theme parks, live entertainment, or destination management is a strong plus. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> #J-18808-Ljbffr<\/p>\n<p>2026-02-28 08:09:56<\/p>","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","job_listing_type":[68],"job_listing_category":[1358],"job_listing_location":[720],"job_listing_tag":[],"class_list":["post-81145","job_listing","type-job_listing","status-publish","hentry","job_listing_type-full-time","job_listing_category-other","job_listing_location-united-arab-emirates"],"metas":{"_job_featured_image":"","_job_featured":"","_job_filled":"","_job_urgent":"","_job_category":{"1358":"Other"},"_job_type":{"68":"Full Time"},"_job_tag":[],"_job_expiry_date":"","_job_gender":"","_job_apply_type":"external","_job_phone":"","_job_apply_url":"https:\/\/en-ae.whatjobs.com\/coopob__cpl___411_3313183__3583?utm_source=3583&utm_medium=feed&keyword=Sports-Division-Director&location=-United-Arab-Emirates","_job_apply_email":"","_job_salary_type":"","_job_salary":"","_job_experience":"","_job_career_level":"","_job_qualification":"","_job_video_url":"","_job_photos":"","_job_application_deadline_date":"","_job_address":"","_job_location":{"720":"United Arab Emirates"},"_job_map_location":{"address":"","latitude":"","longitude":""},"_job_logo":"https:\/\/herecareers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/wp-job-board-pro-uploads\/_employer_featured_image\/2025\/11\/ICON-Here-Careers-Logo-150-150x150.png","_job_employer_name":"HR","_job_employer_url":"https:\/\/herecareers.com\/ar\/employer\/hr\/"},"cmb2":{"_job_careerjet_job_fields":{"_job_careerjet_detail_url":"","_job_careerjet_company_name":""}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/herecareers.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job_listing\/81145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/herecareers.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job_listing"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/herecareers.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/job_listing"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/herecareers.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/100"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/herecareers.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/herecareers.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"job_listing_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/herecareers.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job_listing_type?post=81145"},{"taxonomy":"job_listing_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/herecareers.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job_listing_category?post=81145"},{"taxonomy":"job_listing_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/herecareers.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job_listing_location?post=81145"},{"taxonomy":"job_listing_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/herecareers.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job_listing_tag?post=81145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}