Associate Principal, Stakeholder Management

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced Stakeholder Manager – Design to lead stakeholder coordination, authority approvals, NOCs, and interfaces for major infrastructure projects in Dubai. The role will act as the key interface between the design team, client, government authorities, utility providers, developers, contractors, and other external stakeholders, ensuring that stakeholder requirements are identified, coordinated, incorporated into the design, and approved within the project programme.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead stakeholder management and authority coordination activities throughout the design lifecycle of infrastructure projects.
• Develop and maintain the Stakeholder Management Plan, Stakeholder Register, NOC/Approval Matrix, and approval trackers.
• Coordinate with RTA, Dubai Municipality, DEWA, Dubai Civil Defence, telecom operators, utility providers, master developers, and other relevant authorities.
• Manage the preparation, submission, tracking, and closure of NOCs, permits, design approvals, and authority clearances.
• Review authority requirements and ensure they are effectively communicated to the relevant design disciplines.
• Coordinate with Civil, Structural, Utilities, Traffic, MEP, Landscape, and other design teams to incorporate stakeholder requirements into project deliverables.
• Lead stakeholder meetings, workshops, technical discussions, and design coordination meetings.
• Review authority comments and coordinate timely responses and revisions with the design team.
• Identify stakeholder-related risks, constraints, conflicts, and dependencies and develop appropriate mitigation measures.
• Monitor approval timelines and highlight potential delays that may impact the overall project programme.
• Coordinate with the Project Manager, Design Manager, Planning Manager, and discipline leads to ensure timely submissions and approvals.
• Maintain accurate records of stakeholder communications, commitments, comments, approvals, and outstanding actions.
• Establish and maintain strong professional relationships with government authorities, utilities, clients, and third-party stakeholders.
• Support resolution of technical and interface issues between stakeholders and the project design team.
• Ensure all submissions comply with applicable Dubai authority standards, regulations, guidelines, and project requirements.
• Prepare regular stakeholder and approval status reports for project management and the client.
• Provide leadership and guidance to Stakeholder Engineers/Coordinators within the project team.

Qualification, Technical Skills and Competencies

• Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering, Infrastructure Engineering, Transportation Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Minimum 15 years of relevant experience, preferably within UAE infrastructure consultancy/design projects.
• Strong experience in Dubai infrastructure, roads, utilities, transportation, or urban development projects.
• Proven experience dealing with RTA, Dubai Municipality, DEWA, telecom providers, utility agencies, and other Dubai authorities.
• Strong understanding of NOC processes, authority submissions, design approvals, permits, and stakeholder coordination.
• Previous experience working within an engineering consultancy / PMC environment is highly preferred.
• Experience coordinating multidisciplinary design teams and managing authority comments and approvals.
• Strong knowledge of UAE infrastructure standards and authority requirements.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, coordination, and problem-solving skills.