Head of Government Relations & Regulatory Affairs

We operate a licensed autonomous delivery fleet in Abu Dhabi, under the permit-and-oversight regime run by ITC (Integrated Transport Centre) in coordination with the Smart and Autonomous Systems Council (SASC), the Cabinet's Reg Lab, and the Ministry of Interior's Supervisory Committee for Advanced Driving Systems Testing. As the emirate moves from pilot to commercial Level 4 operation, and as Dubai (RTA, under Dubai AV Law No.

9 of 2023), Ras Al Khaimah, and the federal traffic authorities each run their own evolving frameworks, our ability to operate and expand depends on one thing more than any other: whether the people who issue our permits trust us.

This role owns that relationship. Not just the paperwork — the actual standing we have with ITC, SASC, RTA and the other bodies that decide whether our vehicles are on the road tomorrow. You are the person who can pick up the phone when something goes wrong, who understands what a regulator is really worried about before they say it outright, and who makes sure our internal teams never find out about a new requirement by being penalised for missing it.

• The relationship, not just the compliance file — regular, proactive contact with ITC, SASC and (where relevant) RTA counterparts that exists independently of whatever permit or renewal is currently in progress. When an incident, complaint, or ambiguous situation comes up, you should be the reason it gets resolved as a conversation rather than an escalation.
• Reading the unwritten rules — understanding what regulators actually care about behind a formal request — safety optics, public sentiment, a prior incident elsewhere, an unstated red line — and translating that into guidance the business can act on before it becomes a formal problem.
• Permits, licensing and renewals end to end — operating permits, vehicle registration and plates, route and zone approvals, and the safety/operational dossiers regulators require to keep them current, across every emirate we operate or plan to operate in.
• Incident and complaint response — acting as first point of contact when an incident, public complaint, or media enquiry reaches a government body, working with Operations and Legal to respond quickly and in the register regulators expect.
• Regulatory horizon-scanning — tracking how the ITC permit regime, Dubai AV Law, the federal traffic law, and other emirates' frameworks (e.g. Ras Al Khaimah) are evolving, and translating upcoming changes into what the business needs to prepare for, ahead of time rather than after a notice arrives.
• Representing the company externally — government-facing events and forums (e.g. Abu Dhabi Autonomous Week, DRIFTx), industry council participation, and co-positioning with partners where our regulatory standing benefits from visibility.
• Internal translation both ways — explaining regulatory requirements to Operations, Safety, and Product in terms they can execute against, and explaining our operational reality to regulators in terms that support trust rather than erode it.

• Real relationships already in place with UAE transport or mobility regulators — ITC, RTA, DMT, or an adjacent authority (traffic police, MOI, a free zone transport regulator). We need someone who already has counterparts who'll take their call, not someone starting a Rolodex from zero.
• Government relations experience in a regulated, safety-sensitive sector — transport, mobility, logistics, aviation, or a comparable licensed-operations environment. Autonomous vehicle, robotics, or smart-mobility experience is a strong plus, but seniority and trust built with UAE regulators matters more than the specific sector.
• Comfort operating in the grey area between formal and informal — able to…