Executive Director- Crisis Management; UAEN

We are looking to hire an Executive Director – Crisis Management (UAEN) who will be responsible for leading the organization's enterprise-wide Crisis Management, Health, Safety & Environment (HSE), Business Continuity Management (BCM), and Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) functions for our client based in Abu Dhabi
, which is one of the largest companies in the region.

This is a permanent role within the organization.

The role sits within the Crisis Management Department and reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

We are looking for a passionate Executive Director – Crisis Management to drive enterprise resilience, crisis preparedness, operational continuity, and risk governance across the organization. You should have extensive experience in crisis command, business continuity, enterprise risk management, HSE leadership, emergency response, and stakeholder engagement within large, complex organizations.

• Lead the organization's Crisis Management, HSE, Business Continuity, and Enterprise Risk Management functions.
• Develop and implement enterprise-wide crisis management and resilience strategies aligned with corporate objectives.
• Direct crisis command, emergency response, incident escalation, and operational recovery activities.
• Oversee business continuity planning, disaster recovery, crisis simulations, and operational readiness.
• Lead enterprise risk identification, mitigation, and governance frameworks to strengthen organizational resilience.
• Ensure compliance with HSE regulations, safety standards, and operational risk controls across all business units.
• Build strong relationships with regulators, government authorities, emergency services, and key stakeholders.
• Drive continuous improvement through audits, lessons learned, resilience initiatives, and performance monitoring.
• Lead, develop, and mentor multidisciplinary teams while fostering a high-performance and accountability-driven culture.
• Master's degree in Environmental Management, Occupational Health & Safety, or a related discipline.
• Professional certifications such as NEBOSH, ISO 45001/14001 Lead Auditor, OSHA
  , or equivalent are highly desirable.
• Minimum 15 years of experience in Crisis Management, HSE, Business Continuity, Enterprise Risk Management, or Resilience within large and complex organizations.
• At least 10 years of leadership experience managing multidisciplinary teams and enterprise-wide functions.
• Proven experience leading crisis command, emergency response, business continuity, and disaster recovery operations.
• Strong expertise in enterprise risk management, operational resilience, and HSE governance.
• Experience working with government entities, regulators, emergency services, and executive leadership.
• Strong strategic leadership, stakeholder management, decision-making, and communication skills.
• Experience with in highly regulated industries such as waste management, utilities, infrastructure, transportation, energy, or the public sector is preferred.

• Preference will be given to candidates available immediately or within 60 days of accepting the offer.

We are looking for a candidate who will be able to work in the United Arab Emirates.