Support Services Manager – Government Relations and Travel Services – Majid Al Futtaim

Majid Al Futtaim is hiring a Support Services Manager to lead its Government Relations and Travel Services function, a role that sits quietly behind the scenes but touches nearly every part of the business. Government relations work in the UAE means staying ahead of visa processing, labour and trade licensing, and the steady stream of regulatory paperwork that keeps a large multinational operating legally and smoothly across emirates. Travel services, bundled into the same remit here, means managing corporate travel arrangements efficiently enough that employees barely notice the logistics behind their trips.

Majid Al Futtaim is one of the region’s largest diversified conglomerates, with shopping malls, retail franchises, leisure and entertainment venues, and communities under its umbrella, which means this role is coordinating across a genuinely broad internal client base rather than a single business unit. Expect to be the person other departments call when a government process is stuck or a travel booking has gone sideways close to departure.

The ideal candidate has already spent years inside UAE government relations or PRO-adjacent work and understands both the formal process and the informal relationships that make things move faster. This is a role built on reliability under pressure more than on strategic vision, though a broad stakeholder group across the business means strong communication skills matter just as much as procedural knowledge.

Every employee a large UAE conglomerate brings on, moves, or sends abroad depends on government relations and travel services functioning correctly and on time, which makes this role far more central to business continuity than its quiet profile suggests. A delayed visa renewal can mean a key employee cannot legally work; a mishandled licensing matter can stall a new store opening or venue launch; a travel booking error can derail an executive's ability to close a deal on time. Majid Al Futtaim operates at a scale where even small per-case delays multiply into real operational risk across malls, retail brands, and leisure venues simultaneously. By managing these processes well, the Support Services Manager protects the company from regulatory exposure and keeps the broader organization moving without friction, letting other departments focus on their actual jobs instead of chasing paperwork. There's also a cost angle: efficient government relations and travel management directly reduces unnecessary fees, penalties, and last-minute premium bookings. In a conglomerate this size, the cumulative value of a well-run support services function, in both risk reduction and cost control, is considerably larger than the job title alone would suggest.

This role offers a rare vantage point inside one of the Gulf's largest diversified businesses, exposure to government relations and travel operations across malls, retail, leisure, and entertainment simultaneously, rather than being confined to a single business line. That breadth of institutional knowledge, how UAE regulatory processes actually work in practice, who to call, and how to move things faster, is a genuinely scarce and portable skill set that holds real market value across industries, not just within Majid Al Futtaim. Professionals who build a strong track record in this kind of role often progress into broader corporate services, facilities, or administration leadership positions, since the operational discipline required here translates directly into managing larger support functions. Working across MAF's various business units also means regular exposure to senior stakeholders throughout the organization, which builds an internal network and visibility that is hard to replicate in a narrower, single-department role. Government relations expertise in the UAE tends to be sticky career capital too, it rarely becomes obsolete, and demand for people who genuinely understand the system remains steady regardless of broader economic cycles. For someone who enjoys being the dependable fixer behind a large, fast-moving organization, this role offers both stability and a credible path toward senior corporate services leadership over time.

• Bachelor’s degree, with substantial prior experience in UAE government relations, PRO services, or corporate travel management
• Deep working knowledge of UAE visa, labour, and licensing processes across relevant authorities
• Proven ability to manage complex, time-sensitive government and travel requests without errors
• Strong vendor and government liaison relationship management skills
• Comfortable serving a large, diverse internal stakeholder group across multiple business units
• Excellent organizational skills and composure when priorities compete
• Arabic language ability is a strong advantage for this role