Manager - Legal Affairs (UAE National)

Life at Dubai Future Foundation

Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) aims to realize the wise vision of Dubai’s leadership to institutionalize future-focused and forward-thinking methodologies, while positioning Dubai as the leading city of the future.

In partnership with local and global partners across governments, companies, startups, and entrepreneurial communities, DFF drives collaborative efforts to imagine, design, and execute the best possible future for humanity.

Under the supervision of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of DFF, the Foundation runs and oversees a diverse portfolio of future-focused projects and initiatives. These include the Museum of the Future, Area 2071, the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution UAE, Dubai Future Accelerators, One Million Arab Coders, Dubai Future Academy, Dubai Future Solutions, Dubai Future Labs, and Dubai Future Forum.

Through its efforts to share knowledge, adopt innovation, support entrepreneurs and innovative startups, build capabilities, and promote forward-thinking and foresight principles, DFF contributes to Dubai’s ambition to be a role model for the cities of the future — powered by unlimited imagination, innovation, foresight, and a disruptive mindset.

For more information on the initiatives, projects, and programs of Dubai Future Foundation, please visit www.dubaifuture.ae.

Where Does This Role Fit Into the Bigger Picture?

The Manager – Legal Affairs reports directly to the Chief of Legal Affairs and plays a key role in supporting the effective delivery of the legal function across Dubai Future Foundation and its affiliated group entities.

The Legal Department is responsible for protecting DFF and its affiliated entities from a legal and regulatory perspective, while supporting business operations to ensure that frameworks, structures, contracts, and agreements are aligned with applicable laws and regulations.

The function also provides strategic legal guidance and thought leadership on emerging policies, regulations, and areas relevant to DFF’s mandate, including innovation, technology, artificial intelligence, and future-focused initiatives.

About the Role

As Manager – Legal Affairs, you will support the Chief of Legal Affairs and the wider legal team in implementing legal strategies across Dubai Future Foundation and its affiliated entities.

You will work independently and collaboratively, providing day-to-day legal support alongside strategic and commercially focused legal advice. You will be responsible for managing and prioritizing legal matters, proactively identifying and mitigating risks, and ensuring the timely and high-quality delivery of legal support to the business.

The role requires a commercially minded legal professional who can balance effective risk management with DFF’s mandate to innovate, enabling the organization to progress its strategic objectives within appropriate legal and regulatory parameters.

Key Responsibilities

Legal Operations & Administration

• Support the Chief of Legal Affairs in the day-to-day management and operations of the Legal Department.

• Organize legal meetings, maintain accurate documentation, and ensure effective communication and follow-up on key legal matters.

• Support the implementation of the legal strategy across Dubai Future Foundation by partnering with internal stakeholders, leading contract drafting and negotiation processes, and providing consistent, high-quality legal support.

• Draft, review, update, and oversee the implementation of legal policies, procedures, and standard operating procedures.

• Draft, review, and negotiate complex contracts, agreements, and ancillary legal documents, providing recommendations for internal approval and managing feedback and approvals with the Chief of Legal Affairs.

• Ensure legal documentation and contractual arrangements comply with DFF policies and applicable UAE laws and regulations.

• Work collaboratively with DFF departments to manage the full contract lifecycle, including drafting, negotiation, execution, amendments, renewals, and contract change control.

• Provide ongoing legal advice and support to internal departments, project teams, and strategic initiatives.

• Prioritize and manage legal requests and workloads to ensure efficient, timely, and accurate delivery of legal services.

• Conduct legal and regulatory research, assess potential risks and implications to the business, and escalate significant legal matters to the Chief of Legal Affairs.

• Support audit, compliance, and legal monitoring activities across Dubai Future Foundation and its affiliated entities.

• Provide commercially sound, practical, and cost-effective legal advice, while undertaking other responsibilities related to legal management and strategy as directed by the Chief of Legal Affairs.

• Balance legal risk management with DFF’s mandate to drive innovation by providing commercially minded advice that enables the business to move forward within acceptable risk parameters, rather than defaulting to risk avoidance.

• Contribute to legal and regulatory thought leadership on emerging areas of technology governance, supporting DFF’s role in shaping Dubai’s approach to innovation, artificial intelligence, and future technologies.

Third-Party & External Relationships

• Build and maintain effective relationships with external legal counsel, third-party service providers, government entities, regulators, and other relevant stakeholders.

• Coordinate and support legal engagements with UAE courts, government authorities, and relevant regulatory bodies, as required.

• Work closely with internal departments to understand legal requirements, coordinate legal support, and ensure matters are appropriately managed in consultation with the Chief of Legal Affairs.

Why This Role Is Important

This role is critical to ensuring that Dubai Future Foundation operates within a robust legal and regulatory framework while continuing to pursue its strategic objectives and innovation mandate.

As a key member of the Legal Department, you will support the Chief of Legal Affairs in protecting and safeguarding DFF and its affiliated entities, while ensuring that the business receives timely, practical, and commercially focused legal guidance.

Your ability to be highly organized, detail-oriented, flexible, and adaptable will be essential in managing a diverse and evolving legal workload and responding effectively to the changing needs of the business.

You will play an important role in enabling DFF to confidently pursue new opportunities, manage legal and regulatory risks, and deliver initiatives that help shape the future.

What Dubai Future Foundation Offers

We offer a unique opportunity to work alongside passionate and forward-thinking people, support the individuals and organizations shaping the future, and contribute to work that creates meaningful impact — not only for the organization or the UAE, but for humanity as a whole.

You will have the opportunity to:

• Work on exciting, innovative, and future-focused projects.

• Collaborate with a highly diverse and multidisciplinary team.

• Work in a fast-paced environment that encourages creativity, innovation, and disruptive thinking.

• Contribute to initiatives that have a meaningful impact on Dubai, the UAE, and beyond.

• Support an organization at the forefront of innovation, emerging technologies, and future-focused thinking.

• Provide legal guidance that enables responsible innovation and supports the strategic ambitions of Dubai Future Foundation.

Qualifications & Experience

• A law degree from a recognized university.

• A minimum of 6 years’ post-qualification legal experience.

• Experience working in an international law firm or private practice. Experience with UAE law is an advantage.

• Experience working with or within UAE government, semi-government, or sovereign entities is highly desirable, including familiarity with government procurement processes, public sector governance frameworks, and engagement with UAE regulatory authorities.

Technical Competencies

• Excellent written and spoken English and Arabic communication skills.

• Strong experience in drafting and negotiating complex commercial contracts and agreements.

• Solid experience across corporate and commercial law, information technology contracts, commercial transactions, and intellectual property. Familiarity with data privacy and protection laws is desirable.

• A good understanding of artificial intelligence concepts and the ability to learn and incorporate emerging technologies into legal practice.

• Experience advising on AI-related legal matters is highly desirable, including areas such as data governance, automated decision-making, intellectual property considerations relating to AI-generated outputs, and the evolving regulatory landscape for emerging technologies in the UAE.

• The ability to translate complex legal advice into practical, commercially focused guidance that supports business objectives.

• Strong interpersonal and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to work effectively with senior internal and external stakeholders.

• Strong negotiation, organizational, prioritization, and time management skills, with the ability to manage multiple matters and competing priorities effectively.

• The ability to work collaboratively with multiple team members while also managing legal matters independently and with a high degree of ownership.

• A proactive, adaptable, and solutions-oriented approach, with the ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced and evolving environment.