Stakeholder Manager – Transport Infrastructure

OverviewZutari: Co-creating an engineered impact. Zutari is a well-established, management-owned engineering firm with over 90 years’ experience. As human-centred engineering consultants and advisors, we are trusted by our clients, business partners, communities and other stakeholders across Africa and the Middle East. We co-create engineering solutions that have a positive impact and improve people’s lives. Zutari values inclusion and recognises the importance of a diverse, talented workforce, believing that people need other people to succeed.About the roleWe are seeking an experienced Stakeholder Manager in Dubai to support our Transport Infrastructure portfolio on high-profile infrastructure projects across the UAE. The role is responsible for developing, managing, and strengthening relationships with key stakeholders, including government authorities, developers, contractors, consultants, and community representatives, to ensure successful and timely project delivery. This position will act as the central coordination point for all authority, roads, and utilities stakeholders, ensuring alignment between regulatory requirements, project objectives, programme milestones, and technical deliverables.ResponsibilitiesLead stakeholder engagement and authority coordination including RTA, Dubai Municipality (DM), Etihad Rail, telecommunications authorities (Etisalat and DU), DEWA, DUSAP, developers, and other approving entities.Represent the Transport Infrastructure team in authority meetings, technical workshops, and coordination sessions.Serve as the primary liaison between client, consultants, contractors, and regulatory bodies.Lead and manage all authority approvals and NOC processes.Develop and implement a structured stakeholder engagement and communication strategy, including escalation protocols.Establish and manage NOC trackers to monitor submissions, identify risks, and ensure timely approvals.Maintain full awareness of developer submission requirements and authority approval pathways.Monitor progress of drawings, documents, and technical submissions related to approvals.Review project schedules to proactively identify risks related to stakeholder and authority approvals.Provide technical guidance to design engineers regarding authority requirements and compliance standards.Liaise with internal multidisciplinary teams to resolve design interfaces, constructability constraints, and authority comments.Support proposals and tenders by contributing to stakeholder strategy, methodology, scope definition, and level-of-effort estimation.Prepare weekly and monthly reports on stakeholder coordination and NOC status.Attend project meetings and actively follow up on outstanding actions.CompetenciesIn-depth knowledge of local authority regulations and approval processes across Dubai and the UAE.Proven experience managing No Objection Certificate (NOC) processes across multiple authorities.Strong coordination, negotiation, and conflict resolution capabilities in complex infrastructure environments.Prior experience engaging with Etihad Rail and RTA Rail departments.Comprehensive technical understanding of roads and utilities design to support effective technical stakeholder engagement.Strong communication skills, and skilled facilitator and negotiator.Qualifications & ExperienceBachelor’s degree in civil engineering (Master’s degree advantageous).Professional registration (PE / Chartered) preferred.Minimum 15 years’ experience in transport and infrastructure projects.Demonstrated experience managing NOC processes and authority approvals in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.Proven stakeholder engagement experience with RTA (Roads, Rail and ROW), Etihad Rail, DM, DEWA and similar entities.Strong understanding of UAE authority standards and regulatory pathways.Experience on large-scale multidisciplinary infrastructure projects, particularly in Dubai.Ability to confidently lead discussions with senior client and authority representatives.Technical & Systems SkillsStrong capability in interpreting multidisciplinary design information.Familiarity with BIM coordination platforms, document control systems, and scheduling software.Ability to manage structured reporting and approval tracking systems.We believe that a diverse workforce is key to our business success. We seek the best people for our jobs based on their skills, qualifications, and experience. We embrace the principle of equal opportunity in employment, and we work towards eliminating all forms of unlawful discrimination in our employ.#J-18808-Ljbffr