Head of Physical Operations & Retail Infrastructure

(GCC Rollout | Retail & F&B Required)

Location: UAE (Dubai / Abu Dhabi preferred)

Region: GCC (travel required)

Reporting to: CEO

Stage: Series A-bound | Deployment-ready

Start: Immediate (Q1 2026 priority)

This Role Is Not Corporate Operations

VEL is building a new category of urban micro-infrastructure deploying modular, AI-powered work + beverage environments across office lobbies, airports, malls, and mixed-use developments.

This role exists to open locations.

If you have not personally delivered retail or F&B openings in the GCC, this role is not a fit.

The Mandate

You are the single accountable owner for taking VEGA units from signed site permitted built opened operational.

You will operate inside live retail and hospitality environments, managing landlords, authorities, fit-out partners, and vendors without escalation noise.

This is a front-line execution role, not a planning function.

What You Will Own

1. Retail & Hospitality Site Delivery (Primary Accountability)

Own end-to-end delivery of retail / F&B / kiosk-style locations

Personally lead:

• Authority approvals (municipality, civil defense, food safety where applicable)
• Landlord coordination (malls, airports, mixed-use operators)
• Site readiness and opening checklists
• Drive simultaneous multi-site rollouts without quality or compliance slippage

2. Commercial Real Estate & Landlord Interfaces

Lead commercial site negotiations (with CEO escalation only where required)

Manage:

• LOIs, leases, amendments, renewals, exits
• Rent, CAM, utilities, and site-level obligations
• Act as the operator-grade counterpart to mall, airport, and mixed-use landlords
• Ensure VEGA integrates cleanly into retail trading environments, not office logic

3. Construction Design, Fit-Out & Installation

Select and manage retail-experienced architects, engineers, and GCs

Translate product specs into construction-ready CD packages

Own:

• Fit-out execution
• Night works and phased installs
• Inspections, certifications, and approvals
• Enforce timelines, cost control, and defect resolution across all builds

4. Openings, Handover & Operational Readiness

Own store-opening readiness, not just construction completion

Define and execute:

• Build ops handover protocols
• Preventative and reactive maintenance frameworks
• Vendor SLAs and escalation logic
• Ensure every unit opens:
• Compliant
• Operational
• Brand-correct
• Revenue-ready

5. Retail Supply Chain & Unit Economics Interface

• Coordinate FF&E, equipment, and unit-level procurement
• Interface with manufacturing and logistics partners for on-time delivery
• Track and protect unit-level operating costs and rollout economics
• Ensure repeatability across locations and clusters

Required Experience (Non-Negotiable)

You must have:

• 7+ years in retail or hospitality operations
• Personally opened multiple retail / F&B / kiosk locations in the GCC
• Direct experience with:
• Mall operators
• Airport authorities
• Hospitality landlords
• Retail fit-out environments

Owned:

• Authority approvals
• Construction delivery
• Opening readiness
• Post-opening operations

Office-only, facilities-only, or corporate real estate backgrounds will not be considered.

Strongly Preferred Backgrounds

• QSR, caf, or specialty F&B rollout
• Experiential retail or kiosk concepts
• Mall or airport-embedded retail brands

Titles previously held may include:

• Head of Operations (Retail / F&B)
• Director of Store Development
• Regional Operations Lead (Hospitality)
• Senior Retail Project Director

How You Operate

• You are decisive, practical, and execution-first
• You are comfortable operating in live environments
• You understand that opening cleanly beats opening fast
• You protect unit economics as aggressively as timelines
• You do not require layers of support to function

Why This Role Matters

VEL is not opening stores for optics.

We are building repeatable, revenue-generating infrastructure.

This role determines whether the platform scales cleanly or collapses under friction.

If you have opened real retail or F&B locations in the GCC and want to build something category-defining we want to speak.