Research and Thought Leadership Section Head- UAE Nationals

The Research and Thought Leadership Section Head leads the strategic direction, governance, and delivery of the organization's research agenda.

The role is responsible for establishing research priorities in interfaith dialogue, peaceful coexistence, and related areas of global importance, ensuring the production of high-impact research outputs that strengthen the organization's intellectual positioning, inform institutional programs, and contribute to global policy and academic discourse.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Research Leadership:

• Define and establish research priorities aligned with organizational strategy and global interfaith themes.
• Develop and execute a multi-year research roadmap covering interfaith dialogue, coexistence, peacebuilding, and related areas.
• Ensure alignment between research outputs and broader advocacy, program development, and stakeholder engagement strategies.
• Advise senior leadership on emerging research trends and global policy developments relevant to the organization's mission.

Research Governance & Academic Excellence:

• Implement rigorous internal review mechanisms and quality assurance protocols to maintain the highest academic standards.
• Oversee ethical compliance, research integrity, and publication governance.
• Ensure coherence and consistency across all research outputs and intellectual initiatives.
• Establish frameworks for peer review and institutional validation of research outputs.

Research Output & Thought Leadership:

• Oversee the delivery of a range of research outputs including peer-reviewed studies, policy briefs, white papers, and thought leadership publications.
• Guide the translation of research findings into actionable insights that inform institutional programs and advocacy efforts.
• Ensure research outputs are relevant, timely, and impactful across academic and policy audiences.
• Strengthen the organization's intellectual brand through high-quality publications and strategic dissemination.

Talent & Researcher Management:

• Lead the recruitment, onboarding, and coordination of in-house researchers, fellows, and subject matter experts.
• Establish performance standards and deliverable expectations for researchers and affiliates.
• Foster a collaborative research culture grounded in academic rigor and innovation.
• Mentor research staff and fellows to ensure professional growth and output excellence.

Partnerships & Institutional Collaboration:

• Build and sustain strategic academic and policy partnerships in collaboration with relevant teams.
• Develop collaborations with universities, think tanks, research institutions, and international organizations.
• Represent the organization in academic and interfaith forums, strengthening knowledge networks and global engagement.
• Position the organization as a credible voice in global conversations on interfaith dialogue and peaceful coexistence.

Shared Activity:

Strategic Contribution:

• Ensure effective cascading of the functional strategy into section business plans to ensure vertical alignment and horizontal integration with other interfacing sectional strategies.

People Management:

• Manage the effective achievement of assigned objectives through the leadership of the Section by setting individual objectives, managing performance, and developing and motivating staff to maximize performance.
• Lead talent development initiatives for the assigned section, collaborating with technical/discipline experts to ensure the availability of talent to meet organizational requirements.
• Act as a role model and drive adherence to organizational values and ethics to foster a value-driven culture within the organization.

Budgeting and Financial Planning:

• Manage the preparation and recommendation of the section budget and monitor financial performance versus the budget while ensuring all sectional activities are conducted in line with approved guidelines.

Policies, Systems, Processes & Procedures:

• Manage and ensure effective implementation of functional policies, procedures, and controls covering all areas of assigned section activity, fulfilling all procedural and legislative requirements while delivering a quality, cost-effective service.

Continuous Improvement:

• Lead the identification of opportunities for continuous improvement and sustainability of systems, processes, and practices, considering global standards, productivity improvement, and cost reduction.

Environment, Health and Safety (EHS):

• Identify, eliminate, or control hazards in operations through regular safety inspections and job observations, ensuring appropriate risk control measures.
• Assist with the preparation of risk assessments where required.
• Ensure that staff have the necessary knowledge to meet their responsibilities.
• Ensure hazards and incidents are reported in accordance with established procedures.
• Ensure that all new, modified, or relocated equipment/machinery is functionally tested by authorized personnel and complies with safety standards prior to use, maintaining records of such tests where required.

Change Management:

• Enable a culture receptive to change management by communicating the business case for change and benefits to staff so that employees are motivated to take a hands-on approach to new business challenges, participate in the development of initiatives, meet planned targets, and demonstrate preferred high-performance behaviors.

Reporting:

• Ensure that all section reports are prepared timely and accurately, meeting organizational requirements, policies, and quality standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in International Relations, Religious Studies, Theology, Political Science, Peace & Conflict Studies, Public Policy, or a related field.

Experience

• 6–8 years of experience in academic research, policy research, think tanks, or research leadership roles.
• Proven record of publications in peer-reviewed journals or policy platforms.
• Experience managing research teams and academic partnerships.

Skills

• Strategic and systems thinking
• Academic rigor and research governance
• Thought leadership and intellectual positioning
• Partnership and stakeholder management
• Team leadership and mentoring
• Policy analysis and global awareness
• Institutional alignment and impact orientation