Company: Confidential – Leading Developer of Master-Planned Communities (Iraq) - building livable, future-ready mini-cities: safe streets, reliable utilities, vibrant retail, and service that keeps its promises. Join a leadership team that values facts over noise, governance over guesswork, and customers beyond handover. Grow leaders, not just projects.
Function: Group Leadership – Communities, High-Rise, Mixed-Use, Infrastructure & Services
Reports to: Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Location: Baghdad HQ, with frequent travel to sites across Iraq
Languages: Arabic (native/near-native) – mandatory; English – professional proficiency
Span of Control (indicative): Development, PMO/Projects (Delivery), Sales & Marketing, Customer Experience/After-Sales, Procurement & Contracts, Strategy/Transformation (incl. Digital/BI). Dotted: Finance, HR, Legal/Compliance, HSE/ESG.
Role Summary
The Deputy CEO converts Board vision into executable portfolio plans and runs a disciplined operating system that spans design, approvals, construction delivery, sales, cash, and post-sales care. You will orchestrate cross-functional leaders, de-risk decisions early, and make performance transparent—so communities are delivered on time, to spec, and loved after handover.
Short version: hard hat optional; diplomacy, numbers, and nerve—mandatory.
Scope & Impact
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End-to-End Development: Land use & master-planning → design & permits → construction & HSE → sales & collections → handover, DLP, and community activation.
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P&L Influence: Phasing, pricing, cash S-curves, procurement frameworks, VE programs, and partner/JV structures.
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Stakeholders: Regulators/utilities, lenders/escrow, EPC/PMC & consultants, brokers, O&M/community partners, media/PR, JV partners.
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Geography: Baghdad HQ with travel to key projects (e.g., Baghdad, Kirkuk) and regional partner hubs.
Core Responsibilities
1) Portfolio Strategy & Investment
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Build 3–5-year portfolio roadmaps and an annual operating plan with clear phasing, cash curves, and risk posture.
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Lead investment papers: market sizing, feasibility & sensitivity models, land valuation logic, capital structure options.
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Sequence releases by micro-market demand, construction progress, and collection cadence; re-balance as signals shift.
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Establish an Investment Committee cadence (templates, pre-reads, decision memos) to speed up high-quality decisions.
2) Development, Master-Planning & Approvals
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Direct master-planning and concept/schematic design to design-to-cost per GFA without diluting experience quality.
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Create an Authority Engagement Plan (municipalities, utilities, civil defense, environment) with SLA targets, escalation ladders, and permit trackers.
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Institutionalize design management (RFI/RFP standards, VE checkpoints, spec discipline, long-lead item strategies).
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Ensure infrastructure readiness (power/water/roads/ICT) aligns with construction and sales release milestones.
3) PMO, Construction Delivery & Quality
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Run PMO with baseline schedules, EVM (CPI/SPI), cost-to-complete, risk & issue logs, and recovery plans.
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Enforce contractor pre-qualification, performance scorecards, change control, and forensic delay analysis (EOT/claims governance).
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Standardize QA/QC: inspection & test plans, material approvals, mock-ups, commissioning & handover protocols.
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Embed HSE Golden Rules (toolbox talks, PTW, near-miss capture, behavioral safety) and ensure transparent incident investigations.
4) Commercial Engine: Sales, Marketing, Pricing & Collections
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Approve pricing architecture, release strategy, inventory allocation, and broker commission ladders by segment.
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Synchronize marketing calendars with site milestones; set channel mix (direct, brokers, digital) and ROI targets.
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Align promises with build progress; run collections discipline (S-curve adherence, dunning, escrow coordination) and customer comms during build.
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Govern product changes (upgrades/options) with cost, schedule, and customer transparency impacts.
5) Customer Journey, Handover, DLP & Community Operations
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Design a friction-light customer journey from reservation to DLP closure (updates, inspections, payment plan clarity, snagging standards).
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Stand up after-sales SLAs (first-fix, recurrence, escalation paths) and track root causes to feed back into design and delivery.
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Launch community activation (security, amenities, retail curation, events) to raise livability and reputation.
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Ensure O&M readiness: FM contracts, spares, manuals, warranties, and service charge transparency.
6) Funding, Treasury, Partnerships & Procurement
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Partner with Finance on project finance/escrow, covenant discipline, liquidity look-ahead, and FX/commodity risk guardrails.
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Build a JV/alliance pipeline (design innovation, EPC/PMC capacity, O&M/community services, retail anchors) with performance scorecards.
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Oversee category strategies and framework agreements; apply should-cost models, VE programs, and supplier risk heatmaps.
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Drive ethical sourcing and local-supplier development where feasible.
7) Governance, Risk & Compliance
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Run a transparent operating cadence: weekly portfolio stand-ups, monthly Board packs, quarterly deep-dives with lessons-learned.
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Maintain an enterprise risk register (delivery, market/price, FX, regulatory, contractor capacity, HSE, reputation) with owners and mitigations.
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Uphold regulatory compliance, escrow/AML/KYC, data privacy, anti-bribery, contract obligations (incl. FIDIC where applicable).
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Coordinate Internal Audit actions and close findings within agreed timelines.
8) People, Culture & Leadership Bench
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Shape a performance culture with clear meeting rhythms, decision rituals, and feedback loops; model calm, integrity, and follow-through.
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Coach functional heads; upgrade critical roles decisively; build succession for pivotal seats; align incentives to delivery and customer trust.
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Promote cross-functional collaboration and knowledge reuse; reward safety leadership and ethical conduct.
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Sponsor Arabic-first communication and customer empathy across frontline teams.
9) Digital, Data & Business Intelligence
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Stand up a single source of truth: automated pipelines from ERP/CRM/PMIS into Power BI with portfolio dashboards (time, cost, quality, cash, CX).
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Reduce decision latency via one-page decision briefs, standardized templates, and data governance.
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Champion site digitization (Aconex/Procore, mobile snagging, IoT safety) and commercial digitization (CRM, e-signing, portals).
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Ensure records management and document control integrity for claims, audits, and handover.
10) ESG, HSE & Community Impact
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Set sustainability targets (energy/water intensity, materials choices, waste diversion) at design and procurement—not as afterthoughts.
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Ensure HSE programs meet international best practice; lead by presence on sites and in incident reviews.
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Support local employment and supplier development; partner on community safety and inclusion initiatives.
Ways of Working (Operating Cadence)
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Daily: PMO critical path & exceptions; CX/DLP TAT alerts; cash/collections watchlist.
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Weekly: Portfolio stand-up (schedule/cost/risks), sales & release readiness, procurement & VE checkpoints, authority tracker.
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Monthly: CEO/Board pack (one-truth dashboards), lender/escrow compliance, enterprise risk review, leadership bench & succession review.
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Quarterly: Lessons-learned summit; vendor/JV scorecards; community liveability & NPS reviews.
Tools & Systems (Experience Expected)
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PMIS/Planning: Primavera P6 / MS Project; Aconex/Procore (or equivalent).
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Enterprise: ERP (Dynamics/SAP), CRM (Dynamics/Salesforce), SharePoint/DMS, e-signing.
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Analytics: Power BI dashboards, Excel modelling (IRR/NPV, sensitivity), cash S-curve tracking.
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Collaboration: Arabic/English documentation; action logs, decision registers, site memos.
Candidate Profile
Track Record
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15–20+ years of end-to-end real-estate development in MENA, with multi-asset portfolios (compounds, towers, mixed-use, master-planned).
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Demonstrated leadership across Development, PMO/Projects, and Commercial through handover & DLP, improving margin, schedule adherence, cash discipline, and customer trust.
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Hands-on exposure to Iraqi (or comparable) approvals/utilities and delivery contexts; credible with authorities and utilities.
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Experience in JV structuring, major procurement frameworks, claims/EOT governance, and dispute resolution.
Education & Credentials
Technical Depth
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Feasibility/IRR-NPV, design-to-cost & VE, procurement/category strategy, project finance/escrow, EVM/CTC, QA/QC & HSE systems, after-sales & community ops.
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Digital fluency across PMIS/ERP/CRM; builds simple, reliable, repeatable Power BI dashboards.
Leadership Behaviours
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Strategic integrator; decisive under uncertainty; calm in escalation; principled and diplomatic.
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Arabic-first communicator with board-ready storytelling in Arabic & English.
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Coaches, leaders, confront reality early and course-correct without drama; models safety and integrity.
Language & Mobility
Success Signature (3/6/12 Months)
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90 Days: Portfolio & risk deep-dive; authority/utility map; integrated master schedule live; collections & cash watchlist operational; top recovery plans launched.
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180 Days: Release strategy synchronized to site progress; PMO cadence stable; priority VE and framework agreements signed; CX/DLP upgrades live; visible uplift in safety culture.
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12 Months: Communities delivered to plan with predictable cash and high trust—customers at handover rate the journey strongly; board and lenders view the operating system as mature, transparent, and repeatable.
Selection Process
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Executive Conversation (Arabic-led): Career arc, portfolio scale, stakeholder diplomacy.
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Written Case: Portfolio phasing & funding memo (≤10 pages) + 12-slide board pack.
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Delivery Deep-Dive: EVM walkthrough, approvals strategy, risk/recovery for an under-pressure project.
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Customer & Community Review: Reservation-to-DLP journey critique; operational readiness for handover.
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Final Panel: Ethics/HSE scenarios; authority engagement role-play; Arabic/English communication.
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References & Integrity Checks.
Employment Terms
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Contract: Full-time executive role with performance-linked incentives; potential LTI.
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Compensation: Competitive base + annual bonus linked to portfolio, commercial, and customer outcomes.
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Mobility: Support for travel and on-ground logistics.
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Compliance: Adherence to anti-bribery, AML/KYC, data privacy, conflict-of-interest, and HSE/ESG policies.