Partnership Engagement Specialist – UAE Agriculture, AI Ecosystem

CGIAR

Partnership Engagement Specialist managing strategic partnerships with UAE Agriculture and AI ecosystem. Strengthening collaboration and fostering relationships for CGIAR AI Hub's mission.

Posted 6/30/2026contractRemote • 🇫🇷 FranceSeniorLeadWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Build, strengthen, and maintain relationships between the CGIAR AI Hub and the UAE’s International Affairs Office at the Presidential Court, the primary sovereign-level patron of the Hub.
Foster active collaboration with key UAE innovation partners: the MBZUAI Institute for Agriculture and AI (AI/IA), AIM for Scale, aI71, Inception, and other emerging actors in the ecosystem.
Identify and develop partnership opportunities aligned with the Hub’s AI product portfolio and advance them through to formal agreements or active workplans.
Represent the CGIAR AI Hub at relevant UAE convenings, forums, and bilateral meetings.
Monitor developments across the UAE agriculture and AI ecosystem and ensure the Hub’s positioning and communications remain current and aligned with partner priorities.
Provide regular stakeholder intelligence updates to the DTA Product Director to inform strategic decisions.
Support alignment between Hub product roadmaps and partner interests, including co-design opportunities with MBZUAI AI/IA, AIM for Scale, and AI71.
Draft tailored communications, briefing notes, and presentation materials for engagements with UAE sovereign and institutional partners.
Coordinate with CGIAR DTA communications teams to ensure consistent Hub positioning within the UAE and Gulf context.
Support the DTA Product Director in preparing for high-level meetings with the International Affairs Office and ecosystem leadership.

Requirements

What you’ll need

7+ years of professional experience in partnership development, policy engagement, or programme management in international development, agriculture, or technology.
Strong existing networks within the UAE agriculture, food security, or AI/innovation ecosystem; direct familiarity with UAE government or sovereign institution engagement is essential.
Experience managing multi-stakeholder partnerships across government, international organisations, and private sector actors.
Exposure to agrifood systems, digital development, or AI-enabled programming is highly desirable.
Master’s degree in international development, global affairs, public policy, or a related field.
Fluency in English required; Arabic is an advantage. UAE residency (Golden Visa or equivalent) preferred.

Benefits

Comp & perks

All applications must be submitted online by clicking the 'Apply' button below before **11:59 PM CET on 08 July 2026**. If you require assistance or face challenges in submitting your application, please email smo-bidding@cgiar.org with the position title in the subject line. Applications submitted through this email will **NOT **be accepted.
Please ensure your resume and cover letter are in English and does not contain your marital status, age, or photograph. Documents provided in a language other than English will not be considered.
CGIAR is committed to fair, safe, and inclusive workplaces. We believe that diversity powers our innovation, contributes to our excellence, and is critical for our mission. We offer a multi-cultural, multi-color, multi-generational, and multi-disciplinary, collegial working environment. We consciously create an inclusive organization that reflects our global character and commitment to gender equity. We, therefore, encourage applicants from all cultures, races, ethnicities, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability status, sexual orientations, and gender identities.
Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.
We look forward to hearing from you!

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Hard Skills & Tools

Programme ManagementStrategic CommunicationMulti-Stakeholder PartnershipsAgrifood Systems KnowledgeDigital Development

Soft Skills

Relationship BuildingCollaborationAdaptability

Certifications

Master’s Degree in International DevelopmentMaster’s Degree in Global AffairsMaster’s Degree in Public Policy