Director of vip servicing & operations

Location: Doha, Qatar
Company: ember Lifestyle - Luxury Travel & Experiential Design About ember

ember is a luxury experiential studio shaping the future of travel, lifestyle and guest experience. We are the Middle East's first luxury experiential brand, endorsed by Forbes Travel Guide. From transformative journeys for ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families to high-impact experiences for governments and global corporations - we design journeys, worlds and moments people remember forever.

We create stories that you’ll tell forever.

The Opportunity

This role carries reputational responsibility at the national level.

ember is seeking an exceptional Director of VIP Servicing & Operations to lead and embed a national-level VVIP hosting capability in Doha. This is not simply an operational role. It is a role that sits at the intersection of protocol, discretion, operational excellence and relationship stewardship, safeguarding the experience of Qatar's most distinguished guests while building a long-term, institutional hosting standard.

In its initial phase, the role will be hands-on and execution-driven, leading high-profile visits directly. Over time, you will build and mentor a Qatar-based operations team, transitioning from direct execution to strategic oversight while preserving uncompromising standards.

This position requires mature judgment, cultural fluency, emotional intelligence and the ability to anticipate complexity before it surfaces. You must be steady under pressure, discreet by instinct and capable of operating in government-facing environments with confidence and restraint.

Most importantly, you must understand that this work sits within Qatar's broader national vision. Every guest journey is an opportunity to shape how the world's most distinguished visitors experience and remember the nation. Your mandate is to translate Qatar's cultural richness, warmth and ambition into experiences that feel genuinely personal, ensuring guests leave with deep appreciation, lasting affinity and a desire to return or even relocate. This is not simply operational excellence. It is nation-building through hospitality.

What You'll Do

High-Level Guest Execution
Lead the execution of complex, high-profile VVIP itineraries, ensuring calm, controlled delivery across all touchpoints. Think ten steps ahead: anticipating risks, sensitivities, logistical friction and reputational exposure before they arise. Design moments of intentional surprise and elevation while maintaining full discretion and protocol alignment. Maintain end-to-end ownership of the guest journey, eliminating operational fragmentation. Operate with the judgment and maturity required in politically and culturally sensitive environments.

Seamless Experience & Anticipatory Leadership
Ensure every guest experience feels effortless, intentional and meticulously considered. Establish internal standards that exceed supplier baseline capabilities; vendors support delivery, but do not define quality. Build structured pre-visit scenario planning and contingency frameworks. Maintain 24/7 operational readiness during high-profile periods and major events. Ensure that guest transitions are smooth, calm and never reactive.

Discretion, Data Sensitivity & Information Stewardship
Treat all guest information as highly sensitive and reputationally critical. Ensure disciplined handling of confidential data in alignment with HQ's secure systems and governance frameworks. Enforce need-to-know information flow and minimize exposure across stakeholders. Demonstrate absolute discretion in communication, escalation and decision-making. Model ethical conduct and professional restraint at all times.

Government & Protocol Navigation
Serve as the primary operational liaison within government-facing environments. Navigate national and cultural protocols with precision and respect. Demonstrate strong diplomatic communication skills in stakeholder engagement. Exercise judgment in situations where nuance, sensitivity and political awareness are required. Act as a trusted operator capable of taking ownership without creating noise or unnecessary escalation.

Team Building & Institutional Capability
Recruit, build and mentor a high-performing Qatar-based VVIP operations team. Establish clear standards, ways of working, governance structures and accountability frameworks from day one. Transition from hands-on execution to structured leadership while maintaining quality control. Develop training programs that embed cultural intelligence, discretion and anticipatory thinking into the team. Collaborate closely with HQ across strategy, innovation, finance and experience design.

Governance, Reporting & Continuous Improvement
Deliver structured operational reporting and post-visit reviews. Identify improvement opportunities across suppliers, systems and stakeholder coordination. Ensure clarity of service tiers, escalation pathways and operational ownership. Contribute to the long-term refinement of the VVIP hosting model. Who You Are

You bring a minimum of 10 years of senior leadership experience within VVIP operations, diplomatic protocol, ultra-luxury hospitality, UHNW servicing or government-level hosting within the GCC. You have demonstrated experience leading high-stakes, high-sensitivity guest engagements and proven ability to operate calmly and effectively in politically nuanced or protocol-heavy environments.

You have experience building and scaling operational teams from the ground up. You have strong crisis-management capability and anticipatory operational judgment. You have deep understanding of Qatar and GCC cultural expectations, protocol standards and premium service networks, and you have evidence of disciplined information handling and confidentiality in prior roles.

You are steady, composed and unflappable under pressure. You are discreet by instinct; you do not over-communicate or elevate unnecessarily. You are politically and culturally intelligent, detail-oriented without losing strategic perspective, and you demonstrate mature judgment and emotional restraint. You are capable of building trust with senior stakeholders quickly and quietly, and you are comfortable operating in high-visibility, high-accountability environments.

Bilingual Arabic–English proficiency is strongly preferred.

What You’ll Need Minimum 10 years of senior leadership in VVIP operations, diplomatic protocol or government-level hosting within the GCC Demonstrated experience leading high-stakes, high-sensitivity guest engagements Proven ability to operate in politically nuanced or protocol-heavy environments Experience building and scaling operational teams Strong crisis-management capability and anticipatory operational judgment Deep understanding of Qatar and GCC cultural expectations and protocol standards Evidence of disciplined information handling and confidentiality

Preferred:

The Details

Location: Doha, Qatar
Contract Type: Full-Time
Start Date: As soon as possible #J-18808-Ljbffr