Partnership Engagement Specialist, UAE Agriculture & AI Ecosystem

CGIAR

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

The CGIAR AI Hub, a global collaborative initiative hosted in Abu Dhabi, is seeking a Partnership Engagement Specialist to manage relationships within the UAE's Agriculture & AI Ecosystem. This part-time consultancy role, embedded at the MBZUAI Institute for Agriculture and AI, will focus on building and strengthening strategic partnerships with key UAE institutions, including the International Affairs Office at the UAE Presidential Court and various innovation partners. The goal is to translate CGIAR's agricultural data and science into practical AI tools for food, land, and water systems, leveraging the rapidly expanding UAE agriculture and AI ecosystem.

Requirements

• 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.
• Master’s degree in international development, global affairs, public policy, or a related field.
• Fluency in English required.

Nice To Haves

• Exposure to agrifood systems, digital development, or AI-enabled programming is highly desirable.
• Arabic is an advantage.
• UAE residency (Golden Visa or equivalent) preferred.

Responsibilities

• Build, strengthen, and maintain relationships between the CGIAR AI Hub and the UAE’s International Affairs Office at the Presidential Court.
• 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.

Benefits

• CGIAR is committed to fair, safe, and inclusive workplaces.
• 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Part-time
• Career Level: Mid Level