Q. Tell us a little bit about your current role and what attracted you to this position?
A. I am a senior associate cost manager at the Expo 2020 Dubai. My work involves managing post-execution stage contractual and commercial issues including certifying payments, reviewing contractor/consultants’ invoices along with supporting documents and ensuring that requests for payment comply with the contract terms and conditions. I am also involved in change management, and contract negotiations, as well as review of drafted contracts during the pre-execution stage. Expo 2020 Dubai is the first Expo in the MENASA region, and I feel that being a part of it, is being part of history.
Q. When and how did you get to this position?
A. After completing my civil engineering degree in France, I returned to the UAE, where I joined Wood Plc., an oil and gas consultancy, as a junior structural civil engineer. In November 2015, Expo organized a youth connect event, which made me very interested in being part of the Expo. Therefore, as soon as Expo launched the first apprenticeship program, I did not hesitate in applying. The recruitment process was challenging and included an all-day assessment and several interviews. It was a very selective process, but luckily, I was part of the “1% chosen ones” – as the interviewers referred to us later and I was offered a placement. I resigned from my position with Wood Plc to join the nine months apprenticeship program, not knowing what would happen afterwards. Everyone advised me not to take this risk, but I always believed that it would be worth stepping outside of my comfort zone if it enabled me to broaden my experience. During the program I met incredible people and developed new skills which helped me evolve both professionally and personally. I also became interested in commercial management, and I was delighted that at the end of the program, I was offered a full-time position at the Expo as an associate commercial manager. To strengthen my knowledge in this field, in 2017 I decided to undertake studies in the Master of Science in Commercial Management and Quantity Surveying at Heriot-Watt University, which I successfully completed in 2019.
Q. How is you career linked with the CIArb and at what point did you join the CIArb?
A. I joined CIArb as a member earlier this year after successfully completing the Mediation training and assessment, following which I became an accredited mediator. Spinoza once said, “no matter how thin you slice it, there will always be too sides” We see things differently depending on our perspective, different point of views, different interpretations, hence, disputes arise. In order to solve disputes, it is important to first of all understand the other party’s stand and what pushed them to see the situation differently.
The mediator skills are essential to tackle and successfully manage the disputes I face in my professional life. The CIArb mediation course equipped me with the required tools and gave me an advantage in my current role when negotiating with contractors and consultants at various stages of the projects. I am interested in pursuing a career in dispute resolution in the coming years and I believe that completing the CIArb’s mediation course has provided me with the opportunities to develop my career in that direction.
Q. What has been your biggest achievement and has being part of the CIArb helped you realize it in any way?
A. Being selected as part of only 1% of all applicants to join the Expo apprenticeship program and later being offered a full-time position as part of the Expo Commercial Management team is definitely one of my greatest professional achievements.
Being part of the Expo has recently provided me with an opportunity to take part in the Government Games as part of the Expo 2020 Dubai female team where I was honored to be selected as the captain of the team. The games included a series of physical and mental challenges. It was a very challenging experience, and I am proud that my team was part of the top 10.
One other achievement to mention would be being a speaker at an International Scientific and Practical Conference titled “Mediation and Law: Regulation and Judicial Practice”, organized by the Kazakhstan government. I was approached to speak about mediation in the UAE and it was my first invitation to speak on this topic. I have been selected by the organizers based on my CIArb status as an accredited mediator in UAE. My speech was on the subject of recent changes in the mediation Law in UAE, specifically the Federal Law No. 6/2021.
Q. What are your aspirations for the future?
A. My aspiration for the future is to put into practice the knowledge I gained from the CIArb’s Mediation Course and gain practical experience utilising amicable dispute resolution methods. I am also planning to study for an LLM in dispute resolution, as I believe that obtaining a legal qualification will provide me with greater opportunities in the future, whether I decide to pursue a career in commercial management or dispute resolution.
Q. What advice do you have for someone new to the industry / or someone who would want to follow this career path?
A. Believe in it, plan for it, and go for it. Take an action now, don’t procrastinate. The biggest risk in life is not taking the risk. There is no use of being afraid of risks. Taking risks widens your comfort zone. Not taking risks limits your comforts zone, your growth and career opportunities. It’s all in your hands, so go for whatever you are passionate about or believe in.
Yassmine Houmane is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. She works as Senior Associate Cost Manager at Expo 2020 Dubai and may be contacted on yassmine.houmane@icloud.com.
To be interviewed in future Newsletters, please contact our interviewer Kasia Halliday at khalliday@thinkbrg.com
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