Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) is a research university in Abu Dhabi. Recognized globally for its research excellence, the university has over 140 faculty — among them recipients of the MacArthur Fellowship, the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize, and the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award, and fellows of the IEEE, ACM, and the International Society for Computational Biology.
Its student body has passed 900, drawn from over 50 countries. It is ranked 10th globally across AI, computational biology, computer vision, machine learning, natural language processing, and robotics by CSRankings — ahead of institutions that have been building their reputations for a century.
It has done this, in the words of MBZUAI President and University Professor Eric Xing, by “showing results, making a visible difference, and then asking stakeholders to top up and double down because of the results.”
MBZUAI seeks its inaugural Dean of the Division of Humanities, Social and Management Sciences.
Two of the university’s five Divisions are already operational — Computing and Mathematical Sciences, and Biological and Life Sciences — each home to hundreds of faculty and students.
Humanities, Social and Management Sciences is next, with a mandate to build a division that will study how artificial intelligence reshapes decision-making, work, governance, and the broader social fabric.
Reporting to the President and/or Provost, the Dean will serve as the academic, research, and administrative leader of the Division, with the resources and mandate to build it from first principles.
This is a role for someone who wants to build an institution, not join one — at a university where humanities and social science are treated as central to the AI mission, not adjacent to it. Professor Xing describes MBZUAI as a forge: teaching is the primary duty of every faculty member, including the most senior; research is evaluated on intellectual merit and scientific impact, not grant volume; and faculty are the core of the institution. The Dean who takes on HSMS will define what that culture looks like in a division built around economics, psychology, public policy, organizational behavior, ethics, and innovation management – disciplines whose relationship to AI is still being written.
This is a full-time position that will be performed on site in the United Arab Emirates. Salary commensurate with experience with a generous benefits package.
Contact
DSG Global has been exclusively retained for this engagement, which is being led by Amy Sugin, Managing Director, and Laura Bertonazzi, Managing Associate. To express interest in this role, please submit a compelling cover letter and resume by filling out our Talent Profile above. All inquiries and discussions will be considered strictly confidential.