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When Afraa Al Shalabi joined Jacobs in 2010, little did she imagine that she would be faced with the mega challenge of delivering Expo 2020 Dubai amid a global pandemic ten years later.
Meet Afraa, the Project Director for the Participants Pavilions Delivery (PPD) for Expo 2020 Dubai – the largest event ever to be staged in the Arab world with 192 participating nations.
A civil engineer specialized in infrastructure and environmental engineering from Damascus, Syria, Afraa was one of the first Jacobs employees to join the Expo 2020 Program as far back as January 2015. Making a start with the mobilization team, she soon moved onto the Expo international participants team. Here she helped plan the participants' journey with the Expo and develop a structure to fit all scenarios – this was the genesis of the PPD Team.
Most recently, she has led a team of over 35, including Expo and embedded consultants, covering four delivery functions: Design management; construction management; health, safety, and environment (HSE) management; and project controls.
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Afraa since I joined the Expo Programme Management Consultancy team in 2016 and watched her develop into a wonderful leader. Despite the intensity of her role and the frequent challenges that emerge at Expo, she always has a smile on her face and maintains absolute positivity with whatever she has to deal with. She does this while juggling her family life, and I’m amazed at how she manages and takes it all in her stride. Afraa has a great career ahead of her and I’ll be watching eagerly what she does next. Who knows, we may all be working for Afraa one day!”
While supporting all Expo participants, including the international participants, Expo partners, and concessioners, stakeholder management was also a crucial focus of Afraa and the team. They engaged with participants from the early design stage through the delivery phases until the pavilions open gates to visitors.
Although COVID-19 dampened the momentum of the program, her team's diverse talents and personal values helped them sail through challenging times and come out stronger. "Our team was amazing! Despite the significant reduction in our team's strength due to the pandemic, we immediately engaged with the participants, brainstormed ideas, reviewed revised plans, and provided extra support over the past year," she says.
Reflecting on the excitement on the ground, Afraa says, "I still remember how thrilled we were, celebrating the first ceremonial plot hand over to an international participant, the Luxemburg Pavilion, in April 2018. From that day on, we had many such groundbreaking ceremonies handing over plots and spaces to participants."
Afraa's role is a fast-paced and dynamic one - no two days are alike. Yet, while she tackles new challenges every day, she doesn’t forget to smile and laugh through it all.
"I’m extremely blessed to be the mother of an amazingly kind girl, Noura (aged 8), and remarkably active little boy, Jude (aged 5). They fill my life with joy, happiness, and chaos. They both control my weekends and spare time! Now that they’re both at the right age, we try to make the most out of the beautiful weather, but we still all enjoy a day in, watching a movie and eating popcorn; guess who’s always the first to fall asleep!"
As Expo came to life in October 2021, Afraa and the team were thrilled to see their efforts over the previous six years come to fruition. "Our date is set," she says, "we’re ready and fully committed to delivering the greatest show!"
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24
years since Dubai became home
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6
years on Expo 2020 Dubai
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35
talented members on her team
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2
children