The way to the top is quite hard sometimes but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Living in Dubai for over a decade now, Divina Singian Jimenez has achieved big responsibilities that pushed her out of her comfort zone.
She has come a long way since she arrived in the city, a place she considers ‘a land of opportunities.’ From working as a simple site secretary, she is now a part-owner of a milk tea outlet in Dubai while working as a full-time deputy general manager for a leading steel trading and construction supply company.
After finishing her bachelor’s degree in Finance and Managerial Accounting, she immediately got married and worked as a bookkeeper in a multi-purpose cooperative pharmacy in a government-owned hospital while her husband worked as a musician. Admittedly, their combined salaries were not enough for a family of four.
“I always hear an inner voice whispering that something is missing, and I can do more for my own family. I challenged myself to create a future of my own overseas and that chance opened when a relative sent me an open invitation to come over to Dubai,” Jimenez said.
She had to borrow an amount of P40,000 from one of her aunts to purchase air ticket and visa to fulfill her calling.
When she came to Dubai, it only took her two weeks to secure a job. She initially worked as a site secretary cum document controller for a contracting company then was later promoted as purchase in the main office.
Mid-year of 2008, her quest was still not over. I started to work for a start-up company and worked as a sales manager. With just sufficient knowledge in sales, she was able to close a deal worth of AED2.1-million. This was the exact moment when her company gave her the power to outsource materials from South Korea.
After consistently closing huge orders from construction companies in a world dominated by men, she managed to arm-wrestle contributing turnover of AED80-million sales contracts per year.
With her impressive performance, she was stationing every now and then in Doha, Qatar to help establish their branch.
In 2012, her company director has to handle interim international business stakes in the UK so she was assigned as a deputy general manager, backed with more than 30 employees, and heading all departments in sales, finance, engineering workshop, delivery logistics of three warehouses and bulk supply to clientele contractors of most iconic projects in UAE and GCC.
In 2016, the Brexit in the UK has slowly amalgamated its local company’s presence in GCC and gradually shifting its operations across the globe even until now.
“I just simply loved my job and passion of creating effective systems that are followed by all, work on the floor with my staff, reward their good job while they take good care of our customers. What I’m satisfied the most for over a decade of working in the Gulf has to meet a lot of decision-makers around the globe from China to Europe to the USA. Also, having a key position in the Gulf paved opportunities to help a lot of Filipinos to be employed,” she said.
Also, hailing from Angeles City, Pampanga, and rooting the love for delectable cuisines, she is now managing a business in the Food and Beverage sector which is Joy Bubble Coffee Shop LLC. Jimenez is also an active member of the Philippines Business Council – Dubai and the Northern Emirates and Filipino Social Club, a Community Development Authority-regulated organization in Dubai.
This story has been featured on the third issue of The Global Filipino Magazine. To get a copy, you may contact +971503196856. If you have an inspiring story or know someone with one, please send an email at tgfmfi@gmail.com.
