Digital Strategist

Horizontal Digital; Dubai; On-site; AED 120,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading digital consultancy in Dubai is seeking a Digital Strategist to optimize product strategies and manage the product backlog. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in digital initiatives and CMS, focusing on strategic alignment and cross-functional collaboration. Responsibilities include conducting workshops, prioritizing product features, and working in agile frameworks. A Bachelor's degree and over 7 years of relevant experience are required. This role emphasizes empathy, accountability, and results-driven outcomes.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in enterprise digital initiatives as a Product Owner.
• Strong understanding of digital platforms like CRM, ERP.
• Experience in Agile frameworks such as Scrum or Kanban.

Responsibilities

• Manage product backlog for continuous alignment with product vision.
• Conduct interviews and workshops for requirement elicitation.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure project success.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Analytical skills

Problem solving

Excellent communication

Proactive

Collaborative

Adaptability

Accountability

Professionalism

Results-oriented

Team-oriented

Customer-centricity

Curiosity

Education

Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience

Tools

Jira

Confluence

CMS (Sitecore, Adobe Experience Manager)

API management platforms

Salesforce

Job description

Digital Strategist

At Horizontal Digital we hold ourselves to one key belief: Youre only as good as your worst customer experience. This mantra is what drives our digital consultancy to think beyond the easy answers and instead create websites apps portals and other experiences that solve customer needs for Fortune 500 companies in intuitive and empathetic ways. And we make this lofty standard a reality by fusing strategy data design and technology together to arrive at solutions that set the bar higher for everyone.

We use these values to fuel superior results:

• Lock arms – We forge relationships that make our impact 1000x stronger. This means working across departments and engaging both our clients and our communities to deliver the greatest good.
• Show hustle – We’re not ones to sit on our hands and wait. Instead we anticipate opportunities, collectively roll up our sleeves and find ways to execute the exceptional.
• Embrace change – From new technologies to workplace philosophies we welcome the unexpected and constantly anticipate whats next.
• Elevate empathy – We listen before we take action. This means understanding a variety of perspectives and holding ourselves to a higher standard of accountability.
• Never settle – We motivate each other to push past the easy answers and collectively arrive at bigger, more inspiring ideas.

But enough about us. Lets talk about you.

What Youll Do

• Strategic Alignment: Manage and optimize the product backlog ensuring continuous alignment to product vision, roadmap and priorities that maximize product and business value.
• Requirement Elicitation: Conduct in‑depth interviews, workshops and analysis to gather, understand and translate business and user needs within the context of scaled agile frameworks.
• Cross‑Functional Collaboration: Work closely with cross‑functional teams (strategy, design, development and testing) to ensure a shared understanding of value and priority of each requirement.
• Backlog Prioritization: Collaborate with stakeholders to prioritize and refine the product backlog based on value, dependencies and risks. Proactively identify opportunities and adjust the backlog as needed to ensure continued success.
• Backlog Refinement: Facilitate backlog refinement, breaking down features into smaller, more manageable user stories and clear acceptance criteria.
• Stakeholder Management: Build and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders to ensure buy‑in and support.
• Decision Making: Leverage business needs, analytics and stakeholder feedback to support informed decisions.
• Continuous Delivery: Support the implementation of continuous delivery practices to enable faster time‑to‑market and improve product quality.
• Continuous Improvement: Identify and implement opportunities for process improvement and innovation within the context of scaled Agile.

Who You Are

• Strategic Thinker – Execute product strategies that align with business goals and scaled agile frameworks.
• Analytical – Analyze and interpret complex business needs, leveraging insights from various inputs.
• Problem Solver – Identify and solve complex problems creatively.
• Excellent Communicator – Effectively communicate with stakeholders at all levels.
• Proactive – A self‑starter who takes initiative, anticipates needs and drives responsibilities to completion.
• Collaborative – Work effectively with cross‑functional teams and across multiple levels of the organization.
• Agile – Adapt to changing requirements and work in a fast‑paced environment.
• Accountable – Hold yourself and the team accountable for delivering high‑quality, valuable outcomes.
• Professional – Lead with integrity and empathy, communicating clearly, building trust across teams and clients.
• Results‑Oriented – Driven to achieve measurable outcomes.
• Team‑Oriented – Foster a leadership culture where all members feel empowered to contribute to product success.
• Customer‑Centric – Drive a customer‑centric approach to ensure development focuses on delivering value and representing the customer’s voice.
• Curious Learner – Enthusiastic about learning new business processes, technologies and related terminology.

What You Bring

• 7+ years of experience working on enterprise digital initiatives, software development or related IT projects as a Product Owner or a similar role.
• CMS experience (such as Sitecore or Adobe Experience Manager (AEM)) required.
• Salesforce experience is preferred.
• Strong understanding and familiarity with enterprise digital platforms such as CRM, ERP, PIM systems.
• Strong understanding and familiarity with data interchange across the digital experience through engagement, customer journey enabled by API Management platforms.
• Strong understanding and familiarity with business process definition and functional areas such as commerce, marketing automation, content strategy, personalization, and customer service – critical to the success of client initiatives.
• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience required.
• Demonstrated experience as a Product Owner – backlog management, writing user stories, leading backlog refinement, iterative development, frequent delivery and continuous feedback.
• Experience working in scaled agile environments and a strong understanding of SAFe principles and practices (e.g., PI planning, ART sync meetings).
• Experience with Agile frameworks such as Scrum or Kanban.
• Relevant Product Ownership and Agile certifications such as SAFe, PMP, PO, CSPO (preferred).
• Experience with Jira/Confluence toolset (preferred).
• UAT and testing experience (preferred).

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.