IT Program & Compliance Lead

Confidential Company; Dubai; On-site; AED 65,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Confidential Company is seeking a policy and compliance professional to draft, maintain and localize IT policies across multiple countries. You will lead SOP development, support vendor management, and ensure alignment with regulatory requirements.

Responsibilities include running compliance calendars, coordinating audit responses, and partnering with CTO/Finance for budgeting and cost modelling across geographies.

Qualifications

• Strong policy/procedure writing capability suitable for audit-ready documentation.
• Ability to map processes and develop SOPs by interviewing stakeholders and capturing tacit knowledge.
• Working knowledge of ISO 27001, SOC 2, GDPR, or regional equivalents.

Responsibilities

• Draft, maintain and version-control IT policies, procedures and data handling standards.
• Localize policies per country-specific legal/regulatory requirements across geographies.
• Coordinate audits, signoffs and acknowledgments; track compliance calendars and renewals.

Skills

Policy writing

Process mapping

SOP development

Compliance frameworks

Budgeting & modelling

Cross-cultural coordination

Job description

IT Policies ProceduresDraft maintain and version-control IT policies security acceptable use data handling access control vendor management BYOD incident response etc Localize policies per country-specific legal and regulatory requirementsRun periodic policy review cycles and track signoffs acknowledgments across teamsMulti-Country ComplianceTrack applicable IT data regulations per operating country e g data protection laws labour-tech compliance industry-specific mandates Maintain a compliance calendar audits renewals filings certifications e g ISO 27001 SOC 2 GDPR local data residency laws Liaise with legal local country managers and external auditors consultantsPrepare audit documentation and coordinate audit responsesBudgeting Financial PlanningBuild and maintain the IT department budget capex opex across geographiesTrack actual spend vs budget flag variancesSupport annual quarterly planning cycles with the CTO and financeMaintain vendor license cost tracking and renewal calendarsStaffing Benchmarking Per-Employee CostBenchmark IT staffing ratios roles and compensation against industry regional standardsMaintain per-employee cost models salary tools infrastructure overhead by countrySupport headcount planning and business-case development for new hiresTrack org structure and reporting lines across countriesBusiness Process Documentation SOPsMap existing IT and cross-functional workflows onboarding offboarding access provisioning change management incident response vendor onboarding deployment processes etc Convert undocumented tribal-knowledge processes into structured SOPs with clear ownership steps and escalation pathsStandardize an SOP template format and process‑mapping notation e g flowcharts RACI for consistency across countriesRun a continuous review cycle so SOPs stay aligned with actual practice as teams and tools changeTrain relevant teams on SOP adoption and track compliance with documented processesIdentify process gaps or inefficiencies during documentation and flag them to the CTO for improvementDigital Documentation Knowledge ManagementOwn the central repository for all IT documentation policies SOPs architecture diagrams compliance records contracts Standardize documentation templates and version control practicesEnsure documentation stays current as systems teams and regulations evolveManage access controls and retention schedules for sensitive documents

Qualifications

• Strong policy/procedure writing (clear, structured, audit-ready documentation)
• Process mapping and SOP development (able to interview stakeholders and turn tacit knowledge into documented workflow)
• Working knowledge of relevant compliance frameworks (ISO 27001, SOC 2, GDPR, or region-specific equivalents)
• Budgeting and financial modelling (Excel/Sheets proficiency at minimum)
• Familiarity with HR/staffing benchmarking data and cost modelling
• Excellent written communication — this role lives in documents
• Comfortable working across time zones and cultural/regulatory contexts