Manager - IT Infrastructure & Networks (m/f/d)

Halian | Managed Services, Recruitment Agency & Contract Staffing; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 480,000 - 660,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Annual leave

Job summary

Halian is seeking an experienced IT Infrastructure & Networks Manager to lead a large-scale enterprise technology environment in Abu Dhabi. The role combines deep technical expertise with strategic management and hands-on delivery during incidents, migrations, and critical projects.

You will own the infrastructure and network architecture across on-premise, cloud, and hybrid environments, manage budgets, and lead vendor negotiations while ensuring security compliance and operational excellence.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience across IT infrastructure, cloud, and enterprise networking environments.
• Proven experience managing infrastructure teams within large enterprise organisations.
• Demonstrated ability to combine strategic leadership with hands-on technical delivery.
• Strong experience managing enterprise infrastructure projects, vendors, and IT operations.
• Experience owning infrastructure roadmaps, budgets, governance frameworks, and operational performance.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to engage senior leadership teams.
• Previous responsibility for mission-critical, enterprise-scale environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of infrastructure and network engineers.
• Provide technical leadership and guidance across infrastructure, cloud, collaboration, identity, and networking domains.
• Act as the escalation point for major incidents, complex technical challenges, and critical business services.
• Foster a culture of operational excellence, continuous improvement, and technical innovation.
• Own the enterprise infrastructure and network architecture, ensuring scalability, resilience, and operational efficiency.
• Make key architectural decisions across on-premise, cloud, and hybrid environments.
• Develop and maintain technology roadmaps aligned with business and IT strategy.
• Lead infrastructure modernization, cloud adoption, and transformation initiatives.
• Maintain accountability for infrastructure availability, performance, and service quality.
• Oversee the delivery of business-critical IT services supporting corporate users and enterprise applications.
• Ensure robust monitoring, incident management, change management, and capacity planning processes are in place.
• Participate directly in major incidents, migrations, upgrades, and critical changes when required.
• Build and manage infrastructure budgets, including operational expenditure, capital expenditure, and software licensing.
• Lead vendor selection, contract negotiations, and SLA management.
• Challenge and validate technical proposals and delivery plans provided by third-party partners.
• Ensure value for money while maintaining service quality and security standards.
• Establish and maintain infrastructure policies, standards, and governance frameworks.
• Manage infrastructure risk, resilience, backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity capabilities.
• Ensure compliance with corporate security standards and regulatory requirements.
• Support and enhance the organisation's security posture through alignment with security best practices and Microsoft security technologies.

Skills

IT infrastructure

Enterprise networking

Microsoft stack

Active Directory

Hybrid Identity

Incident management

Vendor negotiations

Governance frameworks

Cloud migrations

Security best practices

Stakeholder management

Leadership

Hands-on engineering

Tools

SCCM / MECM

Job description

We are seeking an experienced IT Infrastructure & Network Manager to lead and evolve a large-scale enterprise technology environment supporting corporate users and business-critical applications.

This is a highly visible leadership position that requires a rare combination of deep technical expertise and strategic management capability. While the title is Manager, the successful candidate must remain hands‑on, capable of operating at engineering level during major incidents, migrations, critical projects, and architectural transformations.

The role is responsible for the overall infrastructure and network estate, including strategy, architecture, operations, security, governance, vendor management, and budgeting. You will lead a team of infrastructure and network professionals while acting as the technical authority for the organisation's Microsoft ecosystem.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & Team Management

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of infrastructure and network engineers.
• Provide technical leadership and guidance across infrastructure, cloud, collaboration, identity, and networking domains.
• Act as the escalation point for major incidents, complex technical challenges, and critical business services.
• Foster a culture of operational excellence, continuous improvement, and technical innovation.
• Own the enterprise infrastructure and network architecture, ensuring scalability, resilience, and operational efficiency.
• Make key architectural decisions across on‑premise, cloud, and hybrid environments.
• Develop and maintain technology roadmaps aligned with business and IT strategy.
• Lead infrastructure modernization, cloud adoption, and transformation initiatives.

Operations & Service Delivery

• Maintain accountability for infrastructure availability, performance, and service quality.
• Oversee the delivery of business‑critical IT services supporting corporate users and enterprise applications.
• Ensure robust monitoring, incident management, change management, and capacity planning processes are in place.
• Participate directly in major incidents, migrations, upgrades, and critical changes when required.
• Build and manage infrastructure budgets, including operational expenditure, capital expenditure, and software licensing.
• Lead vendor selection, contract negotiations, and SLA management.
• Challenge and validate technical proposals and delivery plans provided by third‑party partners.
• Ensure value for money while maintaining service quality and security standards.
• Establish and maintain infrastructure policies, standards, and governance frameworks.
• Manage infrastructure risk, resilience, backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity capabilities.
• Ensure compliance with corporate security standards and regulatory requirements.
• Support and enhance the organisation's security posture through alignment with security best practices and Microsoft security technologies.

Stakeholder Management

• Partner with senior business and technology stakeholders to align infrastructure strategy with organisational objectives.
• Provide regular reporting on service performance, projects, risks, budgets, and strategic initiatives.
• Influence decision‑making across technology and business functions.

Required Experience & Skills

• 10+ years of experience across IT infrastructure, cloud, and enterprise networking environments.
• Proven experience managing infrastructure teams within large enterprise organisations.
• Demonstrated ability to combine strategic leadership with hands‑on technical delivery.
• Strong experience managing enterprise infrastructure projects, vendors, and IT operations.
• Experience owning infrastructure roadmaps, budgets, governance frameworks, and operational performance.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to engage senior leadership teams.
• Previous responsibility for mission‑critical, enterprise‑scale environments.

Microsoft Technologies (Non‑Negotiable)

Candidates must possess deep, hands‑on experience across the Microsoft technology stack. Individuals with leadership experience but limited Microsoft expertise will not be considered.

Identity & Access Management

• Active Directory
• Hybrid Identity
• Group Policy
• Exchange Online
• Microsoft 365 / Office 365
• Microsoft Teams
• SharePoint
• SCCM / MECM
• Cloud Migration Programmes
• Infrastructure Modernisation

Security

• Conditional Access
• Microsoft Purview
• Identity and Endpoint Security Controls
• Proven experience designing and implementing enterprise‑scale Microsoft environments.
• Experience making architecture decisions rather than simply administering existing platforms.

Technical Leadership Expectations

The successful candidate will:

• Be recognised as a highly capable technical authority by both engineers and stakeholders.
• Challenge technical proposals and decisions from vendors and partners with confidence.
• Maintain current hands‑on technical capability alongside leadership responsibilities.
• Personally contribute during major incidents, technology transformations, and critical projects.
• Drive technology decisions based on business outcomes, operational resilience, and long‑term strategy.

Preferred Experience

• Experience within large corporate, utilities, energy, government, or highly regulated environments.
• Experience supporting hybrid infrastructure environments at enterprise scale.
• Exposure to cybersecurity governance, risk management, and resilience programmes.
• Related Microsoft certifications across Infrastructure, Azure, Security, or Enterprise Administration.

What Success Looks Like

• A resilient, secure, and high‑performing infrastructure environment.
• Clear alignment between infrastructure strategy and business objectives.
• Successful delivery of transformation, modernization, and cloud initiatives.
• Strong governance, risk management, and operational controls.
• High‑performing internal teams and effectively managed vendor relationships.
• Trusted advisor status with senior technology and business stakeholders.
• Competitive executive‑level salary package.
• Performance‑based incentives.
• Medical insurance.
• Annual leave and additional corporate benefits.
• Opportunity to lead a large‑scale enterprise infrastructure and cloud transformation agenda.
• Significant exposure to senior leadership and strategic technology decision‑making.

Manager - IT Infrastructure & Networks in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates