Program Manager

IDEMIA Group; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 420,000 - 560,000; Full time

Job summary

IDEMIA in Abu Dhabi is seeking an experienced Program Manager to own end-to-end government customer programmes across the UAE and Middle East within the Justice & Public Safety business line. You will be the primary contact for the customer, oversee programme delivery, financial performance and contractual commitments.

The role requires 8+ years in programme management, strong governance, risk management and executive reporting, and fluency in Arabic and English (French a plus).

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Engineering, Information Technology or a related technical discipline
• Minimum 8 years of programme or complex project management experience, ideally within technology, systems integration, biometrics, security, public safety or a related environment
• Proven experience managing complex programmes directly with government or public-sector customers is essential within the Middle East
• Strong programme-management fundamentals, including risk management, governance, KPI dashboards, milestones and executive reporting
• Fluent Arabic and English are essential; French is an advantage
• PMP, PRINCE2 or Agile certification is welcome but not essential
• Based in Abu Dhabi, with regular presence at customer sites (typically 2–3 days per week), and willingness to travel approximately 20–30% across the Middle East depending client requirements

Responsibilities

• Act as the customer’s primary management point of contact, building trusted relationships, gathering feedback and driving customer satisfaction and continuous improvement
• Lead and align cross-functional teams across engineering, supply chain, purchasing, legal, finance, sales, partners and suppliers to deliver agreed scope, schedule, cost and quality
• Plan and govern programme execution using IDEMIA’s Programme Management System, including tollgates, governance reviews, KPI monitoring and management reporting
• Own programme financial performance, including revenue and cost forecasting, margin tracking, invoicing accuracy, cash-flow milestones and financial risk management
• Identify, assess and manage programme risks and dependencies; define mitigation plans and escalade where additional support or decisions are required
• Ensure contractual compliance throughout the lifecycle of the programme, including amendments, claims, obligations, delivers, and change control
• Lead change-request activity for assigned programmes, working with Sales and internal teams to shape scope, prepare commercial and financial offers, and support pricing and negotiation
• Contribute to pre-sales activities and programme transition where required, ensuring commitments are realistic, commercially sound and operationally deliverable
• Provide clear, concise programme reporting to senior management, highlighting progress, financial performance, key decisions, risks and required actions
• Support account growth by identifying delivery-led opportunities, customer needs and areas where additional services or solutions can create value

Skills

Programme management

Governance

Risk management

Stakeholder management

KPI dashboards

Executive reporting

Arabic & English fluency

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Engineering/IT or related technical discipline

Job description

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Since our founding, IDEMIA has been on a mission to unlock the world and make it safer through our cutting-edge identity technologies. Our technology leadership makes us the partner of choice for hundreds of governments and thousands of enterprises in over 180 countries, including some of the biggest and most influential brands in the world. In applying our unique expertise in biometrics and cryptography, we enable our clients to unlock simpler and safer ways to pay, connect, access, identify, travel and protect public places – at scale and in total security.

Our teams work from 5 continents and speak 100+ different languages. We strongly believe that our diversity is a key driver of innovation and performance.

Purpose

We are looking for an experienced Program Manager to take end-to-end ownership of strategic government customer programmes across the UAE and wider Middle East within our Justice & Public Safety (JPS) business line.

Acting as the primary management point of contact for the customer, you will be responsible for programme delivery, financial performance, contractual commitments and the continued development of the account through change requests and additional programme-related opportunities.

This is a highly visible, customer-facing role combining programme delivery, commercial ownership and account management.You will work closely with Sales and cross-functional teams to protect existing business, support contract renewals, identify change-request opportunities and drive sustainable growth across the region.

Key Missions

• Act as the customer’s primary management point of contact, building trusted relationships, gathering feedback and driving customer satisfaction and continuous improvement
• Lead and align cross-functional teams across engineering, supply chain, purchasing, legal, finance, sales, partners and suppliers to deliver agreed scope, schedule, cost and quality
• Plan and govern programme execution using IDEMIA’s Programme Management System, including tollgates, governance reviews, KPI monitoring and management reporting
• Own programme financial performance, including revenue and cost forecasting, margin tracking, invoicing accuracy, cash-flow milestones and financial risk management
• Identify, assess and manage programme risks and dependencies; define mitigation plans and escalade where additional support or decisions are required
• Ensure contractual compliance throughout the lifecycle of the programme, including amendments, claims, obligations, deliverables and change control
• Lead change-request activity for assigned programmes, working with Sales and internal teams to shape scope, prepare commercial and financial offers, and support pricing and negotiation
• Contribute to pre-sales activities and programme transition where required, ensuring commitments are realistic, commercially sound and operationally deliverable
• Provide clear, concise programme reporting to senior management, highlighting progress, financial performance, key decisions, risks and required actions
• Support account growth by identifying delivery-led opportunities, customer needs and areas where additional services or solutions can create value

Profile & Other Information

What we are looking for

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Engineering, Information Technology or a related technical discipline
• Minimum 8 years of programme or complex project management experience, ideally within technology, systems integration, biometrics, security, public safety or a related environment
• Proven experience managing complex programmes directly with government or public-sector customers is essential within the Middle East
• Strong programme-management fundamentals, including risk management, governance, KPI dashboards, milestones and executive reporting
• Fluent Arabic and English are essential; French is an advantage
• PMP, PRINCE2 or Agile certification is welcome but not essential
• Based in Abu Dhabi, with regular presence at customer sites (typically 2–3 days per week), and willingness to travel approximately 20–30% across the Middle East depending client requirements

What success looks like

• Customers see you as a trusted, credible and proactive programme partner
• Programmes are delivered with clear governance, strong financial control and early visibility of risks
• Commercial commitments, contractual obligations and cash-flow milestones are actively managed rather than reactively escalated
• Change requests and account-growth opportunities are identified, shaped and progressed in close coordination with Sales
• Internal stakeholders have clear visibility of programme performance, decisions and priorities

By choosing to work at IDEMIA, you will join a unique tech company, offering a wide range of growth opportunities. You will contribute to a safer world, collaborating with an international and global community. We value the diversity of our teams and welcome people from all walks of life, regardless of how they look, where they come from, who they love, or what they think.

We deliver cutting edge, future proof innovation that reach the highest technological standards and we’re transforming, fast, to stay a leader in a world that’s changing fast, too.

At IDEMIA, people can develop their expertise and feel a sense of ownership and empowerment, in a global environment, as part of a company with the ambition and the ability to change the world.

Visit our website to know more about the leader in Identity Technologies