Regional Delivery Manager - CIS, Middle East & Africa (CISMEA)

Thales Group; Dubai; On-site; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Thales Group is looking for a senior professional to manage PAY Digital projects and services across the CIS, Middle East, and Africa. Ideal candidates will have significant experience in project management, excellent interpersonal skills, and a strong ability to lead teams to meet business objectives. This role involves fostering strategic customer relationships and ensuring high project delivery standards.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in people management.
• Solid knowledge of PMP or other Project Management certification.
• Excellent communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Drive project delivery to meet revenue margin objectives.
• Manage and lead a team of Project Managers.
• Ensure high Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) and Net Promoter Scores (NPS).

Skills

People Management

Interpersonal Skills

Risk Management

Program Management

Negotiation Skills

Organizational Skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in computer science

Master’s degree in computer science

Tools

Project Management tools

SaaS model knowledge

Monitoring tools

AWS

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Thales people architect identity management and data protection solutions at the heart of digital security. Business and governments rely on us to bring trust to the billons of digital interactions they have with people. Our technologies and services help banks exchange funds, people cross borders, energy become smarter and much more. More than 30,000 organizations already rely on us to verify the identities of people and things, grant access to digital services, analyze vast quantities of information and encrypt data to make the connected world more secure.Thales has built a presence in the United Arab Emirates for over 35 years, and today has over 300 employees. Thales in the UAE is part of our Middle East business that has 1,800 people across Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, KSA, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar and UAE. Together we delivered technology for the Dubai metro, the longest driverless metro network in the world and a fare collection system that processes up to 250,000 transactions per day. We make UAE a safer place by providing secure electronic payment solutions, cyber security systems and communications as well as security systems for Dubai International Airport and air traffic management and navigation systems for Abu Dhabi’s airport.

Position Summary:

• Act as the primary point of contact for PAY Digital customers across CIS, Middle East, and Africa for projects and services.
• Drive project and service delivery to meet target time-to-market (TTM) and revenue margin objectives.
• Manage and lead a team of Project Managers, ensuring their growth, performance, and alignment with business objectives.
• Align closely with regional sales and CSM teams on engagement strategies for customers and prospects.
• Maintain strong relationships with strategic PAY Digital customers.
• Support project teams in resolving roadblocks and ensuring alignment with Thales PAY strategy.
• Conduct regular capacity planning to ensure delivery teams are appropriately staffed.
• Coach and develop Project Managers, enhancing their expertise in best PM practices and technologies.
• Ensure high Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) and Net Promoter Scores (NPS), leading postmortems for continuous improvement.
• Optimize delivery efficiency and cost-to-serve to support business growth.

Essential Functions / Key Areas of Responsibility :

• Team Management & Development

• Lead the Professional Services team, including Project Managers and, indirectly, Technical Integrators.
• Define objectives, KPIs, and standardized processes for the team.
• Provide coaching, mentoring, and skills development programs.
• Ensure operational efficiency and alignment with regional and global strategies.

• Project & Service Delivery Execution

• Oversee smooth execution of project delivery activities in the region.
• Act as Regional PMO, ensuring project execution aligns with global best practices.
• Conduct peer reviews and project audits to assess scope, risks, and execution quality.
• Ensure seamless handover to Operations (CRE) through structured Thales processes (SDVR).

• Stakeholder & Cross-Functional Engagement

• Act as key interface between regional sales, business teams, and Thales CDI PAY corporate functions (Product Owners, Business Owners, R&D, Marketing, Management).
• Align regional execution with BL and CE&S management strategies, driving stakeholder buy-in.
• Maintain active communication with strategic customers and internal leadership to ensure alignment on priorities.

• Governance & Crisis Management

• Serve as the regional Crisis Management Leader and escalation point for delivery-related issues.

• Performance & Financial Management

• Achieve regional KPIs set by the CE&S Director (e.g., TTM, Customer Satisfaction, Cost-To-Serve, Project Variance, Operation Rate, Project Margin).
• Maintain a regional financial tracker for project activities in coordination with the Financial Controller.
• Review MRBOA (business case GO/No GO) for regional project opportunities, optimizing scope, risks, and timelines.

• Process & Governance

• Roll out internal CE&S programs and ensure compliance with regional policies.
• Continuously refine project lifecycle processes in alignment with CE&S best practices.
• Ensure adherence to local/regional site policies and regulatory requirements.
• Lead monthly SteerCo/status meetings to review ongoing projects and key challenges.

Minimum Requirements: Skills, Experience & Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science or relevant related field of study.
• +10 years of experience in people management.
• Solid knowledge of PMP or other Project Management certification.
• Knowledge on SaaS model, PM tools, monitoring tools.
• Experience in direct cooperation with international customers & teams.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Very good organizational and negotiation skills.
• Ability to make decisions and take initiatives.
• Program Management.
• Risk Management.
• Project Finance.
• Fluent in Professional English.
• French is a plus.
• Sound background of as many from: Digital Payment, Cloud Technologies, Infra, and environments AWS, Docker & Kubernetis), Solution Architecture and Mobile App development.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in computer science.
• PMI certification.
• Experience working on cloud environment and SaaS model.
• Work on different time zones with customers and teams located in different areas.

#LI-MM1

At Thales we provide CAREERS and not only jobs. With Thales employing 80,000 employees in 68 countries our mobility policy enables thousands of employees each year to develop their careers at home and abroad, in their existing areas of expertise or by branching out into new fields. Together we believe that embracing flexibility is a smarter way of working. Great journeys start here, apply now!