Strategy & Operations Manager

Confidential; Dubai; On-site; AED 350,000 - 550,000; Full time

Job summary

Confidential in Dubai seeks an Operations & Strategy Project Manager to act as COO’s trusted right hand, building the company’s operational backbone from the ground up and establishing scalable systems, processes, and rhythms.

You will translate leadership priorities into clear roadmaps, run a portfolio of strategic initiatives, design governance and reporting cadences, and drive execution with disciplined stakeholder engagement.

Qualifications

• 6+ years in strategy, transformation, or programme/project management, ideally including experience supporting a leadership office
• Proven experience managing a portfolio of multiple concurrent initiatives across qualification, prioritisation, delivery, and reporting
• Background in professional services preferred
• Experience building and scaling a function or capability from the ground up is a clear advantage

Responsibilities

• Act as the COO's right hand, managing a portfolio of strategic and operational initiatives from qualification to delivery and value realisation
• Partner with senior leadership and business teams to translate strategic priorities into clear roadmaps, delivery plans, and measurable outcomes
• Design and implement the operating model, governance structure, decision forums, and reporting cadence needed to run business enablement functions effectively
• Lead cross-functional initiatives, coordinating stakeholders, timelines, risks, and implementation
• Build and manage stakeholder and champion networks to identify opportunities, share knowledge, and connect business needs with the right expertise
• Support the development of strategic proposals and business cases for leadership consideration, including opportunity sizing, priority areas, and recommendations

Job description

We are seeking an Operations & Strategy Project Manager to act as a trusted right hand to the Chief Operations Officer, to help build the operational backbone of the company from the ground up – establishing the systems, processes, and rhythms needed to scale.

The role sits within a professional services environment, and the incumbent will be accountable for translating leadership priorities into structured roadmaps, running a portfolio of strategic and operational initiatives, and building the governance, processes, and stakeholder engagement needed to deliver them at pace.

The successful candidate will operate close to senior leadership on sensitive and high-visibility priorities, therefore sound judgement, discretion, and comfort with ambiguity are critical attributes.

Responsibilities

Strategy & Programme Management:

• Act as the COO's right hand, managing a portfolio of strategic and operational initiatives from qualification and prioritisation through to delivery and value realisation


• Partner with senior leadership and business teams to translate strategic priorities into clear roadmaps, delivery plans, and measurable outcomes


• Design and implement the operating model, governance structure, decision forums, and reporting cadence needed to run business enablement functions effectively


• Lead cross-functional initiatives, coordinating stakeholders, timelines, risks, and implementation


• Build and manage stakeholder and champion networks to identify opportunities, share knowledge, and connect business needs with the right expertise


• Support the development of strategic proposals and business cases for leadership consideration, including opportunity sizing, priority areas, and recommendations

Operations:

• Lead the digitisation and continuous improvement of core operational processes, replacing manual activities with centralised, scalable solutions


• Drive the adoption of digital and AI-enabled tools across the business, managing communication, training, and change management

Candidate Profile

Experience & Background

• 6+ years in strategy, transformation, or programme/project management, ideally including experience supporting a leadership office


• Proven experience managing a portfolio of multiple concurrent initiatives across qualification, prioritisation, delivery, and reporting


• Background in professional services preferred


• Experience building and scaling a function or capability from the ground up is a clear advantage

Technical Skills

• Strong grounding in programme and portfolio governance, operating model design, and stakeholder management


• Hands‑on experience with project and collaboration tools


• Comfortable building and presenting analysis and dashboards


• Familiarity with AI enablement, digital transformation, or process automation initiatives is a strong advantage

Personal Attributes

• Discretion in handling confidential and commercially sensitive information


• Highly organised with strong attention to detail; capable of managing multiple competing priorities and deadlines while maintaining quality and pace


• Comfortable operating with ambiguity, structuring undefined problems, and driving them to a clear outcome


• Articulate communicator, able to calibrate tone and content when engaging with employees, business leaders, and stakeholders