Tech Category Lead

Confidential; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 350,000 - 520,000; Full time

Job summary

Confidential in the UAE seeks a Senior Technology Category Manager to lead procurement for core banking, cloud, data, AI tooling, and security platforms. You will shape category strategy, demand planning, and supplier onboarding in a regulated banking environment.

The role collaborates with security, risk, legal, and architecture teams to ensure compliant procurement outcomes, strong TCO analytics, and effective onboarding post-award.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in technology category management, technology procurement, or supplier management within banking/financial services.
• Proven record defining category strategies, RFP requirements, evaluation frameworks, and onboarding in regulated environments.
• Knowledge of CBUAE outsourcing expectations and information-security/data-protection standards.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain category strategies and supplier-market insight across core banking, cloud, SaaS, data/AI, cybersecurity, and fintech platforms.
• Define business/technical requirements, SLAs, and evaluation criteria for RFPs; collaborate with sourcing/Procurement Operations Lead.
• Coordinate with IT, Security, Architecture, Risk, Compliance, Legal to prepare RFP content and evaluate supplier proposals.
• Provide demand forecasts, TCO inputs, and market insights to support supplier selection and contracting.
• Own onboarding/mobilisation plan post-award, including security readiness, service acceptance criteria, and early-life performance monitoring.

Skills

Technology category management

Technology procurement leadership

Regulated environment knowledge

AI-enabled procurement tooling

Total cost of ownership analytics

Education

Bachelor’s degree in business, supply chain, technology, or engineering

Job description

This is a leading institution in the UAE that is building a digital-first, AI-enabled financial services organisation from the ground up. This is a unique opportunity to join at an early stage and help shape the people, operational, and service foundations of a business with significant institutional backing and long-term ambition. If you're passionate about HR operations, payroll excellence, and creating exceptional employee experiences, we'd love to hear from you.

Role Purpose:

Owns category planning, business requirements, RFP content and supplier onboarding for the bank’s technology and digital estate, including core banking, cloud, SaaS, data and AI tooling, cybersecurity, hardware, telecom, and fintech platforms. Partners with the Procurement Operations Lead, who leads sourcing, to ensure appointed solutions are commercially appropriate, controlled, and ready for Day-1 deployment and ongoing operation.

Key responsibilities:

• Develop and maintain category strategies, demand roadmaps, requirements, and supplier-market insight across core banking, cloud, infrastructure, SaaS, data and AI, cybersecurity, payments technology, and connectivity.
• Define business and technical requirements, scopes, service levels, evaluation criteria, and implementation expectations for RFPs; work with the Procurement Operations Lead, who owns the sourcing process and commercial procurement activity.
• Coordinate Technology, Information Security, Architecture, Risk, Compliance, Legal, and business subject-matter experts to prepare RFP content and lead the business and technical evaluation of supplier proposals.
• Provide demand forecasts, technology requirements, total-cost-of-ownership inputs, and supplier-market insight to the Procurement Operations Lead to support supplier selection, commercial negotiation, and contracting.
• Own the business-side onboarding and mobilisation plan after supplier appointment, including implementation dependencies, security and control readiness, service acceptance criteria, operational handover, and early-life performance monitoring.
• Ensure supplier onboarding requirements support applicable outsourcing, information-security, data-protection, resilience, and exit-readiness standards, working with the relevant control functions.
• Monitor technology category performance, service outcomes, consumption trends, and stakeholder feedback; identify opportunities to improve requirements, rationalise demand, or refresh future RFPs.
• Maintain category documentation, RFP requirements, evaluation records, and onboarding evidence in line with procurement and third-party governance standards.
• Apply approved analytics and AI-enabled tools for demand analysis, supplier-market insight, requirements development, and onboarding tracking, with human validation of outputs.

Required Skills & Experience:

• 8+ years in technology category management, technology business procurement, or supplier management within banking or financial services, including senior leadership of a technology and digital category management team.
• Deep expertise in technology platforms and services, technology commercial models, software licensing, cloud consumption, cybersecurity, and fintech supplier ecosystems.
• Proven record defining technology category strategies, RFP requirements, evaluation frameworks, and supplier onboarding arrangements in a regulated environment.
• Strong knowledge of relevant CBUAE outsourcing expectations and applicable information-security, data-protection, and operational-resilience standards.
• Exposure to AI-enabled procurement tooling, technology demand analytics, supplier-market insight, and advanced total-cost-of-ownership analytics.

Qualifications & Certifications (Preferred)

• Bachelor’s degree in business, supply chain, technology, engineering, or a related field preferred.
• Professional procurement certification (for example, CIPS or CPSM) and technology procurement experience preferred.
• CBUAE Fit & Proper requirements and any applicable controlled-function eligibility criteria, where required.