Unit Head - Program & Project Management Delivery

Careerwebsite; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 450,000 - 750,000; Full time

Job summary

Careerwebsite is seeking a Unit Head to lead the Program & Project Management Delivery function in Abu Dhabi. You will oversee end-to-end technology program execution, ensuring scope, schedule, budget, quality, and governance are met while managing risks and stakeholders.

The role focuses on building a sustainable delivery organization through disciplined capacity planning, UAE National development, and leadership of PM teams. Strong governance and vendor management are essential.

Qualifications

• Specialist skills in enterprise program and project delivery management.
• Experience with agile, waterfall and hybrid delivery methodologies.
• Ability to manage PMO governance, stage gates and audits.

Responsibilities

• Lead planning and execution of technology program and project portfolio.
• Ensure delivery within scope, schedule, budget, quality and governance.
• Manage risks, dependencies, resources, vendors and stakeholders.

Skills

Agile

Waterfall

Hybrid delivery

Executive reporting

Stakeholder engagement

Leadership

Job description

Role: Unit Head - Program & Project Management Delivery

Location: Abu Dhabi

Role Purpose

Lead the Program & Project Management Delivery function within Technology Transformation & Portfolio Management and provide end-to-end oversight of technology program and project execution. Ensure initiatives are delivered within approved scope, schedule, budget, quality and governance requirements, with effective management of risks, dependencies, resources, vendors and stakeholders. Build a sustainable delivery organization through disciplined FTE and capacity planning, UAE National development, succession planning, coaching and professional capability development.

Key Accountabilities of the role

• 1. Program & Project Delivery Leadership
• Lead the planning and execution of the assigned Technology program and project portfolio.
• Ensure approved initiatives are delivered within scope, schedule, budget, quality and governance expectations.
• Set delivery priorities, accountabilities, milestones and recovery actions across project teams.
• Provide timely oversight and intervention for material delivery risks, delays and constraints.
• 2. Delivery Planning & Controls
• Ensure robust integrated plans, baselines, resource plans, financial forecasts and delivery schedules are maintained.
• Monitor milestones, critical paths, dependencies, changes, risks, issues and decisions throughout the lifecycle.
• Maintain delivery discipline through accurate status reporting, evidence-based forecasting and corrective action tracking.
• Ensure project closure, handover, lessons learned and benefits transition are completed effectively.
• 3. Stakeholder & Business Outcome Management
• Partner with project sponsors, Business and Technology stakeholders to confirm outcomes, priorities and acceptance criteria.
• Maintain clear stakeholder communication, decision logs, escalation routes and governance updates.
• Ensure delivery outcomes support approved business cases, strategic objectives and measurable benefits.
• Manage competing priorities and facilitate resolution of cross-functional dependencies.
• 4. Vendor & Financial Delivery Management
• Oversee vendor and strategic partner performance against contractual commitments, milestones, quality and service expectations.
• Monitor project financials, forecasts, commitments, variances and corrective actions within approved budgets.
• Work with Procurement, Finance and Legal stakeholders on commercial, contractual and delivery matters.
• Promote value for money, delivery accountability and effective use of internal and external resources.
• 5. Governance, Risk & Quality
• Ensure programs and projects comply with PM Governance standards, stage gates, controls and reporting requirements.
• Maintain effective management of delivery, operational, technology, regulatory and third-party risks.
• Support project assurance reviews, audits and remediation activities, ensuring actions are closed on time.
• Embed quality management, testing readiness, implementation governance and post-implementation review practices.
• 6. Workforce, FTE & Capacity Management
• Develop and maintain the PM Delivery workforce and FTE plan aligned with portfolio demand, budget and approved structure.
• Forecast delivery resource demand and balance permanent FTE, UAE National talent, contractors and strategic partners.
• Monitor vacancies, recruitment, allocation, utilization, productivity, skills gaps and succession risks.
• Provide capacity insights and recommendations to the Head of Technology Transformation & Portfolio Management and HR.
• 7. UAE National & Staff Development
• Create and maintain individual development plans for UAE Nationals and other staff in the PM Delivery function.
• Provide role-based pathways for project management, program management, stakeholder leadership, financial control and delivery governance.
• Coordinate mentoring, coaching, job rotations, stretch assignments, knowledge transfer and professional certifications.
• Review progress regularly, evidence capability growth and build succession readiness for critical delivery roles.
• 8. Leadership & Continuous Improvement
• Lead, coach and develop program managers, project managers and project management associates.
• Set clear performance objectives, delivery standards and accountability across the function.
• Use lessons learned and performance trends to improve delivery methods, tools and ways of working.
• Champion ADIB values, customer focus, ethics, ownership, collaboration and continuous improvement.

9. Role Complexity and Decision-Making

• Lead delivery across a large and complex portfolio comprising a large number of concurrent technology projects and programs.
• Manage significant financial exposure, regulatory criticality, delivery risk and cross-functional dependencies across Business and Technology.
• Make and recommend time-sensitive delivery, sequencing, resource and recovery decisions, including where outcomes depend on stakeholders outside the role's direct authority.
• Balance strategic priorities, operational constraints, risk appetite, customer impact, architecture direction and regulatory commitments when resolving delivery trade-offs.

10. Organizational Scope and Stakeholder Interfaces

• Report to the Head of Technology Transformation & Portfolio Management.
• Manage delivery and project management capacity, including program managers, project managers, project management associates and PM Partner resources supporting the portfolio.
• Work closely with complementary stakeholders including Transformation, Digital, PM Governance, IT Governance, Architecture, Cybersecurity, Risk, Compliance, Finance, Procurement, Operations and Business functions, among others.
• Clarify accountabilities between portfolio governance and delivery execution while maintaining effective hand-offs, challenge and escalation.

11. Technology and SDLC Delivery Ownership

• Ensure adherence to the approved technology delivery lifecycle and SDLC requirements across programs and projects.
• Ensure architecture alignment, cybersecurity and control readiness are addressed and evidenced at the appropriate delivery stages.
• Oversee testing readiness and completion, release planning, cutover governance, hypercare and operational acceptance.
• Ensure technology, operational and control stakeholders provide required approvals before implementation and closure.

12. Benefits Realization and Change Leadership

• Lead and/or support the tracking of outcomes from approved business case through delivery, operational handover and post-implementation benefits validation.
• Work with sponsors and benefit owners to define measures, baselines, ownership and validation arrangements for expected outcomes.
• Oversee change readiness, stakeholder adoption and embedding of new operating practices where programs require Business or Technology change.
• Escalate material benefit, adoption or readiness gaps and ensure agreed corrective actions are tracked.

13. Delivery Continuity and Resilience

• Establish succession and continuity arrangements for critical programs and delivery leadership roles.
• Identify and mitigate key-person dependencies across internal teams, vendors and strategic partners.
• Maintain transition and exit arrangements for vendor changes, contract expiry, performance failure or insourcing scenarios.
• Ensure critical project knowledge, plans, decisions and delivery evidence remain accessible and transferable.

14. Delivery Performance Measures

• Monitor portfolio delivery KPIs including milestone predictability, budget variance, delivery health, dependency ageing, benefits realization and closure quality.
• Use performance trends and leading indicators to prioritize interventions, recovery actions and resource decisions.
• Provide transparent KPI reporting and commentary to Technology Leadership and relevant governance forums.

Specialist Skills / Technical Knowledge Required for this role:

Enterprise program and project delivery management

• Agile, Waterfall and hybrid delivery methodologies
• Integrated planning, scheduling, dependency and critical path management
• Project financial management, forecasting and budget control
• Risk, issue, change, quality and benefits management
• PMO governance, stage gates, project assurance and audit readiness
• Executive reporting, stakeholder engagement and escalation management
• Vendor, commercial and strategic partner delivery management
• FTE planning, workforce analytics and resource capacity management
• UAE National development, succession planning, mentoring and capability frameworks
• Leadership, coaching, negotiation, decision-making and continuous improvement

Additional delivery leadership capabilities:

• SDLC governance, architecture alignment, cybersecurity and control readiness
• Testing governance, release management, cutover, hypercare and operational acceptance
• Benefits realization, post-implementation validation and change adoption
• Portfolio delivery KPIs, milestone predictability, budget variance, dependency ageing and closure quality
• Delivery continuity, key-person risk, vendor transition and exit planning
• Influencing and decision-making across complex stakeholder groups without direct authority