Strategy Program Lead – Governance & Delivery Assurance

SOLGulf; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 300,000 - 450,000; Full time

Job summary

SOL Gulf is seeking a Strategy Program Lead to govern and assure the delivery of a portfolio of strategic initiatives for a major Saudi enterprise client.

The role oversees stage gates, dependencies, risks and issues, and prepares executive scorecards. Ideal candidates have PMO, strategy execution or transformation experience and can blend governance with hands-on delivery in a hybrid on-site setting.

Qualifications

• 7–12 years in PMO, program or portfolio roles.
• Experience governing initiatives with stage gates and executive reporting.
• Saudi market experience with enterprise or government clients preferred.
• Certification such as PMP, PgMP, PRINCE2, MSP or P3O is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Governance for a portfolio of strategic initiatives across themes.
• Run stage-gate reviews, scope, budget baselines and benefit plans.
• Prepare gate decisions for the Integration Forum and Steering Committee.
• Coordinate dependencies across initiatives with PMO, EA and owners.
• Produce weekly health reports and maintain risk, issue and change logs.

Skills

PMO governance

Executive reporting

Stakeholder management

Hybrid on-site/offshore

Change management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in business, Engineering, Information Technology or related field

Tools

Microsoft 365

Excel

Power BI

Job description

Role: Strategy Program Lead – Governance & Delivery Assurance

Open Positions: 3

Department: Consulting & Program Delivery

Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (on-site at client premises)

Job Type: Full Time, project-based assignment (12 to 36 months)

Experience: 7-12 years

Residence Permit: Saudi national candidates are preferred for at least one position. For the other positions, candidates with an existing transferable Saudi iqama are preferred.

Availability: Immediate to 30 days notice preferred (mobilization within two weeks of project award)

SOL Gulf: Company Profile

SOL helps businesses modernize technology, optimize processes, and accelerate success so our clients stay ahead in a hyper-changing world. We are an ambitious team of technology experts with a vision to deliver world-class implementation of digital transformation and technology solutions. Based in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and UAE, SOL combines global technology capabilities with local delivery excellence.

SOL Quick Facts

Established: 2017

Headquarters: SOL Gulf, Saudi Arabia

Regional Offices: Genesis Systems US, UAE, SOL Pakistan

Strategic Alliances: Microsoft, Google Cloud, Oracle, IBM

Website: www.solgulf.com

Role Overview

SOL Gulf is looking for Strategy Program Leads to govern and assure the delivery of a portfolio of strategic initiatives within a Strategy Execution & Value Realization Office for a major Saudi enterprise client.

Each Program Lead owns governance and assurance for a theme or group of initiatives: stage gates, dependencies, risks and issues, health reporting and the data behind executive scorecards. One lead also owns the standards, methodology and templates used by the whole office.

The ideal candidate comes from a PMO, strategy execution or transformation office background, has worked with business and IT stakeholders in large organizations and can combine governance discipline with practical, hands-on follow-through.

Key Responsibilities

1. Initiative Governance & Stage Gates

• Run intake, stage-gate reviews and readiness checks for the initiatives in your theme.
• Ensure each initiative has a plan, budget baseline, milestones, risks and a benefit plan agreed with the PMO and the owner.
• Prepare gate decisions and recommendations for the Integration Forum and Steering Committee.

2. Cross-Functional Coordination

• Map and track dependencies across initiatives and themes and drive resolution in the Integration Forum.
• Coordinate with PMO, enterprise architecture, business owners and vendors without duplicating their roles.

3. Delivery Assurance, Risks & Issues

• Prepare weekly health reports and maintain risk, issue and change registers for your theme.
• Track schedule, budget and outcome variance from PMO data and raise early warnings.
• Follow escalations to closure within agreed time limits.

4. Reporting & Performance Data

• Validate KPI and delivery data from initiative owners and the PMO for the executive dashboards.
• Draft insight notes and decision papers for senior stakeholders.

5. Standards, Methodology & Templates (standards owner position)

• Develop and maintain the governance framework, playbooks, templates and quality checklists.
• Run training and adoption of the standards across the office and the client PMO.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Engineering, Information Technology or a related field.
• 7-12 years of experience in PMO, program or portfolio management, strategy execution or transformation office roles.
• Experience governing multiple initiatives or projects with stage gates, dependencies and executive reporting.
• Professional certification such as PMP, PgMP, PRINCE2, MSP or P3O is strongly preferred.
• Experience in the Saudi market, particularly with enterprise or government clients, is preferred.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft 365, Excel and Power BI dashboards.
• Fluent English is required; Arabic proficiency is strongly preferred.

Competencies & Soft Skills

• Disciplined, detail-oriented and reliable follow-through.
• Strong influencing skills with stakeholders who do not report to you.
• Clear written communication and concise executive reporting.
• Comfortable working in a hybrid on-site and offshore team.
• Professionalism, integrity and responsiveness.

What We Believe

We have an unwavering commitment to diversity with the aim that every one of our people has a full sense of belonging within our organization. Inclusion and diversity are fundamental to our culture and help us bring different perspectives to the clients and communities we serve.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

SOL Gulf is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are based on role requirements, qualifications, experience and merit, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.