About the Role
A privately held energy company headquartered in Abu Dhabi is developing a large-scale LNG export terminal in Alaska, along with the associated marine, pipeline, and administrative infrastructure. The project is currently in its development phase, and the company is constructing a project delivery organization and support functions from a small core team. The IT Director will be the first and only senior IT appointment and will design the company's technology function from a near-blank base for both the Abu Dhabi corporate office and the US project organization.
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Responsibilities
- Define and own the IT strategy, architecture, and roadmap for the corporate entity and the project organization.
- Build the core corporate IT stack from scratch including identity and access management, cloud environment, collaboration and document management, endpoint management, networking, and telephony across two geographies.
- Select and implement business systems such as ERP/finance, HR, procurement, document control, and project controls, and manage the vendors delivering them.
- Establish cybersecurity policies, governance, threat monitoring, incident response, and disaster recovery standards appropriate to critical energy infrastructure and a US-regulated environment.
- Set up IT for remote and construction-site operations in Alaska, addressing connectivity challenges in a low-infrastructure, extreme-climate location, as well as site networks, field devices, and support models.
- Own the IT budget, including capex/opex planning and the contracts with managed service providers (MSPs), integrators, and software vendors.
- Ensure compliance with data protection and data residency obligations across UAE and US jurisdictions while supporting the company's obligations to lenders, partners, and regulators on IT and cyber matters.
- Build and lead the IT team as the organization scales through Final Investment Decision (FID) and into construction.
Qualifications
- 12+ years in IT, with a minimum of 5 years in a Head of IT / IT Director role reporting to executive level.
- Proven experience in establishing an IT function from the ground up; experience in greenfield builds, new entity setups, or major carve-outs is essential.
- A strong track record in oil & gas, LNG, power, or heavy industrial capital projects is preferred; experience with projects transitioning from development to construction to operations is a significant advantage.
- Hands-on depth in cloud environments (Azure and/or AWS), Microsoft 365 estate, identity management, and enterprise networking.
- Demonstrable ownership of cybersecurity within a critical infrastructure or operational technology-adjacent context; familiarity with frameworks such as NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF), ISO 27001 or equivalent is valued. Awareness of OT/ICS security and the IT–OT boundary is also beneficial.
- End-to-end ERP selection and implementation experience.
- Strong commercial and vendor management skills; comfortable negotiating and managing multi-million-dollar service contracts.
- Experience working across multiple jurisdictions and time zones, ideally including the US.
- Degree in computer science, information systems, or engineering; relevant certifications (CISSP, CISM, TOGAF, cloud architect) are advantageous.
- English fluency is essential.
- Willingness to be based in Abu Dhabi with regular travel to the US, as well as the ability to travel worldwide without restriction.
