The Manager Special Projects & Performance role is part of the regional Chief Operating Office organizational structure. This position plays a key pillar in driving strategic initiatives, business performance management, and cross-functional execution across the organization. Reporting into the Chief Operating Office structure, this role combines strategy, analytics, project management, and operational execution to support business growth, ensuring that priorities translate into outcomes while improving organizational performance.
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Responsibilities
- Own full visibility of COO functional KPIs across functions & markets. Surface risks and opportunities early — before they escalate. Drive turnaround when metrics deviate, with speed and precision. Build and maintain performance reporting frameworks that are insight-driven, not just data consolidations. Present findings to senior leadership in formats that are actionable, not decorative.
- Lead OKR & budgeting cycles, ensuring alignment across functions and markets. Track OKR/budget performance, analyze variances, flag risks well in advance to course-correct, and provide insights to leadership. Drive governance, planning timelines, and process improvements for financial planning. Ensure alignment between strategic priorities and financial allocations.
- Translate vision into executable plans; lead annual/multi-year strategic planning cycles and competitive analysis. Own integrated business planning (strategy → budget → OKRs → P&T roadmaps); drive operating cadence (plan with owners, timeline & clear accountability plan, offsites, reviews).
- Lead cross-functional strategic high-stakes projects requiring heavy coordination across Regional, Local, P&T. Manage stakeholder complexity across markets and functions without losing pace. Drive alignment from senior leadership to ground-level execution — and hold the thread across all of it.
- Lead AI adoption efforts within the functional performance teams. Identify where AI tools can replace manual reporting, accelerate analysis, and enhance the team's output quality. Push the team toward smarter, faster ways of working.
Requirements
- 3+ years in strategy, consulting, operations, or performance management — ideally in tech or a fast-paced consumer business
- Thought Leadership ability to drive innovation and impact
- Analytical Mindset & strong problem-solving skills with a focus on data-driven decisions
- Stakeholder Management, Cross-functional collaboration, Structured communicator — can compress complexity into clear, actionable output
- Experience with financial modelling and PnL analysis strongly preferred
- Experience using SQL, BigQuery, Looker, Tableau strongly preferred
Location
Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
