About the Role
The company is hiring a Senior IT Project Manager to join the Group IT delivery function of one of the largest banks in the UAE. You will own the full delivery of IT projects across planning, execution, monitoring, and closure, reporting into the Head of Agile and working closely with the PMO, business owners, IT teams, and external vendors.
This is a true Project Manager role. You will own scope, schedule, budget, risk, and governance. You will run Steering Committees and you will be the highest internal escalation point on your projects.
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Key Responsibilities
Project Planning
- Define project scope, goals, and deliverables with senior management and stakeholders, ensuring technical feasibility
- Identify all phases, activities, and effort required to complete the project
- Build resource plans covering internal teams, contractors, and vendors
- Develop detailed project plans and baselines to track progress
Project Execution
- Direct the full project lifecycle: initiation, planning, execution, and closure
- Coordinate internal teams, external consultants, and contractors to deliver against plan
- Deliver projects on schedule, within approved scope, and within budget
- Monitor and control the quality of deliverables at every stage
- Ensure smooth coordination across Group IT teams
Monitoring and Control
- Define and track project metrics, KPIs, and quality measures
- Track and manage defects and fixes through SIT and UAT
- Manage the critical path and all cross-team dependencies
- Identify, manage, and mitigate risks through a structured RAID process
- Monitor budget utilization, actual versus planned
Governance and Reporting
- Define the communication plan, frequency, and channels
- Lead daily standups, Project Board, and Steering Committee meetings
- Prepare progress reports, highlight reports, and MIS for the PMO
- Present project status to business owners and senior stakeholders
Risk, Change, and Compliance
- Run project and change management in line with bank governance, PMO, and QMS standards
- Proactively manage scope changes and build contingency plans
- Ensure compliance with Legal, Audit and Risk functions, and with Central Bank regulations for electronic and mobile banking solutions
Team Management
- Resolve conflicts and keep the project team aligned and productive
- Organise workshops with business and technology stakeholders
- Monitor team timesheets daily and manage contractor resource renewals
- Build and develop a high performing project team
Mandatory Requirements
(please apply only if you meet ALL of these)
- 12+ years of overall IT experience
- 8+ years holding the title of IT Project Manager or Senior Project Manager
- 2+ years delivering IT projects inside a bank or financial institution
- Valid PMP or PRINCE2 Practitioner certification
- Proven delivery using both Waterfall and Agile methodologies
- Direct ownership of project budgets, with experience in cost and budget analysis
- Experience running Steering Committee and Project Board meetings
- Hands-on with MS Project, Visio, and the Microsoft Office suite
- Degree in IT, Computer Science or Engineering, or equivalent experience
Preferred
- Delivery experience in digital, mobile, or internet banking
- Exposure to UAE Central Bank regulatory projects
- Experience with Clarity PPM
- Experience delivering core banking, payments, or integration programmes
- Experience managing vendor and contractor teams
Please note
This role is NOT suited to Scrum Masters, Agile Coaches, Product Owners or Business Analysts without 8+ years of direct project management ownership. Applications without a valid PMP or PRINCE2 Practitioner certification will not be considered.
