About the Job:
The Senior Portfolio Manager leads Airline Operations IT projects such as AIMs, Crew Pairing, Network Operations, Flight Tracking, and Realtime Connected Systems that support the company's strategic goals. This role demands expertise in portfolio and project management, along with knowledge of the airline operational industry. The manager ensures that technology initiatives deliver business value, including revenue growth, cost optimization, and enhanced customer experience. Success in this position is measured by adherence to time, budget, and quality standards.
The role promotes effective work practices, an agile mindset, and Lean Portfolio Management principles, managing a mix of agile and waterfall methodologies.
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Key Accountabilities:
- Partner with the executive team to translate business strategy into technology execution, aligning initiatives with organizational goals.
- Develop and maintain a multi-year IT portfolio roadmap, managing benefit realization and optimizing value delivery across teams.
- Lead fund allocation processes, chairing the Value Stream Board for business case approvals and investment prioritization.
- Plan and manage insourcing/outsourcing strategies, team resourcing, and recruitment to meet portfolio demands.
- Lead and develop high-performing cross-functional teams, ensuring performance management, motivation, and clear communication.
- Identify and resolve cross-portfolio risks, issues, and dependencies, ensuring efficient resource utilization and delivery.
- Create data-driven executive briefs and maintain strong relationships with senior stakeholders to remove blockers and drive progress.
- Oversee change management processes to ensure seamless adoption of new technologies, practices, and solutions.
- Ensure timely and budget-compliant initiative delivery using the most suitable delivery model (agile or waterfall).
- Promote lean-agile practices and delivery excellence, driving standardization, process simplification, and alignment with digital strategy.
Education & Experience:
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Business Administration, or a related field.
- 10+ years of experience, including 5–8 years in IT projects/portfolio management, ideally within the aviation or travel industry.
- Proven leadership capabilities with a strong track record in managing and developing high-performing teams.
- Demonstrated success in managing large-scale, complex IT portfolios with measurable business impact.
- Hands-on experience with both Agile and Waterfall project management methodologies.
- Exceptional communication, stakeholder engagement, and interpersonal skills.
- Proficient in using portfolio and project management tools and technologies.
- Strong analytical thinking, strategic planning, and problem-solving skills.
Language Requirements:
(If applicable, please add any specific language requirements here.)
About the company:
The company, the national airline of the UAE, was founded in 2003 and quickly became one of the world’s leading airlines. Based in Abu Dhabi, the company operates passenger and cargo flights to destinations across the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America. The airline has received numerous awards for its superior service, products, and loyalty programs. The company is on an ambitious journey to double its fleet size and triple its customer base over the next six years, aiming to be the airline everyone wants to fly with.
