Technical Programme Manager - Academics

About the Job

the company is seeking a Technical Programme Manager — Academics to lead the delivery of the academic technology workstream within a major greenfield enterprise transformation programme. This role will combine programme management with technical oversight of Student Information Systems (SIS), Learning Management Systems (LMS), admissions and student lifecycle platforms. You will coordinate vendors, functional consultants and integration teams to deliver an integrated academic technology estate aligned with the programme’s target architecture.

Key Responsibilities

Programme Planning & Delivery

• Lead end-to-end delivery of the Academics technology workstream, managing scope, schedule, budget, resources, risks and quality.
• Develop and maintain an integrated delivery plan covering academic platforms, integrations, milestones and dependencies.
• Work with stakeholders to define objectives, requirements, deliverables and acceptance criteria.
• Monitor delivery performance, resolve issues and escalate risks or decisions that could affect programme commitments.
• Support team members and coordinate resource allocation across the workstream.

Academic Systems & Technical Oversight

• Provide technical delivery oversight across SIS, LMS, admissions and student lifecycle systems.
• Coordinate dependencies and integrations across the academic technology estate.
• Work with functional consultants, architects and engineering teams to translate academic requirements into deliverable solutions.
• Assure technical delivery quality and alignment with the target architecture and central design authority.
• Coordinate testing, acceptance and deployment activities with the relevant delivery teams.

Governance, Risk & Reporting

• Own the workstream’s risks, assumptions, issues and dependencies (RAID).
• Maintain governance documentation, delivery controls and regular status reporting.
• Track milestones, budget performance, change requests and cross-workstream dependencies.
• Provide clear updates to programme leadership and stakeholders, highlighting progress, blockers and required decisions.
• Ensure workstream governance aligns with the wider programme framework.

Vendor & Stakeholder Coordination

• Coordinate technology vendors, functional consultants and integration teams across a multi-vendor environment.
• Manage delivery commitments, dependencies and escalations across participating teams.
• Build effective relationships with academic, business and technology stakeholders.
• Facilitate workshops and delivery reviews to resolve competing priorities and maintain alignment.

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, Business or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience.
• Typically 7+ years of relevant industry experience, including at least 3 years in a similar programme management or technical delivery role.
• Proven experience managing technology programmes or projects, including planning, budgeting, resource coordination and delivery governance.
• Working knowledge of academic technology platforms, including SIS, LMS, admissions and student lifecycle systems.
• Understanding of systems integration and dependencies across enterprise applications.
• Experience managing RAID, delivery reporting and technical quality assurance.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate vendors, functional teams and technical specialists.
• Strong stakeholder communication, structured problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• Professional proficiency in English.

Preferred Qualifications & Experience

• Experience delivering education, higher education or academic technology transformation programmes.
• Experience implementing or integrating SIS, LMS, admissions or student lifecycle platforms.
• Experience working on greenfield enterprise transformation programmes.
• PMP, PRINCE2 or MSP certification.
• Advanced degree in a relevant discipline.
• Arabic language proficiency.

What We Look For

We are looking for a delivery leader who understands how academic systems support the student journey and can bring multiple teams together around a clear delivery plan. You should combine strong programme controls with sufficient technical understanding to challenge delivery assumptions, manage integration dependencies and maintain quality throughout implementation.