Senior Manager - Projects
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Key skills for this role
About the Role
Aldar Academies seeks a Senior Manager - Projects to lead complex strategic programmes, CAPEX projects, and business transformation initiatives. The role requires managing cross-functional teams, governance, and stakeholder relationships to ensure successful project delivery.
Key Skills for This Role
Responsibilities
- Lead delivery of complex strategic programmes and high impact projects from initiation to closure
- Develop and maintain integrated project plans, governance frameworks, and delivery strategies
- Manage project scope, schedule, budget, quality, risks, issues, dependencies, and changes
- Prepare executive level project updates and lead governance meetings
- Mentor and provide guidance to Project Managers on delivery and governance
Requirements
- Experience leading complex strategic programmes and high impact projects
- Experience managing CAPEX/development projects
- Strong stakeholder management and cross functional coordination skills
- Knowledge of PMO governance standards and reporting
- Ability to mentor and guide project managers
Full Job Posting
Role Overview
- Responsible for leading delivery of Aldar Education's most complex strategic programmes, priority initiatives and high impact projects.
- Ensures successful delivery against agreed scope, schedule, budget, quality and governance requirements.
- Leads complex cross functional initiatives including design and build (CAPEX) projects, school developments, operational readiness and business transformation programmes.
Main Duties
- Lead delivery of complex strategic programmes and high impact projects from initiation through to closure.
- Manage projects involving capital investment, school developments, operational readiness, business transformation, organisational change and other strategic initiatives.
- Develop and maintain integrated project plans, governance frameworks, delivery strategies and programme roadmaps.
- Manage project scope, schedule, budget, quality, risks, issues, dependencies and change throughout the project lifecycle.
- Resolve complex delivery challenges and drive timely executive decision making.
- Ensure projects achieve agreed business objectives and intended outcomes.
CAPEX / Development Project Support
- Lead complex cross functional projects involving multiple internal and external stakeholders.
- Coordinate activities across Development, consultants, contractors, Education, Operations, Finance, Procurement, DTS, Marketing, P&C, Licensing and other business functions.
- Oversee design reviews, project approvals, operational requirements, procurement interfaces, readiness activities and project handover.
- Monitor project performance against programme, budget, quality and governance requirements.
- Identify delivery risks, recommend mitigation strategies and drive recovery actions.
PMO Governance, Controls & Reporting
- Ensure assigned projects comply with PMO governance standards, methodologies and reporting requirements.
- Prepare executive level project updates highlighting progress, risks, issues, dependencies, key decisions and recommendations.
- Lead governance meetings and support timely decision making through clear reporting and structured escalation.
- Maintain accurate project documentation, governance records and audit ready project files.
- Support continuous improvement of PMO governance, reporting standards, methodologies and delivery practices.
Stakeholder Management
- Build and maintain strong relationships with senior internal and external stakeholders.
- Coordinate cross functional teams to ensure alignment, accountability and timely delivery.
- Facilitate project meetings, workshops and governance forums, ensuring actions, decisions and risks are documented and followed through.
- Influence stakeholders to resolve issues, remove delivery barriers and maintain project momentum.
Leadership & Continuous Improvement
- Mentor and provide guidance to Project Managers on project delivery, governance and stakeholder management.
- Review key project documentation and reporting to ensure consistency with PMO standards.
- Support the Head of PMO with resource planning, project prioritisation and portfolio oversight.
- Identify opportunities to improve project delivery, governance, reporting and PMO processes.
Specific Duties
- Lead development and maintenance of project charters, integrated project plans, schedules, RAID logs, stakeholder registers, communication plans and decision logs.
- Monitor project milestones, dependencies, critical paths and deliverables across multiple workstreams.
- Prepare weekly, fortnightly and executive project reports highlighting progress, risks, overdue actions, decisions required and recommended actions.
- Lead project activities across Education, Operations, Enrolments, Finance, Procurement, DTS, Marketing, P&C, Licensing, schools, Development/AIP, consultants, contractors and other stakeholders.
- Plan and coordinate governance meetings, steering committees and management reviews including agendas, executive presentations, meeting minutes and action tracking.
- Prepare executive briefing papers, Board and EMT presentations and strategic programme updates.
- Monitor project risks, issues, dependencies and change requests ensuring timely mitigation, escalation and resolution.
- Coordinate governance approvals and ensure project decisions are documented and implemented.
- Lead project handover activities, operational readiness coordination, lessons learned and project closure documentation.
- Ensure project documentation is current, accessible and maintained in accordance with PMO governance requirements.
- Provide early warning to the Head of PMO on delivery risks, resource constraints, stakeholder issues and governance concerns.
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