Programme Director

Programme Director

Location: Dubai

Reports to: [CIO / CTO / COO / Executive Board]

Industry: Technology / Digital Transformation / Consulting

Overview

We are seeking an experienced Programme Director to lead the delivery of large-scale, complex transformation programmes across the organisation. This role will be responsible for setting programme strategy, governing execution, managing senior stakeholders, and ensuring delivery against time, budget, and quality objectives.

This is a senior leadership position suited to an individual who can operate at board level while maintaining operational oversight across multiple workstreams.

Key Responsibilities

Programme Leadership & Strategy

• Define and own the end-to-end programme vision, roadmap, and governance framework
• Align programme outcomes to organisational strategy and executive objectives
• Establish clear KPIs and performance metrics across all workstreams

Delivery & Execution

• Oversee delivery of multi-million-pound transformation programmes
• Ensure milestones are met within agreed timeframes and budgets
• Proactively manage risks, dependencies, and change control processes
• Implement best-practice programme governance and reporting structures

Stakeholder Management

• Act as the primary interface between executive leadership and programme teams
• Manage senior stakeholders across technology, operations, finance, and external partners
• Present programme updates to board and C-suite level

Commercial & Financial Oversight

• Own programme budgets, forecasts, and cost optimisation initiatives
• Ensure commercial alignment with suppliers and delivery partners
• Drive value realisation and ROI tracking

Team Leadership

• Lead and mentor Programme Managers and Project Managers
• Build high-performing, cross-functional delivery teams
• Foster a culture of accountability and continuous improvement

Required Experience

• 12–15+ years’ experience in programme or portfolio leadership
• Proven track record delivering enterprise-scale transformation initiatives
• Experience managing budgets exceeding [£X / $X / AED X]
• Strong governance, risk, and financial management capability
• Experience operating in complex, matrix environments
• Background in digital transformation, ERP, cloud, infrastructure, or large-scale IT programmes

Preferred

• Experience within [GCC / UK / Global Enterprise environments]
• Industry certifications (MSP, PgMP, Prince2, PMP)
• Consulting background advantageous
• Experience engaging at board and executive level

Key Competencies

• Strategic thinking with strong execution discipline
• Exceptional stakeholder management and influencing skills
• Commercially astute with strong financial oversight
• Calm, decisive leadership under pressure
• Ability to manage ambiguity and organisational change