Job description

Role Summary

Experienced Program Manager (10+ years) required to lead the mobilisation and planning phase of a data transformation program within the higher education sector in Saudi Arabia. The initial 3-month engagement will focus on establishing the program plan, governance, delivery approach, and readiness for implementation of a new Microsoft Azure-based data environment (e.g., data platform, integration, analytics, and reporting). The role will work with senior university stakeholders, IT/data teams, and delivery partners to set the program up for successful execution.

________________________________________

Key Responsibilities

• Program mobilisation & planning (first 3 months): Define scope, outcomes, roadmap, workstreams, milestones, dependencies, and resourcing plan for the Azure data environment implementation.
• Governance & operating model: Establish program governance, decision forums, reporting cadence, RAID management, and delivery standards (templates, controls, stage gates).
• Stakeholder management: Engage senior leadership and business owners (e.g., academic, finance, student services, research) to align priorities, secure sponsorship, and manage expectations.
• Delivery partner/vendor coordination: Manage relationships with systems integrators, Microsoft/Azure partners, and internal IT teams; clarify roles, responsibilities, and deliverables.
• Requirements & use-case alignment: Drive discovery workshops to confirm priority use cases, data domains, reporting needs, and success measures.
• Data & platform readiness: Coordinate planning for data migration, integration, security, identity/access, data governance, and target architecture alignment (working with technical leads).
• Define and implement adoption & benefits tracking (baseline, targets, KPIs, dashboard reporting).
• Lead preparation for cutover and hypercare, including legacy coexistence approach, support model, SLAs, escalation paths, and handoffs.
• Risk, issue, and dependency management: Identify and actively manage program risks (e.g., data quality, change adoption, integration complexity, timelines).
• Executive reporting: Produce clear program status reporting and recommendations for steering committees and senior stakeholders.

Skills

Skills & Experience Required

• Program management experience: 10+ years delivering complex technology and/or data programs, ideally including platform implementations and multi-workstream delivery.
• Data transformation background: Proven experience with enterprise data platforms, data migration/integration, analytics/BI, and data governance initiatives.
• Azure data platform exposure: Strong working knowledge of Azure-based data environments and implementation approaches (e.g., Azure Data Lake, Synapse/Fabric, Data Factory, Databricks, Purview—specific services can be flexible).
• Strong governance and planning capability: Demonstrated ability to stand up program controls, delivery plans, RAID, and reporting for senior audiences.
• Vendor/partner management: Experience managing SIs/consultancies and coordinating cross-functional technical teams.
• Communication & leadership: Excellent stakeholder engagement skills, able to influence at executive level and translate between business and technical teams.
• Delivery methods: Familiarity with Agile/hybrid delivery models and traditional program governance.
• Higher education sector experience (preferred): Understanding of university operating environments, stakeholder complexity, and common data domains (student, HR, finance, research).
• Regional experience (preferred): Experience working in Saudi Arabia or the GCC, with cultural awareness and ability to operate in complex stakeholder environments.

________________________________________

Requirements

• PMP / PRINCE2 / MSP and/or Agile certifications (e.g., SAFe, Scrum).
• Microsoft/Azure fundamentals or relevant cloud/data certifications.
• Experience with data governance frameworks and operating models.