Unit Head - Program & Project Management Governance

Role : Unit Head - Program & Project Management Governance

Location : Abu Dhabi

Role Purpose:

Lead the Program & Project Management Governance function within Technology Transformation & Portfolio Management. Establish and maintain consistent governance, project assurance, portfolio controls and management reporting across technology programs and projects. Ensure initiatives comply with approved lifecycle standards, investment decisions, budgets, risk requirements and regulatory obligations. Build a capable and sustainable PM Governance team through effective FTE planning, UAE National development, succession planning, coaching and professional capability development.

Key Accountabilities of the role
Program & Project Management Governance Framework

• Establish, maintain and periodically improve the Technology project governance framework, policies, standards, templates and decision rights.
• Govern project lifecycle stage gates, required deliverables, approvals, exceptions and closure requirements.
• Ensure consistent application of PMO controls across programs, projects and transformation initiatives.
• Provide governance guidance to sponsors, program managers, project managers and delivery teams.

1. Portfolio Controls & Project Assurance

• Lead independent project health checks, quality reviews and assurance assessments based on delivery risk and materiality.
• Monitor scope, schedule, cost, benefits, risks, issues, dependencies, change requests and key decisions.
• Track corrective actions, governance exceptions and remediation commitments through closure.
• Maintain audit readiness and support internal, external and regulatory reviews relevant to project governance.

1. Portfolio Reporting & Performance

• Own portfolio dashboards, project status standards, data quality controls and reporting calendars.
• Provide accurate and timely management information for Technology Leadership and governance forums.
• Monitor delivery KPIs, portfolio health, investment performance and benefits realization.
• Identify trends, emerging risks and decision requirements, and escalate material concerns promptly.

1. Governance Forums & Stakeholder Management

• Coordinate portfolio and project governance forums, ensuring clear agendas, decision papers, minutes and action tracking.
• Partner with PM Delivery, Technology Transformation, Transformation & Enablement, Finance, Risk, Compliance, Audit, Procurement and Business stakeholders.
• Promote effective accountability, transparent decision-making and timely escalation across the portfolio.
• Act as the subject matter lead for PM governance, assurance and portfolio controls.

1. Workforce, FTE & Capacity Management

• Develop the PM Governance workforce and FTE plan aligned with portfolio demand, approved organization structure and budget.
• Monitor vacancies, recruitment, workload, deployment, utilization, capability gaps and succession risks.
• Optimize the balance of permanent employees, UAE National talent, contractors and strategic partner support.
• Provide workforce insights and recommendations to the Head of Technology Transformation & Portfolio Management and HR.

1. UAE National & Staff Development

• Create and maintain individual development plans for UAE Nationals and other staff within the PM Governance function.
• Provide role-based learning pathways covering project governance, portfolio management, controls, reporting, risk and leadership.
• Coordinate mentoring, coaching, job rotations, stretch assignments, knowledge transfer and professional certifications.
• Review development progress regularly, maintain evidence of capability growth and build succession readiness for critical roles.

1. Leadership & Continuous Improvement

• Lead, coach and develop the PM Governance team, setting clear objectives, service standards and accountabilities.
• Drive PMO maturity using lessons learned, assurance findings, performance trends and recognized good practices.
• Promote a culture of ownership, ethics, collaboration, customer focus and continuous improvement.
• Champion ADIB values and support engagement, retention and career development across the team.

1. Strategic Portfolio Alignment & Value Realization

• Support Technology Leadership in prioritizing initiatives aligned with ADIB strategic objectives and approved investment priorities.
• Ensure portfolio initiatives remain aligned with approved business cases, expected outcomes and value commitments.
• Monitor benefits realization across programs and projects and escalate material variances for decision and remediation.
• Track strategic interdependencies and assess their impact on portfolio value, delivery and risk.
• Provide value-based portfolio optimization recommendations to executive governance forums.

1. Portfolio Transparency & Knowledge Management

• Maintain a single source of truth for portfolio status, risks, issues, dependencies, decisions, benefits and governance evidence.
• Own the central repository for PMO standards, templates, project history, lessons learned and approved governance artifacts.
• Ensure portfolio information is complete, consistent, traceable, current and suitable for management decision-making.
• Promote reuse of lessons learned, standard templates and governance good practices across delivery teams.

1. Key Performance Indicators

• PM Governance & Compliance (30%): governance compliance at least 95%; stage-gate compliance 100%; audit action closure at least 95% within agreed timelines.
• Portfolio Assurance & Reporting (25%): portfolio reporting on schedule 100%; portfolio data quality at least 98%; planned project health reviews completed 100%.
• Strategic Alignment & Value Realization (15%): business case governance completion 100%; benefits tracking 100%; strategic alignment reviews completed 100%.
• Workforce & Capacity Management (10%): workforce forecast accuracy at least 90%; succession coverage for critical roles 100%.
• UAE National Development (10%): UAE Nationals with approved development plans 100%; planned development objectives completed at least 90%.
• PMO Maturity & Continuous Improvement (10%): annual governance improvement plan delivered; lessons learned embedded in methodology; PMO maturity improvement demonstrated year on year.

Specialist Skills / Technical Knowledge Required for this role:

PMO governance frameworks, policies, methodologies and lifecycle controls

• Portfolio governance, investment controls and benefits realization
• Project assurance, health checks, quality reviews and stage-gate governance
• Portfolio reporting, executive dashboards, KPIs and data quality management
• Risk, issue, dependency, change and decision management
• Audit, regulatory compliance and remediation tracking
• Agile, Waterfall and hybrid delivery governance
• FTE planning, workforce analytics and resource capacity management
• UAE National development, succession planning, mentoring and capability frameworks
• Stakeholder management, facilitation, influencing and executive communication
• Leadership, coaching, performance management and continuous improvement

Additional governance and performance capabilities:

• Strategic portfolio alignment and value-based prioritization
• Business case governance, benefits realization and investment tracking
• Portfolio performance management and executive KPI reporting
• Knowledge management, document traceability and PMO repository ownership