IT Cluster Manager - Aldar Education

Role Overview

IT Cluster Manager – Digital & Technology Services at Aldar Education in Abu Dhabi. The role provides strategic and operational leadership across the Super Premium Schools, ensuring that technology services are secure, reliable and aligned with each school's educational and operational priorities.

Company Overview

Aldar Education is the leading education group in Abu Dhabi, providing inclusive and innovative learning that inspires and empowers communities. The organisation offers a range of educational brands for learners from nursery through to adult education, with the broadest choice of curricula across the largest number of locations in Abu Dhabi. Working collaboratively, the education network aims to empower the next generation to shape the future while directly supporting the educational priorities of the Abu Dhabi Government, guided by the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030.

Role Purpose

Oversee the effective delivery of digital infrastructure, systems, cybersecurity, service support and technology-enabled improvement across the cluster. Work closely with school leadership teams and Aldar Education's central Digital and Enterprise Services function to drive service excellence, consistency and innovation while ensuring an exceptional experience for students, staff and the wider school community.

Key Responsibilities

Technology Strategy & Cluster Leadership

• Translate enterprise service delivery strategy, annual priorities and standards into a practical cluster delivery plan for assigned schools.
• Maintain an accurate view of current-state technology, risks, dependencies and future requirements across the cluster.
• Create technology roadmaps covering infrastructure, devices, applications, classroom technology, security and lifecycle replacement.
• Represent school requirements within group governance forums and ensure local delivery follows approved architecture, policy and standards.
• Promote a culture of professional service, ownership, collaboration and continuous improvement across all technology teams.

Service Delivery & User Experience

• Provide accountable school-level leadership for the availability, performance and user experience of technology services across all assigned schools.
• Implement consistent ITIL-aligned incident, request, problem and change-management practices across the teams, with clear SLAs, OLAs and escalation routes.
• Monitor teams performance, recurring issues, customer satisfaction, workload and operational risk, taking corrective action where required.
• Ensure timely, high-quality support for teaching, learning, examinations, school events, leadership and administrative operations.
• Maintain effective communications during outages, significant incidents and planned changes.
• Act as the primary escalation point for significant school technology incidents and coordinate resolution with central teams and suppliers.

Infrastructure, Networks & End-User Technology

• Monitor the local reliability and capacity of wired and wireless networks, internet connectivity, servers, cloud services, backups, telephony, printing and audio-visual platforms, escalating enterprise issues appropriately.
• Deliver the group device strategy through robust provisioning, endpoint management, patching, configuration, monitoring and lifecycle processes for staff and student technology.
• Ensure technical environments are documented, supportable and aligned with approved enterprise architecture and vendor standards.
• Maintain accurate asset inventories, including ownership, location, status, warranty and lifecycle information.
• Coordinate preventative maintenance, capacity planning and approved replacement programmes to reduce avoidable disruption.

Cybersecurity, Data Protection & Resilience

• Implement and monitor group cybersecurity policies, technical controls and remediation plans across the cluster.
• Maintain appropriate identity, access and privileged-account controls, ensuring access is granted, reviewed and removed promptly.
• Coordinate vulnerability remediation, security awareness, incident response and evidence gathering with central security teams.
• Maintain tested business continuity, backup and disaster recovery arrangements for critical school technology services.
• Ensure technology practices comply with UAE data protection requirements, applicable regulatory expectations and organisational policies.

Projects, Procurement & Supplier Management

• Manage delegated cluster technology budgets, procurement activity, licensing, asset lifecycles, supplier performance and value-for-money initiatives within approved governance.
• Lead local and HQ technology projects using clear scope, governance, risk, budget, testing, communication and handover arrangements.
• Develop business cases and technical requirements, evaluate solutions and support compliant procurement and contract processes.
• Manage suppliers against agreed deliverables, service levels, security requirements and commercial terms.
• Maintain accurate records of contracts, warranties, licences, assets, renewals and end-of-life risks.
• Coordinate approved technology projects, infrastructure upgrades, new-site readiness and system implementations from local planning through transition to service.

Educational Technology & School Operations

• Act as the senior technology adviser to Principals and leadership teams, translating operational and educational needs into sustainable technical solutions.
• Partner with ed tech leaders to ensure classroom technology is reliable, appropriate and supports effective teaching and learning.
• Support the safe and sustainable adoption of emerging technologies, including AI-enabled tools, in line with approved governance.
• Coordinate technology readiness for examinations, inspections, admissions cycles, major events and other critical operational periods.
• Work with safeguarding, facilities and security colleagues where technology platforms intersect with student safety and site operations.

People Leadership & Capability

• Lead, coach and performance-manage school-based IT teams.
• Set clear objectives, service expectations and development plans for direct and indirect team members.
• Build technical capability through coaching, knowledge sharing, training and documented standard operating procedures.
• Plan team capacity, rota coverage and escalation arrangements to ensure appropriate support across all assigned sites.
• Promote safeguarding, confidentiality, professional conduct and health and safety within the team.

Process Standardisation & Continuous Improvement

• Standardise technology processes, documentation and controls across the cluster while responding appropriately to each school's context.
• Use service data, risk registers and stakeholder feedback to drive continuous improvement and transparent performance reporting.

Governance, Reporting & Assurance

• Maintain cluster technology risk, asset, project and compliance registers and provide concise reporting to relevant stakeholders.
• Support internal and external audits, inspections and assurance reviews, ensuring actions are completed within agreed timelines.
• Track service performance, budget position, project delivery, security posture and lifecycle exposure through meaningful dashboards.
• Ensure policies, procedures, diagrams, inventories and recovery documentation remain accurate and accessible.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Information Systems, Cybersecurity or a related discipline.
• At least five to seven years' progressive experience in IT service delivery, infrastructure or technology operations, including a minimum of three years in a leadership role.
• Demonstrable experience supporting multiple sites or a complex, customer-facing organisation; experience within education is strongly preferred.
• Proven responsibility for teams, budgets, suppliers, infrastructure and technology projects.
• Experience managing critical incidents, cybersecurity risks, business continuity and service improvement.
• Experience presenting technology plans, risks and performance information to senior leadership.
• Relevant professional certification such as ITIL, Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA, PRINCE2/PMP or equivalent is highly desirable.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong knowledge of Microsoft 365, Entra ID/Azure, endpoint management, identity and access management, networking, Wi-Fi, backup and cloud technologies.
• Sound understanding of cybersecurity controls, vulnerability management, data protection, incident response and disaster recovery.
• Strong working knowledge of ITIL service-management practices, service desks, SLAs and OLAs, incident, problem and change management, CMDB and asset management.
• Experience using service-management and knowledge platforms such as Jira and Confluence.
• Strong project, budget, procurement, asset and supplier-management capability.
• Ability to balance strategic planning with hands-on operational leadership and decisive incident management.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder-management and influencing skills, including the ability to explain technical matters clearly to non-technical audiences.
• High levels of integrity, discretion, organisation, resilience and customer focus.

Additional Information

Aldar Education offers an attractive remuneration package including a range of benefits. The future-focused learning model includes both students and staff, placing special emphasis on professional development, coaching and training.

Successful candidates will have access to a wide network of professionals and opportunities to both lead and contribute to training others, as well as developing themselves.

Aldar Education is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff to share this commitment. Offers of appointment are subject to satisfactory references and police clearance.

Aldar Education is an equal opportunity employer, committed to a diverse and inclusive work environment and dedicated to its national development strategy. UAE Nationals are strongly encouraged to apply.

This job description is not all-inclusive. Aldar Education reserves the right to amend this job description at any time.