Principal Lead, Service Management

Role Overview

Principal Lead, Service Management at First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), based in Abu Dhabi. The role leads the IT Service Management function, establishing governance, standards and assurance to deliver resilient, secure and business-aligned technology services across the enterprise.

Role Purpose

Establish and execute enterprise IT Service Management governance, standards and operating model to drive service quality, operational resilience, service continuity, change enablement, configuration management and performance oversight. Ensure critical banking services remain stable, compliant and customer-focused while enabling FAB's digital transformation and growth ambitions.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy & Operating Model

• Define and execute the enterprise ITSM strategy, roadmap and operating model aligned to FAB's business, technology and resilience objectives.
• Support the bank's transformation agenda by embedding resilient-by-design principles into technology delivery, agile ways of working and service lifecycle management.

Service Continuity & Operational Resilience

• Lead the bank's IT service continuity and operational resilience capabilities, including disaster recovery governance, testing programmes, recovery assurance and regulatory readiness.
• Drive end-to-end service visibility and service mapping to strengthen service ownership, dependency management, impact assessment and resilience decision-making.
• Manage high-priority incidents, conduct root cause analyses and oversee risk-controlled change management processes.

Governance, Standards & Oversight

• Establish governance, standards and oversight for Change Enablement, Configuration Management, Service Quality Management and Service Performance Management.
• Identify, manage and escalate operational risks, control weaknesses, service vulnerabilities and cross-functional dependencies impacting critical business services.

Service Intelligence & Continuous Improvement

• Champion data-driven service management through effective use of service intelligence, automation, observability, AI and AIOps capabilities to improve operational insight, proactive risk detection and service performance.
• Drive continual service improvement initiatives and align IT services with business goals.
• Analyze complex service management metrics and identify actionable insights.

Stakeholder & Executive Engagement

• Provide leadership representation for ITSM, resilience and operational assurance across executive, governance, audit and regulatory forums.
• Partner with senior stakeholders across Technology, Business, Risk, Compliance, Audit and strategic suppliers to strengthen service reliability and customer outcomes.
• Manage strong stakeholder relationships with C-level executives and cross-functional teams.

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead and develop high-performing teams, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement and alignment with FAB Values.
• Build, mentor and lead high-performing teams across diverse geographies.
• Drive cultural change and promote a customer-first mindset within IT teams.

Commercial & Vendor Management

• Oversee strategic supplier performance and commercial engagements, ensuring services, tools and partners deliver optimal value, capability and business outcomes.
• Manage third-party service providers and vendor relationships to ensure SLA adherence and optimal cost efficiency.
• Manage the ITSM budget and resource plans, ensuring investment is aligned with the bank's service quality, operational resilience and regulatory priorities.
• Secure funding and sponsor initiatives that enhance ITSM maturity, service continuity, automation, AIOps and workforce capability across the bank.

Qualifications & Experience

• 12 or more years of experience in IT service delivery, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role.
• Proven track record of implementing ITIL-based service management frameworks in complex, large-scale organizations.
• In-depth knowledge of IT operations and service management in the banking or financial services sector.
• Vast experience working with critical banking systems, digital channels and regulatory requirements.
• Experience managing high-priority incidents, conducting root cause analyses and overseeing risk-controlled change management processes.
• Proven success in building, mentoring and leading high-performing teams across diverse geographies.
• Experience driving cultural change and promoting a customer-first mindset within IT teams.
• Experience managing third-party service providers and vendor relationships to ensure SLA adherence and optimal cost efficiency.
• Strong stakeholder management experience working with C-level executives and cross-functional teams.
• Hands-on experience with IT transformation initiatives, including automation, cloud adoption and AI in IT service delivery.
• Track record of driving continual service improvement initiatives and aligning IT services with business goals.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Business or Information Technology.
• ITIL Foundation (v4 preferred) plus advanced ITIL certifications.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong ability to define and execute ITSM strategies that align with organizational objectives.
• Proactive decision-making skills, especially under high-pressure situations.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills to interact effectively with senior leadership, technical teams and business units.
• Strong interpersonal skills to manage conflicts and negotiate solutions.
• Deep understanding of IT infrastructure, application delivery, monitoring tools and service management technologies.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms, automation tools and AI-driven IT service solutions.
• Ability to analyze complex service management metrics and identify actionable insights.
• Strong focus on identifying root causes and delivering sustainable solutions.
• Expertise in managing major incidents and ensuring rapid restoration of critical services.
• Experience in developing and executing disaster recovery and business continuity plans.
• High level of emotional intelligence and resilience to manage diverse teams and high-pressure scenarios.
• Customer-focused mindset with commitment to delivering exceptional service quality.
• Ability to balance strategic vision with hands-on operational execution.

Additional Information

Preferred Certifications & Knowledge

• Certification in Agile, Scrum or DevOps methodologies (e.g., Certified Scrum Master, DevOps Foundation).
• Additional certifications such as CISM, CISA or PMP.
• Familiarity with UAE and international banking regulations, data privacy and security standards.
• Proficiency in ITSM tools (e.g., ServiceNow, PagerDuty).
• Knowledge of automation and monitoring tools used in large-scale IT environments.