Senior IT Project Manager | Banking

Role Overview

Senior IT Project Manager at GSSTech Group, joining the Group IT delivery function of one of the largest banks in the UAE.

Role Purpose

Own the full delivery of IT projects across planning, execution, monitoring and closure. You will own scope, schedule, budget, risk and governance, report into the Head of Agile, and serve as the highest internal escalation point on your projects while working closely with the PMO, business owners, IT teams and external vendors.

Key Responsibilities

Project Planning

• Define project scope, goals and deliverables with senior management and stakeholders, ensuring technical feasibility.
• Identify all phases, activities and effort required to complete the project.
• Build resource plans covering internal teams, contractors and vendors.
• Develop detailed project plans and baselines to track progress.

Project Execution

• Direct the full project lifecycle: initiation, planning, execution and closure.
• Coordinate internal teams, external consultants and contractors to deliver against plan.
• Deliver projects on schedule, within approved scope and within budget.
• Monitor and control the quality of deliverables at every stage.
• Ensure smooth coordination across Group IT teams.

Monitoring and Control

• Define and track project metrics, KPIs and quality measures.
• Track and manage defects and fixes through SIT and UAT.
• Manage the critical path and all cross team dependencies.
• Identify, manage and mitigate risks through a structured RAID process.
• Monitor budget utilisation, actual versus planned.

Governance and Reporting

• Define the communication plan, frequency and channels.
• Lead daily standups, Project Board and Steering Committee meetings.
• Prepare progress reports, highlight reports and MIS for the PMO.
• Present project status to business owners and senior stakeholders.

Risk, Change and Compliance

• Run project and change management in line with bank governance, PMO and QMS standards.
• Proactively manage scope changes and build contingency plans.
• Ensure compliance with Legal, Audit and Risk functions, and with Central Bank regulations for electronic and mobile banking solutions.

Team Management

• Resolve conflicts and keep the project team aligned and productive.
• Organise workshops with business and technology stakeholders.
• Monitor team timesheets daily and manage contractor resource renewals.
• Build and develop a high performing project team.

Qualifications & Experience

• 12+ years of overall IT experience.
• 8+ years holding the title of IT Project Manager or Senior Project Manager.
• 2+ years delivering IT projects inside a bank or financial institution.
• Degree in IT, Computer Science or Engineering, or equivalent experience.
• Valid PMP or PRINCE2 Practitioner certification.
• Proven delivery using both Waterfall and Agile methodologies.
• Direct ownership of project budgets, with experience in cost and budget analysis.
• Experience running Steering Committee and Project Board meetings.

Skills & Competencies

• Hands on with MS Project, Visio and the Microsoft Office suite.

Additional Information

Preferred Experience

• Delivery experience in digital, mobile or internet banking.
• Exposure to UAE Central Bank regulatory projects.
• Experience with Clarity PPM.
• Experience delivering core banking, payments or integration programmes.
• Experience managing vendor and contractor teams.

Important Notes

This role is not suited to Scrum Masters, Agile Coaches, Product Owners or Business Analysts without 8+ years of direct project management ownership. Applications without a valid PMP or PRINCE2 Practitioner certification will not be considered.