Engineering Operations Manager

Location: Dubai, United Arab EmiratesIn fast changing markets, customers worldwide rely on Thales. Thales is a business where brilliant people from all over the world come together to share ideas and inspire each other. In aerospace, transportation, defence, security and space, our architects design innovative solutions that make our tomorrow's possible.Thales has built a presence in the United Arab Emirates for over 35 years, and today has over 300 employees. Thales in the UAE is part of our Middle East business that has 1,800 people across Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, KSA, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar and UAE. Together we delivered technology for the Dubai metro, the longest driverless metro network in the world and a fare collection system that processes up to 250,000 transactions per day. We make UAE a safer place by providing secure electronic payment solutions, cyber security systems and communications as well as security systems for Dubai International Airport and air traffic management and navigation systems for Abu Dhabi’s airport.

Job Profile:

• Support the operations activities of the Engineering department for the Middle East and Africa regions.
• Accountable for technical choices and decision in the MEA Digital Projects, with a focus on the enablement of the business transformation: consistency on business, data, application and infrastructure architectures.
• Close coordination with Bid, Project and Procurement teams. Support all on-going Middle East projects including TET.
• Close coordination with BLs Engineering directors and managers, CTOs, Digital Champions.

Key Responsibilities:

Leadership and Team Management:

• Support the mentoring and the development of the engineering teams, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and high performance.
• Coordinate cross-functional collaboration between engineering teams and other departments such as Product Management, Quality Assurance, and Supply Chain.
• Act as the primary liaison between engineering operations and senior management, providing updates on project status, challenges, and resource needs.
• Facilitate communication and collaboration with external partners and vendors as necessary.

Project Management:

• Oversee the planning, execution, and delivery of engineering projects, ensuring adherence to timelines, budget, and quality standards.
• Provide the management and stakeholders with the up-to-date KPI to track progress and manage resources effectively.

Process Improvement:

• Manage the engineering scope of assessments and audit and the implementation of actions and recommendations.
• Identify opportunities for process optimization within engineering operations to enhance efficiency and productivity.
• Implement best practices and standards in engineering operations to ensure consistency and quality.

Resource Management:

• Support the management engineering resources, including staff allocation and performance management, to ensure project needs are met.
• Collaborate with HR to identify staffing needs and support recruitment efforts for engineering functions.
• Ensures the proper learning, coaching and craftsmanship to support the professional development of employees (competences, skills and careers).

Financial Oversight:

• Develop and manage the engineering operations budget, ensuring financial accountability and resource allocation.
• Monitor and report on KPIs related to engineering performance and operational efficiency.

Stakeholder Communication:

• Ease and facilitate the communication with senior management by providing updates on project status, challenges, and resource needs.
• Facilitate communication and collaboration with external partners and vendors as necessary.

Operation of the department:

• Support the operation of the Digital and Engineering department to ensure the respect of the Group process and the skills management.
• Support the preparation of the Digital and Engineering budget.

Technical lead of Digital activities

• Support technically the Commercial activities, Bids and Projects by providing technical knowledge on:
• Digital Technologies: Cloud technologies, IaC technologies, IT technologies.
• IA and Data Technologies: Big Data stacks, Data Pipelines, IA technologies.

Job Qualification:

• Minimum a master's degree or equivalent in relevant field.
• 10 years of experience on project delivery or work package management.
• 5 years of experience in Engineering management.
• Fluent in English is mandatory.
• Management of a transversal team.
• Strong knowledge on Audit and Peer Assessment projects.
• Strong knowledge of project management methodologies and tools.
• Ability to analyze complex data and make data-driven decisions.
• Proficiency in budgeting and financial management.

Preferred Skills:

• Exhibit leadership in identifying and resolving issues.
• Capability to influence key stakeholders (Internal & External).
• Team building.
• Multi tasks management capability.
• Experience in leading the governance within large projects environments, such as projects boards and senior stakeholder reporting including Strategic planning.
• Experience in the change management projects and Digital impact on organizations.
• Communication, creativity, teamwork and motivational, and soft skills are mandatory.

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At Thales we provide CAREERS and not only jobs. With Thales employing 80,000 employees in 68 countries our mobility policy enables thousands of employees each year to develop their careers at home and abroad, in their existing areas of expertise or by branching out into new fields. Together we believe that embracing flexibility is a smarter way of working. Great journeys start here, apply now!