Project Manager

ADSS is a successful retail and institutional brokerage based in Abu Dhabi. The company is currently undergoing a multi-year transformation to become a fast growing, purpose-led, data-driven enterprise that delivers market-leading personalized content, propositions and experiences to traders. To reinforce client-centricity the company structure, technology and operations are being redesigned alongside the crafting of a high-performance culture underpinned by The ADSS Way. The objective is for ADSS to become a dynamic and innovative, trusted market leader as measured by feedback from clients, talent, shareholders and competitors.

The Project Manager will act as a senior Agile lead and transformation driver within ADSS, responsible for implementing scalable project management frameworks, embedding Agile delivery practices, and ensuring cross-functional execution discipline across business and technology initiatives.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Delivery & Transformation

• Lead end-to-end delivery of multi-departmental strategic initiatives under the company’s transformation roadmap.
• Act as the Agile process owner, defining and embedding sprint structures, backlog management, and retrospectives across all project teams.
• Partner with Product, Commercial, and Technology heads to align project objectives with strategic business outcomes.
• Facilitate portfolio-level planning and prioritization - translating strategic goals into executable initiatives with clear KPIs, dependencies, and milestones.
• Track and report program performance, risk, and progress to executive leadership (CIO, CCO, and Transformation Committee).

Agile & Delivery Process Implementation

• Design and implement a hybrid delivery framework combining Agile, Scrum, and Lean principles adapted to different project types (tech, commercial, regulatory, and operational).
• Lead sprint planning, quarterly increment (PI) planning, retrospectives, and cross-functional syncs to maintain delivery momentum.
• Develop and maintain delivery of artifacts including roadmaps, RAID logs, dependency trackers, and dashboards in JIRA and Confluence.
• Support continuous process improvement - streamline project reporting, reduce bottlenecks, and strengthen ownership across squads.
• Build reusable SOPs for governance, issue management, and change control.

Governance & Oversight

• Establish standardized reporting cadence for executive and steering committees.
• Ensure all strategic programs follow defined lifecycle stages - initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closure.
• Drive compliance with documentation standards, ensuring all business cases, change requests, and closure reports are stored in Confluence.
• Champion transparency, accountability, and collaboration across functions.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Serve as the liaison between strategy, technology, and business units, ensuring consistent communication and alignment.
• Manage key stakeholders including C-suite, Product Directors, and Heads of Department to ensure alignment on priorities and resource allocation.
• Drive organizational change by supporting teams transitioning from traditional waterfall to Agile or hybrid delivery models.
• Lead quarterly “Ways of Working” workshops to embed Agile culture and delivery discipline across the business.

Data, Metrics, and Continuous Improvement

• Develop and maintain delivery dashboards in Power BI or JIRA to visualize initiative status, KPIs, and resource utilization.
• Track metrics such as delivery velocity, cycle time, predictability, and value realization.
• Use insights to proactively identify risks and recommend process optimizations to leadership.
• Support PMO maturity growth - from reactive tracking to predictive planning and decision support.

Requirements:

• 8–10 years of experience managing large-scale, cross-functional programs, preferably within fintech, financial services, or regulated environments.
• Proven success leading Agile or hybrid delivery transformations.
• Deep understanding of Scrum, Kanban, and Lean principles, and experience adapting them across technical and non-technical teams.
• Experience using JIRA, Confluence, and project portfolio management tools to manage multi-squad initiatives.
• PMP, Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), or SAFe certification preferred.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with executive-level communication capabilities.
• Demonstrated experience setting up PMO frameworks and governance models.

**No recruitment agencies**