Academic IT Project Lead

OVERVIEW

Position

Academic IT Project Lead.

Job Code

Reports to

Program Manager

Direct Reports

Division/Section

NEOM U

Department

Digital Transformation

Sector

ERI

Job Family

NEOM U

NEOM U will be a world class education, research, and innovation hub, that inspires and empowers the best minds: technology to better the world, innovation through the "lab of the future” and life-long personalized development. It will be focused on the fusion of the liberal arts with digital thinking, computing and technology to solve humanity’s most pressing problems. NEOM U will be a university without boundaries, combining on-site and online learning at the undergraduate and graduate level, defining new pathways to academic degrees and an integral part of a self-sustained NEOM community.  

Faculty and students at NEOM U, through immersive, synergistic relationships and partnerships with the NEOM community, its sectors, and The Line, will serve as the creators and stewards of the “living laboratory” NEOM aspires to be. This is to imagine, inspire and enable the ground-breaking discoveries and breakthrough innovations the world needs to advance and to thrive. Their innovative approaches in technology-enabled, personalized experiential learning across disciplines, their bold research pursuits to conquer pressing societal challenges and where we define new scientific frontiers, will be supported by exceptional facilities and laboratories. Augmented through immersive partnerships with the NEOM sectors, their industrial partners, and the Line, will enable and foster an unmatched ecosystem for purposeful collaboration, life-long learning and creative exploration at the service of society.

As such, NEOM U boundaries will extend beyond its physical facilities, to encompass NEOM and The Line, and to establish NEOM U as an institution for disruptive education and purposeful innovation’ for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the world.

Role Purpose

The Academic Project Lead will lead on critical projects within the Education, Research and Innovation sector (ERI).  For each project they will build the required team to support, develop effective customer relationships across the University, co-ordinate the analysis and recommend resolutions for highly complex issues. The project lead will be responsible for overseeing and managing technology projects across the institution, this will involve project related to technology and data within the Education, Research and Innovation (ERI) sector. The role will be responsible for ensuring that all technology related initiatives align with the strategic goals of the university and that the projects are executed efficiently and effectively. This role plays a crucial part in ensuring the successful planning, execution, and delivery of projects that enhance technological capabilities and leverage data for informed decision-making. The Technology & Data Project Lead is responsible for coordinating project delivery through suppliers, internal cross-functional teams, managing project dependencies, timelines and budgets, and implementing effective data governance practices.

This role also involves the integration of new technologies ensuring seamless implementation and optimization of performance. Communication and engagement with stakeholders, risk management, and quality assurance are key aspects of the role, contributing to the overall success of technology and data projects within the organization.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES & ACTIVITIES

The Academic Project Lead priorities during the startup phase are:

Project Planning & Execution

• Develop and execute comprehensive project plans, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and timelines.
• Support the development of a multi-year roadmap and financial plan to sequence efforts to implement the Neom U technology in alignment with needs, available resources, and capacity for change.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams to deliver on schedule and within budget through driving weekly project progress meetings.

Stakeholder Communication & Engagement

• Serve as the main point of contact for project related comms and engagement with relevant stakeholders.

Facilitate comms and engagement between teams to ensure understanding, alignment and driving project progress.

Risk Management

• Identify and mitigate Issues and risks, proactively addressing challenges to prevent delays.
• Implement risk management strategies to ensure the successful delivery of a project.

Quality Assurance

• Ensure and enforce quality assurance processes with suppliers or local teams for all projects.
• Conduct regular quality assessments with all projects to ensure project Deliverables and Milestones meet project standards.

General

• The Project Lead must be committed to the career and professional development of the staff, fostering practices for managing individual and team performance.
• The Project Lead should be a flexible leader capable of motivating through team leadership skills, a clear vision, exceptional interpersonal and communication abilities, and a talent for leading and managing change.

BACKGROUND, SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

The Academic IT Project Lead will have:

• A minimum of 5-7 years’ relevant experience in Project Management and a solid understanding of project management principles combined with agile practices in a complex environment at a senior level, with supervisory responsibility.
• Experience with enterprise resource planning systems (eg SAP), Business Intelligence, and other similar products.
• Effective communicator at all levels within a complex and culturally diverse organization, including top level senior management, Board members and external stakeholders and constituencies.
• Demonstrated experience in managing and delivering large technology programs and projects.