Senior Project Manager

Job Title: Senior Project Manager – Industrial Projects

Location: Abu Dhabi

Reporting to: Technical Director

About the Role

An established Middle Eastern consultancy is seeking a Senior Project Manager to oversee the delivery of large-scale industrial projects valued at over 100 million, including work for Abu Dhabi Port.

Reporting to senior management and sitting above the Project Managers and Resident Engineers, the role combines portfolio oversight, operational leadership and senior client engagement. The successful candidate will ensure projects meet programme, quality, commercial and contractual obligations while providing hands-on support when delivery issues require senior intervention.

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee active industrial projects, providing leadership and direction to Project Managers and Resident Engineers.
• Ensure delivery against agreed programmes, quality standards, commercial targets and contractual obligations.
• Act as the senior escalation point for issues that cannot be resolved at project level, driving practical solutions and timely decisions.
• Build and maintain senior relationships with Abu Dhabi Port and other key stakeholders.
• Review project health, progress, risks, variations, claims, collections and client satisfaction, taking corrective action where required.
• Coordinate resources across projects, identifying staffing gaps, capability needs and performance concerns early.
• Ensure consistent application of project management procedures, governance and reporting standards.
• Provide senior management with clear visibility of portfolio performance, emerging risks and decisions required.
• Intervene in challenging client and contractor situations before they develop into major disputes.
• Support and mentor Project Managers and Resident Engineers, ensuring accountability and follow-through.

Experience and Requirements

• Ideally 15–20+ years of relevant experience, with substantial UAE/GCC exposure.
• A strong consultancy and/or project management consultancy (PMC) background; purely contractor-side experience will not be sufficient.
• Demonstrated experience delivering large-scale industrial projects valued at over 100 million.
• Proven experience overseeing multiple projects and leading Project Managers, Resident Engineers and multidisciplinary teams.
• Strong commercial and contractual awareness, including variations, claims, collections and dispute avoidance.
• A track record of managing senior client relationships and resolving complex delivery issues.
• Experience working with port authorities or delivering projects within port and logistics environments would be advantageous.

Compensation: 30-40k AED per month.

Candidate Profile

A hands-on, operationally focused leader with the confidence to manage demanding client relationships. The successful candidate must be capable of joining a Project Manager in a difficult client meeting, taking control of the discussion, agreeing a clear way forward and ensuring actions are completed internally.