Manager – Demand & Portfolio Management
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Posted 5 days ago
About the role
Key Accountabilities:
- Demand Intake & Governance
- Own and manage the end-to-end demand lifecycle from intake to closure across BAU, projects, and strategic initiatives.
- Ensure all demands meet entry criteria (business case, scope clarity, dependencies, and priority alignment).
- Enforce standardized demand artefacts (BRDs, epics, CRs) in collaboration with Product, Architecture, and Delivery teams.
- Act as the single point of orchestration for Business demands impacting IT systems.
- Cultivate strong relationships and communication channels with Business [Commercial & Customer and Channels], IT [design, delivery and development. etc], Technology [Architecture, Service Operation, Network, TSRM], and Support Functions [Finance, HR, Procurement, etc].
- Key contributor for Product simplification and rationalization, MVP focus, embedding digital first components as applicable for fastest TTM and highest value.
- Portfolio Prioritization & Planning
- Drive portfolio prioritization aligned to business strategy, regulatory needs, and IT roadmap.
- Balance short-term BAU, revenue-generating initiatives, and long-term strategic investments.
- Facilitate prioritization forums with senior Business and IT stakeholders.
- Maintain a single version of truth for the demand and project portfolio.
- Capacity & Financial Alignment
- Partner with Capacity & Planning teams to align demand forecasts with available capacity (internal teams and strategic vendors).
- Ensure demand plans are feasible within budget, MD capacity, and delivery constraints.
- Highlight capacity bottlenecks, funding gaps, and trade-off options to leadership.
- Support budget planning, forecast accuracy, and portfolio-level financial transparency.
- Agile & Waterfall Portfolio Oversight
- Manage demand flow across Agile squads and Waterfall delivery streams, ensuring clarity on execution model.
- Ensure Agile backlogs are sufficiently refined and aligned with PI/quarterly planning.
- Track execution progress, dependencies, and risks across both models.
- Stakeholder Management & Communication
- Act as a trusted advisor to senior Business stakeholders on demand feasibility and sequencing.
- Provide clear, data-driven portfolio insights to IT leadership (status, risks, trade-offs, value).
- Resolve cross-functional conflicts related to priority, capacity, and delivery ownership.
- Reporting, Metrics & Continuous Improvement
- Define and track portfolio KPIs (e.g., demand throughput, execution predictability, scope stability, time-to-market).
- Provide executive-level dashboards and insights for decision-making. Continuously improve demand management processes, tools, and governance frameworks.
Qualifications:
- Minimum Bachelor in Information Technology/ Information Services/ Computer Science
- Certifications such as Project Management, Agile Methodologies is a Must Master’s degree is a plus
Experience:
- 10–15 years of experience in IT demand, portfolio, program, or delivery management
- Experience in telecom IT environments (BSS/OSS preferred)
- Prior experience working with large transformation programs and BAU portfolios
- Exposure to multi-vendor delivery environments Must have exposure to the Netcarcker stack
Skills:
- Strong portfolio and demand management expertise in large IT environments
- Excellent stakeholder management and executive communication skills
- Ability to make trade-off decisions balancing value, cost, risk, and capacity
- Structured, data-driven, and outcome-oriented mindset
- Strong understanding of Agile, SAFe, and Waterfall delivery models
- Solid grasp of capacity planning, MD-based delivery models, and vendor governance Proficiency with Jira, Confluence, and portfolio reporting tools
Success Measures:
- Improved demand predictability and on-time delivery
- Reduced unplanned work and scope volatility
- Higher portfolio throughput and business satisfaction
- Clear alignment between strategy, funding, capacity, and execution