Associate Director - IT Cloud & Workplace Solutions

Job description: Our business landscape We’re an award-winning global communications company operating in nine countries across the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia. Our strategy is to become the region’s leading digital infrastructure provider. Ooredoo Group’s strategic vision is guided by five key pillars: • Value-Focused Portfolio: Boosting asset returns by focusing on telco operations, towers, data centres, the sea cable business and fintech. • Strengthen the Core: Optimally using deployed capital and maintain an appropriate cost structure. • Evolve the Core: Monetising opportunities to generate new revenue streams via programmes focusing on analytics, digitalisation of operations, and partnerships with digital service providers. • People: Building an engaged and empowered workforce through integrated learning programs and coaching and mentoring. • Excellence in Customer Experience: Creating superior customer experiences. From day one, every employee who joins our team becomes an integral part of our success journey. We offer you the chance to enhance your skills, advance your career, and maintain a healthy work- life balance. Empowering you to catapult your personal and professional growth. If you’re looking to challenge your growth potential, Ooredoo is the employer for you. Job overview • The Associate Director - Cloud Infrastructure & Workplace Solutions is a senior executive leadership role responsible for defining, driving, and governing the technology strategy globally for Ooredoo Group. This role bridges strategic group-level vision with operating company (OpCo) execution, ensuring that all regional operating companies align with modernized, scalable, and secure infrastructure standards and vision • As the strategic anchor for the group, the Director oversees the modernization of core infrastructure, hybrid/multi-cloud environments, and digital workplace solutions to enhance operational efficiency, maximize cost synergies, and enable a seamless digital experience for employees across the group • The role holder maintains close contact with Technology Directors at the operating companies and works closely with other members of the technology teams to drive the overall vision, technology road maps, and world-class network and IT architectures to enable capital efficient plans Your impact on our goals • Group strategy and roadmaps: Define and drive Group-level IT Cloud, Infrastructure, and Modern Workplace roadmaps, architectures, and engineering practices aligned with the overall Group vision • Governance and standards: Establish architectural principles, technology standards, and governance processes to be adopted across all operating companies (OpCos) • AI and GPU Strategy: Define the Group strategy for GPU/accelerated computing and lead the implementation of AI infrastructure technologies across the technology domain and OpCos • OpCo oversight and support: Steering infrastructure program execution in local OpCos, conducting performance/SLA reviews, and providing technical support to resolve complex infrastructure issues • Best Practice Transfer: Act as the primary bridge to OpCo CTOs/CIOs to drive the adoption of Agile delivery, DevOps, automation, and standardized planning techniques • Cloud Modernization: Architect and scale hybrid/multi-cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP) while driving data center consolidation, virtualization, and legacy-to-cloud migrations • Digital Workplace and Managed Services: Champion next-generation workplace tools (UCaaS, productivity suites, IAM) to enhance employee experience, and govern the managed service partner delivering internal IT services • Vendor and sourcing Synergies: Partner with Strategic Sourcing to evaluate bids, select vendors, and develop strategic relationships with major hyper-scalers to secure group-level economies of scale • Financial Management: Manage Group-level CapEx and OpEx budgets, implementing robust FinOps practices to optimize infrastructure and cloud spend across all OpCos • Security and compliance: Collaborate with the Group CIS to embed zero-trust architecture, disaster recovery, and data privacy compliance (e.g., GDPR) into all infrastructure designs. • Cross-Functional and M&A Partnering: Collaborate with group technology teams and business units to enable capital-efficient plans, support commercial strategies, and lead M&A technology due diligence Team dynamics Internal • Other Group departments relating to the evolution of technology architectures. Engaging OpCos in the execution of group strategy and in support of OpCo technology initiatives External • Technology Vendors and associated 3rd party’s regarding evolution of technology. Regulators, Operators and Industry Associations to promote the Ooredoo requirements and desires as well as shape industry and specific market requirements Your profile Experience • 15 years’ experience directly related to the duties and responsibilities specified. • Proven success influencing without authority across federated teams and vendors. • Previous OpCo technology director or equivalent key group-technology role in the mobile telecom industry and prior experience in fixed telecom international experience, preferably in the MENA region • Vast experience with developing & executing Cloud & Infrastructure technology strategies • Vast knowledge of key Cloud providers & Virtualization technologies. • High level of awareness regarding changes in technology standards and their repercussions for the group and operating companies • Experience in developing and implementing technology strategies, and establishing and maintaining strategic relationships • Strong understanding of business requirements and ability to translate those into impact on the Cloud, containerization, and infrastructure technology landscape. • Ability to explain key aspects of technology innovation, information systems, and networks to lay people • Cloud certification from AWS, GCP, or MS Azure. • Experience in developing and implementing technology strategies, and establishing and maintaining strategic relationships • Strong understanding of business requirements and ability to translate those into impact on the IT architecture & applications Landscape. • Vast knowledge of mobile telecom IT architecture & applications systems, platforms and technologies, including hardware and software components • Experience in developing and implementing technology strategies, and establishing and maintaining strategic relationships • Strong understanding of technology trends, best practices, and management of technology innovation operations • Ability to explain key aspects of technology innovation, information systems, and networks to lay people. • Designed and operated GPU platforms for training and inference acro