Digital Project Manager

About the job: 

Kent is looking for a Digital Project Manager to lead and oversee the execution of critical digital transformation initiatives across engineering, construction, and operations functions on a major capital project. This role requires strong leadership, digital literacy, stakeholder management, and program execution skills.

The ideal candidate will be responsible for the end-to-end planning, coordination, risk mitigation, and delivery of digital solutions, ensuring alignment with client strategies, timelines, and quality standards

Skills and Responsibilities:  

• Develop and nurture team competencies, focusing on continuous improvement, innovation, and development.
• Support the creation of Personal Development Plans (PDPs), Succession Planning, and Talent Pipeline initiatives to grow internal capabilities, especially for UAE Nationals and meeting Emiratization targets.
• Ensure financial management and cost control are aligned with project plans, currency requirements, financial forecasts, and import duty exemptions.
• Reconcile and highlight significant financial variances, ensuring the effective performance and cost control of the project.
• Lead the overall implementation of digital initiatives across project phases, from FEED through to detailed design, construction, handover, and operations.
• Translate digital strategies and roadmaps into actionable project plans, ensuring clearly defined scope, schedule, budget, and KPIs.
• Ensure all digital initiatives comply with client guidelines, including Client DOF Guidelines, Asset Information Requirements, and Cybersecurity Policies.
• Contribute to the development of the project’s MIS and progress reports, ensuring that project performance data is accurate and accessible to leadership.
• Promote a positive HSE culture by ensuring all projects comply with safety regulations and method statements.
• Conduct regular HSE meetings and site visits, ensuring compliance with safety protocols and international operating standards.
• Oversee incident reporting and ensure that learning from incidents is shared across relevant teams and contractors.
• Ensure the alignment and integration of digitalization projects with automation systems and plans.
• Collaborate with relevant teams to prioritize infrastructure upgrades needed for successful digitalization (PM Automation).
• Develop and maintain project execution strategies, working closely with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to ensure alignment with client requirements and corporate objectives.
• Ensure all projects are executed within budget, closely monitoring expenses and contract variations, ensuring alignment with financial and contractual guidelines.
• Provide administrative input in the initial project inception stages, including defining scope, reviewing requirements proposals, refining project objectives, and estimating cost and execution methodologies.
• Manage the development of project schedules, collaborating with Project Engineering Managers and Project Control Managers to ensure alignment with overall project milestones.
• Refine project designs, specifications, costs, and phasing, ensuring all necessary updates are documented and tracked through project phases.
• Promote the awareness and adoption of digital tools, platforms, and data-centric workflows across the organization.
• Develop and implement training plans, user onboarding, and change management strategies for system users and key stakeholders.
• Supervise vendors and third-party service providers to ensure on-time, on-budget, and compliant delivery of digital solutions.
• Ensure vendor deliverables meet project requirements, are fully integrated, and are validated before delivery to the client.
• Track the digital initiatives and monitor progress against established baselines using appropriate project management tools (e.g., MS Project, Primavera, Jira).
• Provide regular updates to project leadership and client steering committees through status reports, dashboards, and presentations.
• Track and report on KPIs related to digital handover readiness, data quality, compliance, and adoption across project phases.
• Identify, assess, and monitor risks associated with digital systems integration, compliance, and schedule impacts.
• Develop and maintain risk registers, mitigation strategies, and change management plans, ensuring all risks are tracked and mitigated in a timely manner.
• Proactively escalate critical risks to ensure necessary mitigation actions are taken and track their resolution.
• Coordinate with various departments (engineering, construction, IT, information management, cybersecurity, procurement, and commissioning) to ensure the cohesive execution of digital solutions.
• Facilitate cross-functional workshops and alignment meetings to promote digital adoption, integration, and alignment across all project functions.
• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders, including engineering leads, client representatives, vendors, and IT/OT teams, to understand and define project requirements.
• Manage stakeholder expectations by delivering clear, timely communication regarding project status, scope changes, and emerging risks
• Act as a trusted advisor and escalation point for issues related to digital delivery across the project.

In addition to the responsibilities listed herein, the employee may be required to perform other ad-hoc tasks as needed or directed by the supervisor or management. These tasks will be within the reasonable scope of the employee's skills, capabilities, and role within the organization. The intent of this provision is to allow for flexibility and adaptability in meeting the dynamic needs of the organization, ensuring that operational requirements can be met efficiently. All such tasks will be assigned considering the employee's current workload and with respect to their professional development.

Your knowledge/skills, education, and experience: 

Knowledge/ Qualification/ Training/ Certification: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field.
• Master’s degree, MBA, or Digital Transformation certification is an advantage.

Communication:

• Excellent command of the English language in both oral and written communication and skills.

Behavior/ Core Competencies:

• 20+ years of experience in project management roles within large capital projects or EPC/EPCm environments.
• Minimum 10 years of experience managing digital transformation, IT/OT integration, or engineering data programs in Oil & Gas, Energy, or Infrastructure sectors.
• Experience with Middle East Owner Operators (e.g., ADNOC, ARAMCO, QatarEnergy) is highly preferred.

Technical Skills:

• Proficiency in engineering authoring tools, integration platforms, and Digital Twin systems.
• Strong understanding of digital ecosystems, engineering data platforms, and OT/IT integration.
• Familiarity with tools like AVEVA, Hexagon, BIM, Digital Twin, ERP (SAP), APM, and document/data platforms (Aconex, SharePoint, SDx).
• Knowledge of cybersecurity standards (e.g., NIST, ISO 27001), ISO 15926, and CFIHOS is desirable.
• Proficient in MS Project, Power BI, Excel, and project collaboration tools (Confluence, Teams, Jira).

Certificates (Preferred):

• PMP / PRINCE2 / PMI-ACP / PgMP
• Agile/Scrum Certification
• Certified Digital Transformation Officer (CDTO)
• ITIL or equivalent Service Management Certification

Soft Skills:

• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong leadership and decision-making skills in fast-paced, cross-functional environments.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, conflict resolution, and negotiation capabilities.
• High level of professionalism, accountability, and attention to detail.
• Excellent verbal and written communication, including technical reporting

HSSEQ:

The Employee shall observe the Health, Safety, Sustainability, Environment and Quality rules of the Company; it’s clients and the governing authorities of the host country.

Details about the role: 

Location:  UAE or India

Relocation required: Possibly

Travel required: Possibly

Contract type: Permanent 

Experience level: 10+ Years