IT Director
Iota Group- Location
- Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Workplace
- —
- Employment
- Full Time
- Salary
- —
Posted 6d ago
- Define and own the IT strategy, architecture and roadmap for the corporate entity and the project organisation.
- Build the core corporate IT stack from scratch: identity and access management, cloud environment, collaboration and document management, endpoint management, networking and telephony across two geographies.
- Select and implement business systems — ERP/finance, HR, procurement, document control and project controls — and manage the vendors delivering them.
- Establish cybersecurity: policy, governance, threat monitoring, incident response and disaster recovery, at a standard appropriate to critical energy infrastructure and to a US-regulated environment.
- Set up IT for remote and construction-site operations in Alaska: connectivity in a low-infrastructure, extreme-climate location, site networks, field devices and support model.
- Own the IT budget, capex/opex planning and the contracts with MSPs, integrators and software vendors.
- Ensure compliance with data protection and data residency obligations across UAE and US jurisdictions, and support the company's obligations to lenders, partners and regulators on IT and cyber matters.
- Build and lead the IT team as the organisation scales through FID and into construction.
- 12+ years in IT, with at least 5 in a Head of IT / IT Director role reporting to executive level.
- Proven experience standing up an IT function from the ground up, not only running an established one — greenfield builds, new entity set-ups or major carve-outs.
- Track record in oil & gas, LNG, power or heavy industrial capital projects; exposure to a project moving from development through construction into operations is a strong advantage.
- Hands-on depth in cloud (Azure and/or AWS), Microsoft 365 estate, identity management and enterprise networking.
- Demonstrable ownership of cybersecurity in a critical-infrastructure or OT-adjacent context; familiarity with NIST CSF, ISO 27001 or equivalent frameworks. Awareness of OT/ICS security and the IT–OT boundary is valued.
- ERP selection and implementation experience end to end.
- Strong commercial and vendor management skills; comfortable negotiating and managing multi-million-dollar service contracts.
- Experience working across multiple jurisdictions and time zones, ideally including the US.
- Degree in computer science, information systems or engineering. Relevant certifications (CISSP, CISM, TOGAF, cloud architect) are an advantage.
- English fluency essential.
- Willing to be based in Abu Dhabi with regular travel to the US, and able to travel worldwide without restriction.
Skills
- Azure
- AWS
- Microsoft 365
- NIST
- ISO 27001
- CISSP