Chief Operating Officer jobs in United Arab Emirates

ABOUT US

Founded in 2002, Global Schools Group is a Singapore-headquartered, community-oriented education institution whose mission is to cultivate and nurture young minds into global leaders of the future and is significantly contributing to achieving significant learning outcomes for every child. In the last two decades, the Foundation has grown to 64 campuses in 11 countries. Our seven international schools are spread across Southeast Asia, Middle East and Europe.

Global Schools Group (GSG) is an education pioneer with a network of premier international schools. The Foundation schools infuse the best educational approaches from around the globe into a unique pedagogy which imparts value-based learning that goes beyond academics. The 64 GSG schools provide world-class education to over 45,000 students from 70+ nationalities. The schools offer various curricula, including IB, Cambridge and CBSE.

JOB PURPOSE

The role holder is responsible for leading the ID&PM (Projects) function globally, developing and implementing department strategies, policies and procedures, expanding GSG service offerings and revenue from new and existing campuses, while supporting the leadership team in achieving the organization’s business objectives.

JOB TITLE: General Manager, Project Management

JOB LOCATION: UAE

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Leadership

• Leads and provides direction to the ID&PM (Projects) department globally.
• Works closely with leadership and understands the overall visions, strategic direction, business requirements, and next course of action.
• Designs and delivers Project priorities and organizational strategies in line with the organization’s business plans.
• Oversees the development and implementation of project best-practices, policies and procedures.
• Establishes the “buddy system” in the department to encourage the sharing of information and minimize disruptions.
• Collaborates with the Finance function in developing relevant measurable performance metrics for the function, and proactively tracks performance against the metrics to ensure fiscal control and financial feasibility of the function.
• Determines the budget for each project.
• Responsible for cost management and ensures compliance to the budget.
• Oversees the approval process and ensures every change made is approved by the manager in charge.

Functional

Operations:

• Oversees the commercial viability survey by the team after signoff has been given by the Board.
• Reviews the market information for potential sites gathered by the Business Development Managers (e.g. the neighborhood, financial capabilities of the people, types of enrollments in the nearby schools, expectations of potential students, etc.).
• Conducts commercial due diligence and engages third party consultants, if needed, to obtain market intelligence (e.g. curriculums and fee structures of nearby international schools, etc.).
• Assesses the potential physical site and enters negotiations with the landowners.
• Reviews the design by the architects.
• Calculates the expected fees and breakeven amounts for the new projects.

Project Planning:

• Responsible for planning the resources required for new projects.
• Identifies and assesses potential risks that may be incurred during the projects, and develops plans to avoid or mitigate these risks.

Integration Management:

• Identifies the various stakeholders for the new projects and potential resistances.
• Addresses and resolves stakeholders concerns and determines a balanced approach.

Schedule Management:

• Understands the business well and plans the project schedule to meet the business needs (e.g. project should be completed in December before the academic year starts in April).
• Manages the project and ensures adherence to the schedule.

Procurement Management:

• Identifies vendors and ensures the lead time for the items comply with the project schedule.
• Reviews the quality and costs of the items, and the after-sales services of the vendors as part of the vendor selection process.

Human Resources Management:

• Leads and manages the various project managers, consultants and workers.
• Works closely with the Human Resources department to conduct manpower planning to ensure the project team is staffed with the right skills and qualifications.
• Anticipates the potential risks that may be incurred in the project and finds solutions to eliminate them.
• Reviews previous projects to understand the risks incurred, and keeps alert for similar patterns to prevent the same problems from reoccurring.
• Develops risk migration strategies for risks that cannot be eliminated.
• Documents the risks incurred in the project and the ideated solutions for future reference.

Benefits Management:

• Tracks the benefits obtained from the project and ensures it is delivered.
• Maintains a relationship with the various stakeholders throughout the project and assesses the benefits conferred at the completion of the project.

Execution and Handover:

• Works closely and involves the Operations department in the project approximately 6 months before the project ends.
• Handovers the warranties, specifications and instructions to the Operations team at the end of the project.

Interaction

• Works closely with internal and external stakeholders through each phase of the project, from project planning to execution and handover.
• Builds strong networks and maintains good working relationships with internal and external partners to keep abreast of the current business climate and macroeconomic trends.

People Focus

• Collaborates proactively with Human Resource to continuously increase competency within the function to meet future organizations needs through the development and recruitment of talent.
• Leads the recruitment, selection, orientation, and training of employees in the function.
• Builds and manages high performing teams within the function by providing leadership, role clarity, training and career development.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Preferably in Civil).

Experience

• 15+ years of experience in project management, infrastructure development, or construction management.
• Experience leading large-scale, multi-site projects across multiple geographies.
• Strong exposure to budgeting, cost control, contract management, risk assessment, and regulatory compliance.
• Expertise in strategic planning, project execution, and stakeholder management.
• Strong understanding of global construction and development regulations.
• Experience with growth strategies, revenue generation, and business expansion.
• Excellent leadership and team management skills to drive cross-functional teams.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and negotiation skills.

Working Days:

5.5 days onsite.