Principal Project Manager - Inclusive Education Department

Company Overview:

Since the establishment of the union of the United Arab Emirates in 1971, education has received the utmost attention of the founding leader, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may Allah have mercy on him, and his founding brothers. They believed that education was the cornerstone of building an enabled community that could keep pace with the advancements. Over the past decades, the wise leadership of the country was keen on building an educational system that matched its counterparts in the advanced nations. It harnessed for this purpose all the required capabilities, to achieve the country's agenda and national vision in this regard. Sincere efforts have also been made to develop education and adopt the best systems that achieve high-quality education outputs, to achieve the future visions and aspirations of the wise leadership.

Since investing in human capital is the main objective, the UAE has been keen on establishing the Ministry of Education and creating the appropriate environment to build pioneering Emirati schools, in terms of standards, form, and content they provide. It also made sure that such schools provided high-quality educational environment and owned the most technically advanced tools to be able to graduate generations that could pursue their university education confidently in higher education institutions to fulfil the requirements of labour market.

The MOE has also provided a smart learning system and high-quality digital platforms, side by side with the continuous development of school curriculums, according to national learning standards, assessment policy that is based on assessing for learning, and highest quality standards that match the best international practices. Various learning tracks, moreover, have been provided to support the capabilities and skills of students and achieve the country's strategy of encouraging the culture of creativity and innovation through providing the students with the skills of the 21st century and motivating them to have new ideas that relate to the reality they live in and foresee the future. This will eventually help in finding radical, sustainable solutions to the major issues, improving competitiveness, and supporting smart government in its attempts to keep pace with global advancements, advance education, and push it to broad horizons of excellence, leadership, and competitiveness.

Department Definition:

The department develops inclusive education policies, standards, and programs for students of determination and learning disabilities, including detection and diagnosis tools, and identifying academic and professional paths, and the needs of students and staff. It also works to ensure the readiness of the educational field by building databases, identifying training programs, activating partnerships, and implementing awareness campaigns. It follows up on the quality of application in educational institutions and linking them to licensing and evaluation standards in accordance with international best practices and institutional quality standards.

Job Definition:

Managing, monitoring, and developing inclusive education projects, including the efficient identification and utilization of available resources in accordance with best practices; organizing and guiding workplace relationships and partnerships to ensure effective integration of roles; and contributing to the development of project plans to ensure alignment with the entity’s inclusive education strategies, policies, and operational plans.

Main Job Duties & Responsibilities:

• Review technical reports of projects, follow up on completion reports and submit them to the direct supervisor.
• Approval of project plans in line with the objectives of the sector or management, in coordination with senior management and stakeholders.
• Adopt feasibility studies for projects and ensure that they are aligned with strategic priorities.
• Approve project contracts, participate in the negotiation thereof, and approve amendments and additions in coordination with suppliers, consultants, and concerned authorities.
• Proposing projects and initiatives that support the achievement of the strategic and operational objectives of inclusive education in coordination with the competent units.
• Manage, follow up and develop inclusive education projects, while efficiently identifying and employing resources in accordance with best practices.
• Determine the priorities of projects, implementing and beneficiary entities, expected results, and review projects under approval.
• Follow-up on the implementation of projects to ensure compliance with specifications, standards, strategic and operational objectives and relevant legislation.
• Follow up on the use of financial, human and technical resources during the implementation of projects, and ensure their efficient use and work to improve them.
• Follow up on performance indicators and quality standards for project outputs, and ensure the achievement of targets.
• Review and design project process maps, and verify the efficiency and quality of procedures.
• Prepare periodic reports and submit them to the head of the competent department .
• Perform any other tasks related to the nature of the work or assigned by the immediate superior.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Business Administration / Project Management / Information Technology.
• MBA/Project Management/Information Technology

Work Experience:

• Experience of at least (6) years ,
• Master 's degree of experience of at least (3) years in a related field
• PhD with no experience required
• Experience in project management in the government or education sector is preferred.

 Professional Certificates:

• Program Management Professional (PgMP).
• Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP).
• Project Management Professional (PMP).
• Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP).
• Business Analysis Professional (PMI-PBA).
• Certified Project Management Assistant (CAPM).
• Fundamentals/Foundation Certificate from the PMI Foundation. 

Specialized Knowledge and Skills:

• Familiarity with project management methodologies (PMI/PRINCE2).
• Knowledge of preparing feasibility studies and evaluating projects.
• Knowledge of strategic planning and linking projects to goals
• Ability to prepare and follow up operational plans for projects.
• Project scope, time, cost and quality management. Contract Management  
• Familiarity with risk management, analysis and development  of corrective plans. 
• Preparing and analyzing project performance indicators.
• Familiarity with the inclusive learning environment and its requirements when implementing projects. 

General Skills: 

• Effective communication and stakeholder management skills. and coordination between the different teams.
• Time management and priority management skills.
• Reporting and presentation skills.
• Ability to solve problems and make decisions.
• Flexibility and adaptability to business variables.
• Ability to work under pressure and punctuality
• Proficiency in the use of electronic systems and modern technologies.
• English language proficiency is preferred.