Programme Manager (UAE)

Ozone API is recruiting a programme manager to lead the delivery of our products and services in the United Arab Emirates.

Reporting to the Head of Delivery you will be a hands-on programme manager, responsible for day to day delivery of the ongoing design, deployment, management and support regarding both the UAE open finance standards and the UAE API Hub. 

Background

As context, the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has set the requirements for the UAE’s open finance programme. From 2025, this programme will be managed by a company called Nebras, a special purpose vehicle set up by CBUAE to operate open finance in the UAE. 

The scope and approach of this programme is the most ambitious undertaken so far in any market globally. It includes a 5 year phased rollout of innovative new use cases, with several hundred banks, financial institutions (LFIs) and licensed third party providers (TPPs) due to come into scope over this timeframe.

Ozone API is delivering both the UAE’s open finance standards and deploying a dedicated (to CBUAE/Nebras) instance of the Ozone API Hub to support these standards. We are working as part of a consortium together with Core42 (the lead vendor, and technically our direct customer), Riadiam (providing the trust framework) and Strategy & (providing consulting and PMO services) to support the delivery of open finance in the UAE.

Interested in…? 

• Delivering a defined and market-leading proposition with huge global potential 
• An influential role in the future success and growth of our company 
• Share options in a scaling business already achieving aggressive growth 
• Competitive, performance-based bonuses 
• Flexible, modern working methods, hours, and work-life balance 

Key responsibilities

Open Finance Standards Delivery:

• Develop and manage detailed project plans using Agile or other suitable methodologies, ensuring alignment with client, consortium members, and Ozone API product teams. Facilitate regular reviews to track progress and adapt plans as needed.
• Develop and manage detailed project plans using Agile or other suitable methodologies, ensuring alignment with client, consortium members, and Ozone API product teams. Facilitate regular reviews to track progress and adapt plans as needed.
• Ensure timely publication of updates to the standards, incorporating robust quality assurance processes and securing stakeholder sign-off. Oversee the creation of detailed documentation and communication plans for distributing updates effectively.
• Establish and manage efficient processes for responding to LFI and TPP queries within agreed SLAs. Implement a feedback mechanism to analyze and address recurring queries, driving continuous improvement of the standards.

Ozone API Platform Delivery:

• Plan, schedule, and oversee the deployment of each new release of the API Hub, ensuring alignment with updated standards and minimising downtime. Implement risk management protocols and communicate deployment progress to all stakeholders, ensuring timely and accurate execution.
• Schedule and oversee the deployment of environments for each LFI in the API Hub, ensuring alignment with their specific technical and business needs. Plan for scalability to accommodate the phased rollout and future expansion of the programme.
• Establish and manage processes to ensure LFI and TPP queries related to the API Hub are addressed within agreed SLAs. Analyze query trends to identify and resolve recurring issues, driving continuous improvements in API Hub support processes.

External stakeholder management:

• Prepare and deliver weekly status reports tailored to stakeholder needs, covering all delivery activities, service level ticket status, and SLA response times. Ensure data accuracy and leverage insights from reporting to drive continuous improvement in service delivery.
• Proactively contribute to programme-level documentation, including maintaining accurate and actionable project plans and RAID logs. Ensure reporting aligns with broader programme objectives and supports strategic decision-making.
• Actively participate in daily stand-ups, weekly status meetings, and stakeholder discussions by preparing meeting briefs, contributing to discussions, and ensuring action items are documented, assigned, and tracked to completion.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for CBUAE/Nebras and consortium members regarding deliverables, ensuring clear communication, managing expectations, and addressing queries promptly. Proactively escalate issues and maintain strong relationships to foster collaboration and drive continuous improvement.

Internal stakeholder management and collaboration:

• Collaborate with the Global Head of Delivery and Regional General Manager to prepare, facilitate, and follow up on customer reviews. Ensure customer feedback is documented, tracked, and incorporated into delivery plans and strategic priorities.
• Work closely with Ozone API product teams to track delivery of new standards and API Hub functionality, ensuring alignment with stakeholder needs and programme goals. Proactively contribute to feature prioritization and development by analyzing customer requirements and participating in sprint planning and stand-ups.
• Collaborate with engineering (including QA) and support teams to ensure timely resolution of issues and defects within agreed SLAs. Conduct root cause analysis for recurring issues and use insights to recommend process improvements while tracking and reporting SLA compliance and resolution trends.
• Foster effective collaboration across Ozone API teams, technology vendors, partners, and customers to ensure seamless delivery, resolve cross-team dependencies, and drive innovation in meeting programme goals.
• Attend and actively contribute to meetings as required, ensuring thorough preparation and driving actionable outcomes aligned with programme objectives.

Success milestones

First three months:

• Complete a full handover of the CBUAE programme from the Head of Delivery.
• Established as the primary point of contact for the customer.
• Develop positive relationships with all internal teams to ensure internal collaboration and programme success.

First six months:

• Become the trusted technical relationship manager for the customer on all issues.
• Effective ongoing management of all deliverables to meet all key/contractual customer milestones.
• Ensure we can bill for all work on time.
• Help expand the scope to include additional use cases and value added services, thereby generating additional revenue.

• In-depth knowledge of open banking/finance concepts and technologies.
• Exceptional track record of delivering large complex programmes in the banking, finance and/or payments sector
• Excellent documentation and communication skills, with the ability to convey technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Excellent project and program management experience and skills.
• At least 5 years project/product management experience.
• At least one recognised project management qualification.
• Expert level experience of agile development methodologies.
• Strong organisational and time management abilities, with the ability to prioritise tasks and meet deadlines.
• Proven track record balancing demanding customer requirements with internal resource and delivery constraints.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively with multiple senior stakeholders (internally and externally).
• Excellent English oral and written communication.
• Fluent Arabic oral and written communication skills are an advantage.
• Experience working in a start-up environment would be beneficial
• Must be able to work on site in Abu Dhabi.

• Stock Options
• Flexible Working
• Training & Development

About Ozone API

Open finance is now a global phenomenon with markets around the world embracing this new model for a next generation financial services industry. It is changing the world, laying the foundations to drive economic growth, tackling financial inclusion and leading to unprecedented levels of innovation.

The Ozone API founding team met and started this journey whilst working together to lead the design and delivery of the open banking blueprint in the UK. We saw the huge potential, but also the significant technical challenge banks faced and so we built the Ozone API platform - designed to remove the complexity of open finance and help banks and financial institutions adapt to and thrive in this new world.

We’re a fast growing, dynamic technology company that is already global. Our technology leads the market and our expertise is unsurpassed. We’ve built an incredible team, but the fun is just beginning with open finance now happening all around the world. We’re growing quickly and are seeking people who are passionate about delivering real change, working in an organisation that is doing the right things and working really hard to do them in the right way.

Working for Ozone API

We’re a positive, cross-functional team of professionals who collaborate whilst trusting and respecting individual expertise. 

If you’re decisive and imaginative, and if you thrive on making things happen as well as bringing out the best in others, you’ll fit right in. We have no time for deceptive delegators or politicians. We're in it together and we’re in it for the thrill of the journey. 

This role is based in our small but mighty Abu Dhabi Office (Yas Mall) but is part of our global team where we all prioritise a healthy work-life balance. At Ozone API, ‘flexible hours’ isn’t code for ‘all hours’, but we trust our team to do the right thing for our customers and colleagues. 

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