Associate Director - D Sell Portfolio Management

Job Purpose

Lead portfolio-wide programme planning, governance and performance management across the D-Sell development portfolio. Establish and maintain integrated portfolio plans, monitor delivery performance, risks and dependencies, ensure compliance with Compass Gateway governance, and provide executive reporting that enables timely decision-making and successful delivery of Aldars development pipeline.

Job Responsibilities

Portfolio Planning & Performance

• Develop and maintain integrated portfolio programmes across all D-Sell projects.
• Monitor critical milestones, dependencies, programme health, schedule performance and delivery KPIs across the portfolio.
• Drive planning consistency across all D-Sell Pods.
• Produce executive portfolio dashboards and performance reports.
• Identify strategic delivery risks, escalate issues and recommend mitigation actions.

Governance & Portfolio Assurance

• Review Gateway submissions for planning completeness and programme readiness.
• Ensure compliance with Development Management planning standards, governance requirements and reporting obligations.
• Coordinate executive governance forums, portfolio reviews and reporting cycles.
• Provide independent oversight of portfolio planning quality and delivery readiness.

Stakeholder Alignment & Continuous Improvement

• Coordinate planning activities across Design, Delivery, Procurement, Commercial and Finance.
• Facilitate cross-functional alignment on programme priorities, sequencing and critical dependencies.
• Drive continuous improvement of portfolio planning processes, methodologies and governance.
• Champion digital planning tools, AI-enabled reporting and the adoption of portfolio management best practices.

Leadership & Capability Development

• Lead and develop the portfolio planning function and team capability.
• Foster a high-performance, collaborative and continuous improvement culture.
• Build organisational capability by embedding lessons learned and standard planning practices.

Key Measures of Success

• 95% of portfolio reports delivered on time
• Portfolio schedule variance maintained within agreed tolerance
• 95% Gateway planning compliance
• Reduction in cross-project planning conflicts
• Executive stakeholder satisfaction

Working Conditions

Office-based (Abu Dhabi HQ), with periodic site visits.

Experience, Skills & Qualifications

Years of Experience

• 14+ years in programme, portfolio or project controls within real estate development or major infrastructure
• Minimum 6 years leading portfolio planning

Technical Skills

• Programme management
• Primavera P6 / MS Project
• Portfolio reporting
• Risk management
• Power BI / Oracle / AI-enabled reporting tools

Interpersonal Skills

• Strategic thinker with a highly structured approach to work
• Excellent communicator, capable of building and nurturing partnerships across key stakeholders to build collective spirit towards shared development objectives

Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in Engineering, Construction or Project Management
• Masters degree preferred
• PMP or equivalent certification preferred