Agile Delivery Manager - Dnata International

Job Purpose

At dnata, we're committed to strengthening how technology gets delivered across our global operations, spanning Airport Operations, Cargo, Catering, Ground Handling, and Travel Services in nearly 30 countries. As part of Emirates Group, dnata combines the scale and governance of a global aviation services business with the pace and adaptability that modern delivery demands. We're looking for someone who can operate comfortably across both worlds: agile team-level delivery and structured, plan-driven programme management.

Join our Delivery team as an Agile Delivery Manager on a mission to bring technology solutions to life that improve operational performance, safety, and customer experience across dnata's diverse and multi-country business. We value delivery professionals who can flex their approach, agile where speed and iteration matter, traditional project discipline where scope, cost, and cross-entity coordination demand it.

The Agile Delivery Manager is responsible for planning, leading, and coordinating delivery teams, whether organised as scrum teams, hybrid squads, or structured project teams, to achieve high performance and quality outcomes across dnata's technology initiatives. Given dnata's decentralised operating model (Country/Local IT teams, Regional coordination, and Head Office strategy through Emirates Group IT), this role requires managing several concurrent, high-visibility initiatives that span multiple business units, countries, and governance layers, using whichever delivery method, agile, waterfall, or hybrid best fits the initiative.

In This Role You Will

• Facilitate key delivery ceremonies (sprint/PI planning, reviews, retrospectives) alongside traditional project governance forums (steering committees, milestone reviews, stage gates), selecting the right cadence for each initiative and business unit.
• Act as a champion for blending agile and traditional project management principles, drawing on both PMI and agile (e.g. PMI-ACP) practices, to apply the right proportion of structure and flexibility based on initiative size, complexity, and stakeholder needs across dnata's multi-country footprint.
• Build a trusting, safe delivery environment where issues surface early and are resolved constructively, using servant leadership for agile teams and clear, accountable direction for structured project work.
• Lead integrated delivery planning, working with country, regional, and Head Office stakeholders to decompose strategic roadmaps into actionable programme and project backlogs/plans, ready for execution at team level.
• Own the full project lifecycle where applicable: scope, schedule, budget, risk, and dependency management, in addition to maintaining agile Definition of Done standards and sustainable team pace.
• Maintain delivery tooling appropriate to the method in use (e.g. JIRA, ScrumDesk, MS Project, or equivalent), ensuring consistent tracking and reporting regardless of methodology.
• Support team development by removing roadblocks, holding teams accountable to commitments, mentoring team members, and improving cross-functional throughput. Attend stand-ups, scrum-of-scrums, and project status forums as needed, escalating risks and external dependencies to the right stakeholders.
• Partner with Product and IT Service Management to manage business expectations, transparency, and service performance across both product backlogs and traditional project schedules.
• Define, govern, and continuously improve delivery processes, implementing the right blend of agile metrics (velocity, defect trends) and traditional project controls (cost/schedule variance, milestone adherence) to give business stakeholders and dnata leadership clear visibility.
• Support cost estimation, sizing, and total cost of ownership for both near-term and future initiatives, managing actuals against budget and contributing to accurate annual forecasting.
• Work with the Product and Procurement teams to support RFx phases and align procurement timing with each initiative's delivery approach and lifecycle.
  
  

Qualification

Qualifications

To be considered for the role, you must meet the below requirements:

• Degree in Computer Science or equivalent
• Proven leadership and project delivery experience in a matrix organisation with global teams for a large organisation.
• 10+ years’ experience in agile delivery and project management within the context of a large technology change programmes.
  
  

Knowledge/skills

• Certified SAFe and PMI ACP (additional certifications such as PMI, Prince 2, CSM desirable) with 5+ Years of practical application of the Scrum Management discipline.
• Well-versed in the use of tools of software delivery e.g. ServiceNow, Planview, MS Project, JIRA, Confluence etc.
• Good architectural knowledge of large scale systems.
• Ability to effectively communicate specialist information in an understandable format to all stakeholders.
• Excellent communication skills, focusing on core scrum values of openness, honesty and respect.
• Hands-on leader with strong people skills.
  
  

Leadership Role: Yes

Salary & benefits

Join us in a management role and enjoy an attractive tax-free salary. On top of our generous travel benefits, including discounted flights and hotel stays around the world, this managerial role also has an excellent leave and healthcare package. That’s on top of transport benefits, life insurance and more. Find out what it’s like to live and work in our fast-paced, cosmopolitan home city in the Dubai Lifestyle section of our website www.emirates.com/careers

---