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 Aldar's 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
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction or Project Management
- Master's degree preferred
- PMP or equivalent certification preferred