Manager IT Projects & Applications

About the Role:

Reporting to the Head of IT, the Manager IT Projects and Applications is responsible for building and leading the IT delivery function of a greenfield high-speed railway organization in Egypt, overseeing the full lifecycle of enterprise applications from initial project delivery through to steady state operations and continuous improvement. This role starts with a strong project focus as the organization builds out its application landscape and evolves into owning a mature application portfolio as systems go live. You are successful when projects are delivered on time and within scope, live applications are stable and continuously improving, service providers are held to their commitments, and your team grows in capability and ownership over time. As the senior IT representative for application delivery and portfolio management, you are the face of the organization to its application service providers.

Key Responsibilities:

• Build and lead the IT Projects and Applications function, establishing delivery processes, governance standards, and team structures that scale with the organization.
• Own the application portfolio across the full lifecycle, from requirements and delivery through to live operations, ensuring systems remain fit for purpose as the organization grows.
• Lead the delivery of major IT projects, providing senior oversight on planning, risk management, scope control, and stakeholder alignment across complex multi-vendor programs.
• Define and own the release management framework for application changes, ensuring new functionality and system updates are introduced in a controlled and well-governed manner.
• Serve as the primary relationship owner with application service providers, representing the organization in commercial reviews, escalations, and strategic discussions while the team manages day-to-day delivery.
• Own financial oversight of the application portfolio including budget tracking, forecasting, and reporting, ensuring spend is transparent and aligned to business priorities.
• Ensure application governance practices are upheld across the portfolio including change control, audit readiness, data integrity, and compliance with organizational standards.
• Develop and grow a team of project managers and application specialists, creating clarity around roles, priorities, and individual development paths.
• Work closely with business stakeholders to translate operational needs into a prioritized application roadmap, balancing short-term delivery pressure with long-term platform health.
• Report on portfolio performance, delivery progress, and application health to the Head of IT and senior business stakeholders, providing a clear and current picture at all times.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in IT, Computer Science, or a related field; a master's degree or equivalent experience is a plus.
• 7-10 years of experience in IT project delivery or application management, with a track record of leading complex multi-vendor programs and managing live application portfolios.
• Proven ability to build and structure an IT delivery function in a scaling or greenfield environment.
• Strong experience managing enterprise applications such as ERP, EAM, HRIS, or similar SaaS and cloud-hosted systems across their full lifecycle.
• Hands-on experience with test management in SaaS environments, including UAT coordination, defect management, acceptance criteria definition, and go-live readiness assessment
• Comfortable owning vendor relationships at a strategic level, including commercial reviews, escalations, financial reporting, and forecasting.
• Solid understanding of release and change management principles, with practical experience governing application changes in an enterprise environment.
• A natural leader who creates clarity, delegates effectively, and invests in the growth of those around them.
• Financially literate, with experience tracking budgets, managing forecasts, and reporting spend against plan.
• Relevant certifications are a plus, particularly PMP, PRINCE2, ITIL 4 Managing Professional, or COBIT 2019.
• Arabic required; strong professional English essential.

This role is for someone who wants to own something end to end - from the first project kickoff to a mature and well-run application portfolio that the whole organization depends on. The scope here grows with the organization.