Smart Solutions Development Director (UAE Nationals)

About the role

The Smart Solutions Development Director will lead the university’s software development department, overseeing the creation, support, maintenance and security of business and e‑learning applications. Reporting to senior university leadership, the director will work closely with academic and administrative stakeholders to deliver reliable, user‑friendly solutions that meet the institution’s research, training and operational needs.

Key responsibilities

• Supervise and allocate work for software development staff, ensuring training, adherence to procedures and timely problem resolution.
• Evaluate staff performance, motivate the team and take corrective actions to maintain high productivity.
• Plan and manage the department’s budget, monitoring expenditures and financial performance.
• Consult regularly with university stakeholders to analyse requirements, recommend and implement software solutions across e‑learning, administration, research and training.
• Anticipate future software needs, develop road‑maps and guarantee 100 % application availability through appropriate technology choices.
• Promote world‑class development standards, continuous improvement and adoption of cloud‑native services such as RDS, serverless and automated deployment.
• Implement and enforce ISMS guidelines, security best practices and promptly report security incidents.
• Oversee the Information Security Management System, assess information assets, manage access controls and collaborate with the security committee to protect confidentiality and integrity.
• Ensure high user satisfaction among learners, staff and faculty.

Required profile

• Extensive experience leading software development teams in an academic or large‑scale organisational environment.
• Strong management, budgeting and stakeholder‑engagement skills.
• Deep understanding of information security frameworks and ISMS implementation.
• Proactive attitude toward future technology needs and process optimisation.

Required skills

• Software development lifecycle management
• Database administration
• Cloud‑native services (RDS, serverless, automated deployment)
• Information Security Management System (ISMS) compliance
• E‑learning platform development