AI Adoption Programme Manager

About the role

Zayed University's Strategy and Future Department is looking for an AI Adoption Programme Manager to lead the day-to-day implementation of the university's Agentic AI Framework. The role acts as the formal liaison with the UAE Government's Agentic AI Project national PMO and coordinates AI Workstream Coordinators, AI Domain Leads and the AI Implementation Partner across all delivery phases, so that the university meets its national AI transformation targets and scales AI adoption responsibly.

Key responsibilities

• Translate the approved AI Framework into a sequenced delivery plan and governance action plan aligned with the national PMO's timeline and reporting requirements.
• Act as the single point of contact with the National PMO, submitting action plans, wave reports and performance data on time, and report progress, risks and resourcing needs to the AI Strategic Committee and the university taskforce.
• Consolidate budget and resourcing requirements, including vendor costs, and identify risks and dependencies with mitigation recommendations.
• Coordinate the RFP process and onboarding of the AI Implementation Partner, and manage the vendor relationship; work with the AI and Data Technologies Workstream and IT on technology sourcing, integration architecture, data readiness and security.
• Support AI governance: committee terms of reference, decision rights, acceptable-use policy, assessment policy and risk-review processes.
• Coordinate role-based AI literacy and capability-building programmes for faculty, staff and students, and establish the AI Champions Network.
• Track programme KPIs, adoption metrics, training completion rates and use-case outcomes, and manage incident reporting for live AI use cases.
• Prepare briefing materials, decision papers and progress reports for university leadership, the Board of Trustees and national stakeholders, and perform ad-hoc tasks requested by the Direct Supervisor.
• Coordinate vendors, workstream leads and coordinators, guide AI Champions, and identify capability and resourcing gaps with HR and Strategy & Future leadership.

Required profile

• Master's degree with at least 10 years of experience and at least 6 years in a managerial position.
• Prior experience in higher education, government or a regulated public-sector entity is preferred.
• Certification in programme/project management (e.g. PMP, MSP, PRINCE2) and/or AI-related certification is preferred.
• Written and spoken English and Arabic are mandatory.

To apply, complete the online application form and attach a cover letter, a current CV and the names and contact details of three professional references. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview.