Principal Lead Service Management

About the role

First Abu Dhabi Bank is seeking a senior leader to head its IT Service Management (ITSM) function. The Principal Lead will define governance, standards and assurance to ensure resilient, secure and business‑aligned technology services across the enterprise, supporting the bank’s digital transformation and growth ambitions.

Key responsibilities

• Define and execute the enterprise ITSM strategy, roadmap and operating model aligned with business and resilience objectives.
• Lead service continuity, disaster recovery governance, testing programmes and regulatory readiness.
• Establish governance, standards and oversight for Change Enablement, Configuration Management, Service Quality and Performance Management.
• Provide end‑to‑end service visibility, mapping, dependency management and impact assessment.
• Represent ITSM, resilience and operational assurance in executive, governance, audit and regulatory forums.
• Identify, manage and escalate operational risks, control weaknesses and service vulnerabilities.
• Partner with senior stakeholders across Technology, Business, Risk, Compliance, Audit and strategic suppliers.
• Champion data‑driven service management using automation, AI, observability and AIOps.
• Lead, develop and inspire high‑performing teams while embedding FAB values.

Required profile

• Proven senior leadership experience in IT Service Management within a large, regulated organization.
• Strong understanding of service continuity, disaster recovery and operational resilience.
• Ability to work with cross‑functional senior stakeholders and influence executive decision‑making.
• Track record of driving continuous improvement, data‑driven decision making and adoption of automation/AI.

Required skills

• Deep knowledge of ITSM frameworks, governance and best practices.
• Experience with service intelligence, observability platforms and AIOps concepts.
• Expertise in change enablement, configuration and service quality management.