Technology Manager/Director, MENA

The Technology Director will lead GSMA technology orientated programmes in the Middle East and North Africa. The Director will be responsible for providing the technical expertise and resource for GSMA’s MENA region.

Location: Dubai
Position type: 12 month rolling contract 
What the hiring manager says
 

“The GSMA’s MENA team is expanding, and we have an exciting opportunity for a high-performing Technology Director to work with the MENA team to engage all stakeholders with GSMA Technology programmes and technology orientated activities (MC, IoT, RCS, 5G, IMEI, Mobile Money, etc.). The role entails a lot of travel, ability to work under pressure and a deep technical background”.
Jawad J. Abbassi, Head of MENA, GSMA

About the Role
 

We are looking for a creative and energetic Technology Director to lead GSMA technology orientated programmes in the Middle East and North Africa. The Director will be responsible for providing the technical expertise and resource for GSMA’s MENA region. This will involve leading technical projects as well as being the technical expert and reference point for broader GSMA activities both within the organisation and in relations with our members. You will need to demonstrate clear understanding of mobile telecoms end-to-end systems and be comfortable communicating this at a range of levels of detail, to make understanding of complex ideas accessible to both internal and external audiences with wide-ranging levels of technical understanding. You will also be required to attend some GSMA working groups when needed, to provide technical overviews and descriptions of general industry topics and specific GSMA projects. You may be required to attend meetings of other industry forums.
You will have a good understanding of existing and future mobile technology and network architecture and be able to demonstrate knowledge of the future industry trends and their likely impacts on mobile network evolution and development. You will be able to articulate potential industry positions in areas of confluence of Mobile with other verticals, including, but not limited to, banking and finance, healthcare, education, and other service industries where mobile technology plays a critical role in shifting paradigms for solution delivery. You will also be able to demonstrate the ability to understand the commercial implications of technical decisions and vice versa.
You'll also engage all stakeholders with GSMA Technology programmes and technology orientated activities (MC, IoT, RCS, 5G, IMEI, Mobile Money, etc.).
The Technology Director, reports to the Head of MENA, based in Dubai. This role works very closely with the Heads of Strategic Engagement, Technology and Mobile for Development. 

You will:

• Lead technical projects as well as being the technical expert and reference point for broader GSMA activities in region.

• Work closely with Global Head of Technology to ensure programme delivery strategy is fit for purpose in region.

• Manage Working Group and Regional Interest Group activity in region.

• Work closely with any relevant Technical Specification Groups.

• Technical design and support for the implementation and operation of technical solutions for in-market trials/deployments and within GSMA industry events for showcasing new business opportunities.

• Engage with member CTOs in region.

• Be Responsible for input towards regional business planning for technology.

• Manage programme delivery in region against HQ KPIs and member expectations.

• Be responsible for delivering within the annual regional budget allocation.

• Be responsible for regional reporting in accordance with HQ requirements, presenting progress against regional KPIs and defining corrective action where appropriate.

• Foster the necessary consultation, communications and good relations within the wider organisation, including staff of member organisations.

• Line and performance management of regional team.

• Act as a role model in demonstrating commitment to GSMA values and internal processes

• Ensure compliance by team with all GSMA polices, processes and procedures.

About You

You will have:

• Product experience. Ideally operator or vendor

• Strong VAS (technical) plus commercial understanding background.

• Easily understand the technical aspects of our services (RCS, MC, IMEI DB...)

• Capable of delivering presentations to a technical audience on these services

• You will be fluent in English, additionally, Arabic and / or French would be an advantage.

• A proven track record of proposition development and the ability to influence and add value to your area of business.

• Strong writing skills, messaging, leadership positioning and narrative development.

• Experience working in an international environment, ideally in the MENA / SSA region. 

• Advanced knowledge of MS Office (Excel, Word and Power Point).

• Experience of working with multiple internal stakeholders and with geographically dispersed teams in a matrix structure.

• Willingness to travel, as and when required by the role.

Contract type

Regular

Worker type

Employee

What We Offer

Working at the GSMA offers you unparalleled access to the mobile industry. We offer a chance to truly shape the direction of mobile, whatever your role. By joining the GSMA, you will be exposed to a fast-paced rapidly evolving environment, working on global solutions, genuinely fascinating and industry-changing projects and a stimulating and dynamic environment designed to enable you to flourish.

In addition to architect-designed offices and competitive compensation, our benefits include fantastic learning & development opportunities, generous holiday allowances, four additional days off for professional development and many others.

To learn more about the GSMA, visit our career site, our LinkedIn page and our Twitter page.

Being You at the GSMA

We care deeply about diversity, equity and inclusivity and aspire to be the best at it. Your well-being and work/life balance is important, so flexi-time and remote working is available to all staff. We're keen to ensure everyone is equal, represented and connected so we particularly encourage applications from all demographics. The sucess of the GSMA year on year will continue to be contributed by people from all walks of life.

GSMA Values

Our values not only drive our culture – they shape how we work and interact inside and outside our global organisation.

Passionately driven

We approach everything we do with unparalleled capability, tenacity and commitment, knowing that the challenging scale, pace and complexity of our work is what leads to its world-changing impact.

Insightful leaders

We continually develop and engage our expertise, insight and creativity so that we’re always ready to respond to the changing landscape with authority, agility and nuance.

Stronger together

We lean on each other so the industry can lean on us, embracing our diversity by actively seeking out perspectives and skill sets beyond our own, fuelling each other’s successes and constantly asking how we can help.

Underpinning our values is our collective mindset to show up purposefully as good human beings every day, in every situation. When we’re at our best – we are collaborative, considerate and compassionate to others, and we create a safe space for one another to thrive, assuming positive intent in our colleagues. And if we aren’t at our best and the pressure is on – we feel free to be ourselves but still remain curious, lean into the tough stuff and we are always respectful to others and accountable for the part we play.