Associate Director - D Sell Portfolio Management

Job Purpose

Lead portfolio-wide programme planning, governance and performance management across the D-Sell development portfolio. Establish and maintain integrated portfolio plans, monitor delivery performance, risks and dependencies, ensure compliance with Compass Gateway governance, and provide executive reporting that enables timely decision-making and successful delivery of Aldar's development pipeline.

Job Responsibilities

Portfolio Planning & Performance

- Develop and maintain integrated portfolio programmes across all D-Sell projects.

- Monitor critical milestones, dependencies, programme health, schedule performance and delivery KPIs across the portfolio.

- Drive planning consistency across all D-Sell Pods.

- Produce executive portfolio dashboards and performance reports.

- Identify strategic delivery risks, escalate issues and recommend mitigation actions.

Governance & Portfolio Assurance

- Review Gateway submissions for planning completeness and programme readiness.

- Ensure compliance with Development Management planning standards, governance requirements and reporting obligations.

- Coordinate executive governance forums, portfolio reviews and reporting cycles.

- Provide independent oversight of portfolio planning quality and delivery readiness.

Stakeholder Alignment & Continuous Improvement

- Coordinate planning activities across Design, Delivery, Procurement, Commercial and Finance.

- Facilitate cross-functional alignment on programme priorities, sequencing and critical dependencies.

- Drive continuous improvement of portfolio planning processes, methodologies and governance.

- Champion digital planning tools, AI-enabled reporting and the adoption of portfolio management best practices.

Leadership & Capability Development

- Lead and develop the portfolio planning function and team capability.

- Foster a high-performance, collaborative and continuous improvement culture.

- Build organisational capability by embedding lessons learned and standard planning practices.

Key Measures of Success

- 95% of portfolio reports delivered on time

- Portfolio schedule variance maintained within agreed tolerance

- 95% Gateway planning compliance

- Reduction in cross-project planning conflicts

- Executive stakeholder satisfaction

Working Conditions

Office-based (Abu Dhabi HQ), with periodic site visits.

Experience, Skills & Qualifications

Years of Experience

- 14+ years in programme, portfolio or project controls within real estate development or major infrastructure

- Minimum 6 years leading portfolio planning

Technical Skills

- Programme management

- Primavera P6 / MS Project

- Portfolio reporting

- Risk management

- Power BI / Oracle / AI-enabled reporting tools

Interpersonal Skills

- Strategic thinker with a highly structured approach to work

- Excellent communicator, capable of building and nurturing partnerships across key stakeholders to build collective spirit towards shared development objectives

Qualifications

- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction or Project Management

- Master's degree preferred

- PMP or equivalent certification preferred