Head of IT

We are working with a leading commodity trading organisation in Dubai to appoint a Head of Information Technology to lead the organisation’s technology strategy, operations and transformation agenda.

This is a senior leadership position offering the opportunity to shape the future technology landscape of a complex trading business. The successful candidate will be responsible for the stability, security and resilience of the IT environment while leading a multi-year modernisation programme across ETRM, ERP, enterprise applications and digital transformation.

Key Responsibilities

IT Strategy & Leadership

• Develop and execute the IT strategy in alignment with business objectives.
• Provide technology leadership as part of the senior management team.
• Establish technology roadmaps supporting business growth, innovation and digital transformation.
• Lead enterprise-wide technology transformation and modernisation programmes.

Enterprise Applications & ETRM

• Own the enterprise applications strategy across ERP, ETRM, CRM, Finance, Treasury, Risk, Procurement, HR and BI platforms.
• Lead the modernisation, rationalisation and digitalisation of business-critical applications.
• Establish strong governance, lifecycle management and change-control frameworks.
• Partner closely with Trading, Finance, Risk, Operations and other business functions.

Cybersecurity & IT Risk

• Define and oversee the enterprise cybersecurity strategy and security governance framework.
• Manage cyber risk, vulnerability management, identity and access management and incident response.
• Ensure appropriate security controls across infrastructure, cloud, applications, endpoints and data.
• Lead cybersecurity audits, assessments and remediation programmes.

Infrastructure & IT Operations

• Oversee the design, operation and continuous improvement of the organisation's technology infrastructure.
• Ensure high availability, reliability, performance and resilience across networks, systems, cloud and applications.
• Lead Microsoft 365, Azure, cloud, virtualisation, storage, backup and disaster recovery environments.
• Drive IT Service Management and continuous service improvement.
• Develop infrastructure and operational roadmaps aligned to future business requirements.

Digital Transformation, Automation & AI

• Lead a multi-year digital transformation strategy across Trading, Finance, Risk, Operations, Compliance and Corporate Functions.
• Identify opportunities for process optimisation, automation and technology-enabled efficiencies.
• Develop and implement an enterprise AI strategy and governance framework.
• Evaluate and deploy technologies including Microsoft Copilot, Copilot Studio, Azure AI Services, machine learning, intelligent document processing and advanced analytics.
• Drive RPA, workflow automation and low-code/no-code initiatives.
• Strengthen enterprise data capabilities to support AI, analytics and intelligent automation.

About You

The successful candidate will bring:

• 15+ years of technology experience, including at least 5 years in a senior IT leadership position.
• Previous experience leading an IT function of 30+ employees.
• Strong experience within oil & gas, commodity supply and/or commodity trading environments.
• A strong enterprise applications and infrastructure background, ideally including significant ETRM experience.
• Proven experience leading large-scale technology transformation and modernisation programmes.
• Strong understanding of cybersecurity, technology risk and IT governance.
• Experience across cloud, infrastructure, enterprise applications and IT operations.
• A Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, IT, Engineering or a related discipline.