About the role My client are design and build fit-out contractor working across commercial office, retail, hospitality and F&B interiors in Dubai and the wider UAE. The business has grown to the point where our IT estate, our project data and our site reporting no longer match the speed we deliver at. That is the problem this role exists to solve.
This is not a keep-the-lights-on IT manager job. We are looking for someone who can hold the day-to-day infrastructure steady and, in the same breath, find and deliver practical uses for AI across estimating, procurement, design coordination, site reporting and back-office administration. You will be the single owner of technology in the business: the person who decides what we buy, how it is deployed, who it is rolled out to, and how we prove it was worth it.
You do not need to write code, but you do need to be able to read a process, judge where AI genuinely saves time and where it introduces risk, pilot it with one team, and then scale it without losing control of the data.
Key responsibilities IT operations and infrastructure - Own the head office network, servers, Wi-Fi, internet redundancy, firewall, backup and disaster recovery, and keep them appropriately sized for a business that grows with its project pipeline.
- Manage Microsoft 365 (or equivalent) tenancy end to end: identities, licensing, SharePoint and Teams structure, email security, device management and access control.
- Maintain an accurate asset register and a working replacement cycle for laptops, desktops, tablets, plotters and large-format printers.
- Run onboarding and offboarding so that a new hire is productive on day one and a leaver loses access the same day.
- Provide hands-on support for the office and escalate intelligently rather than reflexively — the ability to fix the problem yourself matters more here than managing a ticket queue.
Site and project technology - Support the tools our project teams actually use on site: mobile devices and tablets, site connectivity and temporary Wi-Fi, digital snagging and inspection apps, and photo and progress reporting.
- Administer and develop our common data environment and document control platform so drawings, submittals, RFIs and approvals are version-controlled and retrievable.
- Support BIM and design coordination workflows — model sharing, clash review, viewer access — and be the business owner of the relationship with our design consultants and their file formats.
- Work with HSE to run the technology side of site safety: digital inductions, permit and inspection records, and evidence that stands up in an audit.
- AI implementation — the core of the role
- This is the part of the job we are most serious about, and it will take the largest share of your time in the first year.
- Map our current workflows across estimating, procurement, design coordination, project management and administration, and identify the specific steps where AI can remove hours without removing judgement.
- Design and run time-boxed pilots — a defined team, a defined process, a measurable baseline — and report honestly on what worked and what did not.
- Build and maintain our internal knowledge tools: a searchable library of past tenders, specifications, rates and lessons learned, so that estimating and proposals start from our own history rather than from scratch.
- Deploy document and drawing AI for specification and BOQ review, drawing mark-up and comparison, and extraction of scope from tender packs.
- Deploy text AI where it earns its place: drafting and review of correspondence, RFI and variation language, minutes, tender clarifications and responses to prequalification questionnaires.
- Build or configure workflow automation around our existing systems — approvals, reminders, handovers, monthly reporting — using low-code tools and APIs before commissioning bespoke software.
- Drive adoption deliberately: train teams, write short and usable internal guides, run show-and-tell sessions, and pick up champions in each department rather than mandating tools nobody asked for.
- Keep a clear, current position on AI governance: which tools are approved, what data may and may not be entered into them, how outputs of a commercial or contractual nature are checked, and where client or consultant confidentiality overrides convenience.
Data, security and governance - Keep confidential project data inside systems we control; assess and reject any tool that cannot meet our confidentiality obligations to clients.
- Maintain security basics to a professional standard: email authentication and filtering, phishing resistance, MFA, patching, encryption, least-privilege access and a tested restore.
- Produce the IT input for client prequalifications, audits and ISO submissions, and answer client and consultant IT and data questions credibly.
- Own business continuity for the systems a project cannot run without, and prove the plan works by testing it.
- Commercial and vendor management
- Own the IT and software budget line, forecast renewals, and challenge every subscription annually.
- Manage suppliers and integrators against agreed scope, price and SLA, including AV, structured cabling and site connectivity providers.
- Prepare the business case for investment — cost, effort, expected saving or risk reduction — and be willing to say no.
What you will be measured on - Adoption and measured time saving from AI and automation across at least three core workflows within the first twelve months.
- system availability, responsiveness of support, and the quality of records that projects depend on.
- IT spend within an agreed budget, with no unbudgeted surprises at renewal.
- security and data handling that pass client audit and prequalification review.
- the confidence of non-technical colleagues — measured by whether they bring you the next problem early, rather than after the workaround.
About you Essential - Proven IT management experience, ideally in construction, fit-out, engineering, architecture or a comparable project-based business — or elsewhere if you can show you have learned a project environment quickly.
- A track record of introducing AI or automation into a workplace that was not already using it: real deployments, with results you can describe plainly.
- Hands-on technical depth in Microsoft 365 administration, networking and endpoint/device management.
- Comfort with construction software — document control and a common data environment, project management and site reporting tools — and with BIM file workflows.
- Experience of AI-assisted work at a practical level: prompt design, evaluating output quality, and understanding the limits and the data privacy implications of the tools involved.
- The ability to explain a technical decision to an estimator, a site manager and a client in the same meeting, and be understood by all three.
- Fluency in English; strong written communication, because you will be writing the guides, policies and business cases yourself.
Desirable
- Bachelor's degree in information technology, computer science, engineering or a related discipline, or an equivalent professional certification.
- Certifications such as Microsoft 365 / Azure administrator, ITIL, PRINCE2 or a recognised project management credential.
- Familiarity with UAE regulatory context and practice for data protection and confidentiality.
- Experience of selecting and integrating construction-specific platforms rather than only administering them.
- A valid UAE driving licence.
5. What we offer - A genuine remit: technology decisions in this business are made by this role, not inherited from a group IT function elsewhere.
- The chance to build something from the start rather than maintain something someone else built.
- Direct access to the directors and to the people doing the work, with no layers in between.
- A competitive, tax-free UAE package with medical insurance, annual leave and gratuity, with the final salary band set by experience.
- An IT training and certification budget, agreed annually.
- The opportunity to work on fit-out projects across commercial, retail, hospitality and F&B sectors.