Senior Manager - Operational Excellence

ABOUT EDGE

At EDGE bold ideas are engineered into technologies that protect, improve and save lives.

Headquartered in the United Arab Emirates, EDGE is a leading advanced technology group working at the forefront of defence and emerging technologies. Spanning more than 35 specialised companies and multiple centres of excellence, we are purpose-built to move fast. Free from heavy legacy processes, we give our people the autonomy, accountability, and agility to bring breakthrough technologies from concept to reality.

Based in Abu Dhabi, a globally connected hub at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, EDGE is home to a truly multicultural community where bold ideas thrive, and the future is shaped.

Together, we are shaping the future.

ABOUT THE ROLE

BRIDGE is EDGE's centre for Business Excellence, Learning and Innovation. It consolidates seven functions - Business Excellence, Business Transformation & Capability, Business Operations, External Engagement, Agile, AI and Industry 4.0 - under a single reporting line to the BRIDGE Lead, supporting all EDGE entities with operational excellence, capability building and technology-enabled transformation.

The role requires to lead the Business Excellence function and promote an Operational Excellence culture across EDGE entities and UAE companies - improving processes for higher efficiency, better quality, lower cost and on-time delivery. The role owns the EDGE Business Excellence (BizEx) project portfolio end to end: converting Excellence Model assessments into a Finance-validated opportunity pipeline, delivering the productivity impact targets, and shipping a chartered, capacity-modelled portfolio ready for execution - while building the entity-level champion network and capability that make excellence self-sustaining.

RESPONSIBILITIES

1. BizEx Project Portfolio Ownership

Own and close the FY EDGE BizEx portfolio with Finance-validated productivity impact (AED 10M target); charter the following-year portfolio - categorised, capacity-modelled and execution-ready. Reconcile impact figures with adjacent teams to prevent double-counting.

2. OpEx Assessments & Opportunity Pipeline

Lead EDGE Excellence Model / OpEx assessments across entities (proving ground: Halcon) and convert findings into a Finance-validated opportunity pipeline that feeds the project portfolio (target: AED 5M+ pipeline from the first two assessments).

3. OpEx Culture & Top-Down Targets

Deploy Top-Down OpEx targets with the Clusters (AED 10M); drive the communication and adoption of the leadership OpEx training target (50% of leadership trained); nominate and coordinate a network of Business Excellence Champions (15, part-time) across the entities.

4. SLAs, Governance & Impact Validation

Implement SLAs, project charters, dashboards and tracking systems for the BizEx portfolio; ensure savings and impact are audited and validated by Finance; maintain real-time KPI visibility for leadership.

5. Advanced Capability Bets

Land and industrialise strategic capability initiatives with the team - including the Digital Twin pilot (Finance-validated, capability transfer from partner organisations, replicable playbook with defined next use cases), Process Mining deployment and the Quality Academy.

6. People Leadership & Capability Building

Lead and develop the Business Excellence team (managers and specialists, grades G6-G8); maintain the skills matrix; contribute to career ladders and competence frameworks (e.g. Engineer Career Ladder) with Human Capital.

7. Stakeholder & External Engagement

Integrate with Human Capital on cohort identification for capability programmes; support external engagement with government and industry partners (e.g. MOIAT, ADIO, SMCC); manage consultant and partner engagements for assessments and academy delivery.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Operations or a related discipline.
• 12+ years in operational excellence, continuous improvement or transformation roles, of which 5+ in a leadership position, within industrial, energy, defence or multi-entity group environments.
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (or equivalent) with a demonstrated portfolio of delivered improvement projects.
• Proven delivery of Finance-validated cost-impact programmes at group scale.
• Experience leading and developing multi-grade teams.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Master's degree / MBA.
• Working knowledge of Excellence Models (e.g. EFQM or equivalent), Digital Twin and Process Mining platforms (e.g. SAP Signavio).
• Experience establishing academies, career ladders and competence-management frameworks.
• Experience with government / defence-sector stakeholders in the UAE.

WHY CHOOSE EDGE

Launched in November 2019, the UAE's EDGE is one of the world's leading advanced technology groups, established to develop agile, bold and disruptive solutions for defence and beyond, and to be a catalyst for change and transformation. It is dedicated to bringing breakthrough innovations, products, and services to market with greater speed and efficiency, to position the UAE as a leading global hub for future industries, and to creating clear paths within the sector for the next generation of highly skilled talent to thrive.

At EDGE, the real investment goes beyond compensation. Through our dedicated learning academy and digital learning platforms, employees have access to extensive opportunities to develop new skills, deepen their expertise, and advance their careers. Combined with the freedom to innovate, strong career support, and the opportunity to collaborate with world-class talent from across the globe, EDGE is a place where you can continue to grow, keep learning, and turn ambitious ideas into meaningful outcomes.

Working at EDGE also comes with a package that genuinely reflects how much we value our people. Salaries are highly competitive and tax-free and, depending on your role and seniority, benefits can include family visas, annual flight tickets, medical insurance for you and your dependents, and education allowances for your children.

CANDIDATE PRIVACY & EQUAL OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT

If you feel your skills, experience and potential are a strong match for a role, we encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every requirement. We are genuinely interested in what you can bring to EDGE.

Any information you share as part of your EDGE candidate profile or job application will be handled in accordance with applicable data protection and privacy regulations.

EDGE is an equal opportunity employer committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and high-performing workforce. We believe every individual deserves to be treated with fairness, respect and dignity, and our employment decisions reflect that. We do not discriminate based on race, colour, nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender, marital status, age, disability, pregnancy or parental status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

As a global organisation, effective collaboration across international teams is central to how we work, so English proficiency is required for all roles unless otherwise stated in the job posting.

Please note that EDGE does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruitment agencies. Any resumes in the absence of a formally executed agreement in place will be deemed the property of EDGE, and no placement fees or compensation will be payable in respect of such submissions.