Data Centre Operations Manager (UAE National)

HSBC•Dubai, ME

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Provide end-to-end leadership for the Middle East DCO control environment and operational governance, acting as the single senior owner for regional control oversight. The role has the mandate to challenge, gatekeep and drive delivery across multiple sites and stakeholders, ensuring the control framework is consistently designed, implemented, evidenced and continuously improved to enhance operational resilience and risk management across Middle East DCO. The role delivers outcomes by setting clear directions, prioritizing key activities and coordinating effective execution through existing teams and governance forums.

Requirements

A graduation degree is essential for obtaining a UAE visa and work permit. If your university certificate is from outside the UAE, up-to-date attestations and equivalency are also mandatory (Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications Issued Outside The UAE)
Proven experience in critical environment operations and controls (data centers and/or equipment rooms), including physical security, site standards, asset/inventory governance and operational assurance within a regulated environment.
Strong control management capability, including leading attestations/control testing, maintaining high-quality evidence, driving remediation to closure and sustaining audit readiness across multiple sites and stakeholders.
Solid access management governance experience, including approval workflows, periodic recertification, least-privilege principles and effective handling of exceptions/risks for high-sensitivity locations.
Hands-on change governance and assurance for facilities/real estate works impacting live critical environments, including risk assessments, method statement reviews, gating decisions, dependency management and stakeholder governance.
Experience managing third parties in an operational context (e.g., colocation providers, facilities management, cabling/maintenance, secure media destruction), with clear performance oversight and control compliance.
Financial/commercial governance skills to support operations, including end-to-end PO/TPS management, invoice reconciliation and spend tracking to avoid service disruption.
Knowledge of secure media and records retention practices, including compliant retention, inventory integrity, chain of custody and secure destruction controls (including dual-control/two-key principles).
Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with evidence of delivering outcomes through matrixed teams (RES, Protective/Corporate Security, technology operations and vendors) without direct line authority.
Able to perform effectively under pressure, including out-of-hours support when needed, making sound risk-based decisions during incidents (e.g., fire/flood) and time-critical recovery while maintaining control standards.

Nice To Haves

A professional IT qualification is preferred; equivalent hands-on experience in critical environment, governance and control of leadership is acceptable.

Responsibilities

Own end-to-end SIMQ obligations for UAE equipment rooms/data centers, including attestations, site visits, onboarding/decommissioning governance and closure of remediation actions; prioritize, escalate and gate closures to avoid overdue items.
Gatekeep and challenge RES changes affecting critical environments, ensuring risk assessments, documentation, approvals and mitigations are complete; decide whether changes proceed, require rework or must be escalated.
Deliver secure standards-compliant branch equipment rooms through refurbishments, relocations and incident recovery (e.g., fire/flood), coordinating stakeholders and vendors and making time-critical decisions while maintaining controls.
Maintain compliant governance of the legacy backup tape estate (retention, inventory, secure destruction), meeting data retention requirements and two-key controls (SERV1/DSEC7).
Partner with Protective Security (PS), Corporate Security (CS) and relevant control owners on access/security changes, providing challenge and input to protect critical environments.
Manage colocation and vendor relationships (e.g., JLL, colo providers, media destruction, cabling, maintenance) with clear expectations and “respectful authority”, ensuring delivery, compliance and remediation closure.
Support urgent operational requirements, including out-of-hours access and recovery co-ordination, balancing service continuity with control adherence.
Provide regular, clear reporting to stakeholders (RES/PS/vendors/regional management) on risks, actions, ageing items and key decisions.
Lead cross-functional delivery without additional headcount, aligning teams and suppliers to outcomes across UAE and, where in scope, Oman/Egypt.
Set and uphold control standards under time pressure, particularly during branch work and incident recovery, ensuring safety and security aren’t compromised for speed.
Coach and influence stakeholders on governance expectations (change control, access discipline, SIMQ evidence), challenging constructively and escalating when needed.
Promote inclusive, collaborative ways of working across diverse teams and locations, ensuring decisions are transparent, documented and informed by all relevant voices.
Act as the single accountable senior owner for SIMQ outcomes and critical environment operational governance for UAE sites, with regional support for access governance across UAE/Oman/Egypt as required.
Operate in a multi-site, high-risk, 24/7 environment where physical security, access control, inventory integrity and change discipline directly impact operational resilience and customer service.
Deliver through strong governance cadence (e.g., weekly RES change forums), cross-functional alignment and third-party performance management within defined policy and control guardrails, making day-to-day risk-based decisions and escalating material risks promptly.