Job Description

Job Title: Applications Manager
Department: Information Technology
Reporting To: Head of IT / Group IT Director
Location: Dubai, UAE
Job Purpose
The Applications Manager is responsible for the ownership, stability, performance, and continuous improvement of all enterprise business applications across Union Properties and its subsidiaries. This role ensures that applications effectively support business operations, comply with governance and security standards, and evolve in line with business and digital transformation objectives.
Key Responsibilities
Application Ownership & Support

• Own and manage the full lifecycle of enterprise applications (CRM, HR, Property Management, AI Applications and other business systems).
• Ensure high availability, performance, and reliability of all supported applications.
• Oversee L1/L2/L3 application support, incident management, and problem resolution.
• Ensure proper documentation, SOPs, and knowledge transfer are in place.

Business Engagement & Requirements

• Act as the primary liaison between business stakeholders and IT for application-related matters.
• Translate business requirements into functional specifications and solution designs.
• Support business units in optimizing system usage and improving adoption.
• Participate in solution evaluation, fit-gap analysis, and system selection initiatives.

Vendor & Partner Management

• Manage relationships with application vendors, system integrators, and support partners.
• Monitor vendor performance against SLAs, KPIs, and contractual obligations.
• Coordinate upgrades, patches, enhancements, and support agreements.
• Support RFPs, SOWs, and contract negotiations where required.

Change, Release & Enhancement Management

• Govern application changes through formal change and release management processes.
• Plan and execute system upgrades, patches, and enhancements with minimal business disruption.
• Coordinate UAT, deployment, and post-go-live support.
• Ensure proper rollback and contingency plans are in place.

Security, Compliance & Governance

• Ensure applications comply with internal IT policies, cybersecurity standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Support audits, access reviews, segregation of duties (SoD), and compliance reporting.
• Enforce data integrity, access controls, and audit trails.

Application Strategy & Transformation

• Define and maintain the enterprise application roadmap aligned with business strategy.
• Identify opportunities for automation, integration, and process optimization.
• Lead or support application transformation initiatives.
• Drive standardization and reduction of application complexity across the group.

Financial & Resource Management

• Manage application-related budgets, licenses, and renewals.
• Optimize application costs and licensing utilization.
• Support annual budgeting, forecasting, and cost-benefit analysis.
• Manage internal application team workload and priorities.

Key Skills & Competencies
Technical & Functional Skills

• Strong experience managing enterprise applications.
• Solid understanding of application architecture, integrations, APIs, and data flows.
• Experience with cloud-based and on-prem enterprise systems.
• Knowledge of ITIL processes (Incident, Problem, Change, Release) and Project management.

Leadership & Soft Skills

• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Ability to balance operational stability with transformation initiatives.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Experience managing internal teams and external vendors.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in IT, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
• ITIL certification preferred; COBIT is an advantage.
• 8-12 years of experience in application management or enterprise systems roles.
• Experience in real estate developers, construction, or large multi-entity organizations is highly desirable.
• UAE/GCC experience preferred.

Skills Required