IT Manager - Enterprise Business Applications

IT Manager - Enterprise Business ApplicationsDepartment: Information TechnologyReporting To: IT Senior ManagerLocation: Abu Dhabi - UAEJob SummaryThe IT Manager - Enterprise Business Applications is the technical lead and platform authority for enterprise collaboration and DevOps platforms. The role leads architecture, administration, governance, integration, security, resilience, and lifecycle management for Jira, Confluence, Atlassian Cloud or Data Center, Azure DevOps, GitLab, Bitbucket, Bamboo, and related applications. It leads the applications team, provides senior escalation across Linux-hosted environments, and owns platform delivery, vendors, licensing, and continuous improvement.Key ResponsibilitiesEnterprise Applications Strategy & LeadershipOwn target architecture, operating model, roadmap, standards, and lifecycle for Jira, Confluence, and related enterprise applications.Lead the applications team, prioritize demand, develop capability, and translate business, engineering, security, and compliance needs into scalable platform solutions.Atlassian Platform Architecture & AdministrationArchitect, administer, optimize, and lifecycle-manage Atlassian Cloud and/or Data Center, including organizations, sites, projects, spaces, workflows, schemes, fields, permissions, automation, Marketplace apps, and licensing.Govern instance strategy, standards, consolidation, upgrades, migrations, performance, capacity, backup, recovery, retention, and adoption.DevOps Platforms, Automation & IntegrationLead administration and governance of Azure DevOps, GitLab, Bitbucket, Bamboo, repositories, pipelines, runners or agents, artifacts, access controls, release workflows, and approvals.Own APIs, webhooks, middleware, and integrations across Atlassian, DevOps, identity, monitoring, security, CRM/ERP, and other enterprise systems; promote automation and traceability.Linux & Application Platform EngineeringProvide senior oversight for Linux-hosted application services, including RHEL/Ubuntu, JVM/Tomcat, Nginx/Apache, databases, certificates, storage, clustering, backups, patching, hardening, monitoring, and tuning.Set standards for Bash/Python automation, deployment, configuration management, log analysis, troubleshooting, disaster recovery, and controlled change.Platform Operations, Security & ComplianceDefine support models and establish monitoring, dashboards, capacity management, escalation paths, runbooks, and operational handover.Lead critical platform outages through restoration, root-cause analysis, and permanent corrective action.Govern administrative access, SSO/SAML/SCIM, segregation of duties, audit logging, data protection, retention, vulnerability remediation, and third-party application risk.Govern platform releases and modifications through architecture, security, testing, approval, deployment, rollback, and post-implementation review.Maintain architecture, configuration, standards, operational documentation, and executive dashboards for availability, usage, risk, compliance, delivery, and licensing.Vendors, Commercial Management & DeliveryManage application vendors, contracts, subscriptions, licences, renewals, support cases, technical escalations, vendor performance reviews, and cost optimization.Lead platform programmes, migrations, integrations, and improvements from requirements and design through delivery, adoption, and operational readiness.Qualifications & ExperienceBachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field.10+ years of experience in enterprise applications, platform engineering, DevOps tooling, or solution architecture, including technical leadership and team management.Deep hands-on expertise with Jira, Confluence, workflows, permissions, automation, Marketplace apps, reporting, and enterprise support.Proven experience with Atlassian Cloud and/or Data Center, including multi-instance governance, migrations or consolidations, upgrades, integrations, resilience, security, and licensing.Strong experience with Azure DevOps, GitLab, Bitbucket, Bamboo, Git, CI/CD governance, release governance, APIs, and SSO/SAML/SCIM integration.Strong Linux administration and troubleshooting across RHEL/Ubuntu, web and application services, scripting, databases, backup and recovery, monitoring, patching, hardening, and high availability; sound knowledge of Agile or SAFe, vendors, and contracts.Professional CertificationsPreferred certifications include:Atlassian Certified Professional - Jira Administration for Cloud; Atlassian Cloud Organization Admin; or equivalentRed Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA), Red Hat Certified Engineer in Enterprise Linux (RHCE), Linux Foundation Certified System Administrator (LFCS), or equivalentMicrosoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert; relevant GitLab, SAFe, Scrum, PMP/PRINCE2, or equivalent credentialsSkills & CompetenciesStrategic platform leadership and architecture judgement, balanced with hands-on technical depth and practical platform ownership.Strong business analysis and process design, translating complex requirements into sustainable workflows, integrations, roadmaps, and operating models.Executive communication and stakeholder influence across business, engineering, cybersecurity, infrastructure, data, procurement, finance, audit, and external partners.Team leadership, coaching, mentoring, hiring, workload prioritization, knowledge transfer, and capability development.Strong outage leadership, analytical problem-solving, root-cause analysis, documentation discipline, and decision-making under pressure.Commercial awareness, vendor negotiation, change leadership, user-adoption focus, accountability, and delivery discipline across concurrent priorities.Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)Availability, performance, resilience, user experience, and recovery from critical outages across Jira, Confluence, DevOps, and related platforms.Platform governance, security, access, audit, data quality, patching, licensing, and timely closure of root-cause actions.Delivery of roadmaps, migrations, integrations, automation, and improvements; adoption, stakeholder satisfaction, dashboard quality, vendor performance, renewals, utilization, cost optimization, and team capability.