IT Director

Company Description

A privately held energy company headquartered in Abu Dhabi is developing a large-scale LNG export terminal in Alaska, together with the associated marine, pipeline and administrative infrastructure. The project is in its development phase, with the corporate structure, project delivery organisation and support functions being built up from a small core team. The IT Director will be the first and only senior IT appointment and will design the company's technology function from a near-blank base, covering both the Abu Dhabi corporate office and the US project organisation.

Job Description

• Define and own the IT strategy, architecture and roadmap for the corporate entity and the project organisation.
• Build the core corporate IT stack from scratch: identity and access management, cloud environment, collaboration and document management, endpoint management, networking and telephony across two geographies.
• Select and implement business systems — ERP/finance, HR, procurement, document control and project controls — and manage the vendors delivering them.
• Establish cybersecurity: policy, governance, threat monitoring, incident response and disaster recovery, at a standard appropriate to critical energy infrastructure and to a US-regulated environment.
• Set up IT for remote and construction-site operations in Alaska: connectivity in a low-infrastructure, extreme-climate location, site networks, field devices and support model.
• Own the IT budget, capex/opex planning and the contracts with MSPs, integrators and software vendors.
• Ensure compliance with data protection and data residency obligations across UAE and US jurisdictions, and support the company's obligations to lenders, partners and regulators on IT and cyber matters.
• Build and lead the IT team as the organisation scales through FID and into construction.

Qualifications

• 12+ years in IT, with at least 5 in a Head of IT / IT Director role reporting to executive level.
• Proven experience standing up an IT function from the ground up, not only running an established one — greenfield builds, new entity set-ups or major carve-outs.
• Track record in oil & gas, LNG, power or heavy industrial capital projects; exposure to a project moving from development through construction into operations is a strong advantage.
• Hands-on depth in cloud (Azure and/or AWS), Microsoft 365 estate, identity management and enterprise networking.
• Demonstrable ownership of cybersecurity in a critical-infrastructure or OT-adjacent context; familiarity with NIST CSF, ISO 27001 or equivalent frameworks. Awareness of OT/ICS security and the IT–OT boundary is valued.
• ERP selection and implementation experience end to end.
• Strong commercial and vendor management skills; comfortable negotiating and managing multi-million-dollar service contracts.
• Experience working across multiple jurisdictions and time zones, ideally including the US.
• Degree in computer science, information systems or engineering. Relevant certifications (CISSP, CISM, TOGAF, cloud architect) are an advantage.
• English fluency essential.
• Willing to be based in Abu Dhabi with regular travel to the US, and able to travel worldwide without restriction.

Additional Information