Strategic Projects Manager

About Cognita

Role overview

Project delivery and governance

• Turn strategic priorities into plans with defined scope, milestones, owners, and success measures.
• Run governance covering status reporting, risk and dependency tracking, prioritisation, and escalation.
• Identify risks, interdependencies, and resourcing constraints early and drive resolution.
• Track post-delivery outcomes so projects realise value and become business as usual.

Roadmap and people practices

• Align priorities with the People & Culture roadmap and sequence initiatives for maximum impact.
• Design and embed forward-looking people processes with internal and external stakeholders.
• Use market trends, benchmarks, and best practice to inform roadmap and project design.
• Lead change management and communications to build awareness and adoption among managers, employees, and People & Culture colleagues.

Technology and collaboration

• Work with Technology teams on technology-enabled initiatives, including HR systems enhancements and digitisation of people processes.
• Partner with cross-functional stakeholders, regional HR teams, school leaders, and function leaders to secure input and shared ownership.
• Manage external vendors, consultants, and implementation partners, tracking deliverables, timelines, and performance.

Essential qualifications and experience

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field.
• 7–10 years of progressive experience in project or programme management, HR transformation, or HR business partnering; ideally in a large, multi-country organisation.
• Proven delivery of multiple strategic initiatives to agreed timelines, including end-to-end project leadership; People & Culture or HR context is ideal.
• Experience partnering with senior leaders and heads of function, working with Technology teams on HRIS or similar initiatives, and managing vendors and consultants.
• Strong stakeholder management, influencing, analysis, presentation, communication, and change management skills; collaborative and people-centred approach.

Desirable qualifications and experience

• PMP, PRINCE2, Agile, CIPD, or SHRM-CP/SCP certification is desirable.
• Global or regional HR experience, people-initiative change communications, education or wider services sector exposure, and working knowledge of HR systems or digital HR tools are desirable.

Location and collaboration

• The role is based in Dubai and works with colleagues and stakeholders across multiple markets.
• Some flexibility across time zones is needed.

Safeguarding