Project Manager Bank Programmes

About Tarabut Holding Limited

Tarabut is a regulated open banking platform operating across the Middle East, licensed by SAMA in Saudi Arabia, the CBUAE in the UAE, and the CBB in Bahrain. The company facilitates connections between banks, lenders, and fintechs to financial data and payments infrastructure. Tarabut is also developing embedded finance distribution throughout the region, including an SME lending business in Saudi Arabia.

Role Overview: Project Manager, Bank Programmes

Tarabut is seeking a Project Manager to oversee its bank programmes in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This full-time role is based in Jeddah and reports directly to the Chief Strategy Officer. The Project Manager will be responsible for managing two to three key programmes concurrently, collaborating with tier-1 Saudi banks to expedite product launches. The position involves engaging with stakeholders from C-suite executives to integration managers, managing client relationships, and working with product and commercial teams to expand accounts. Regular travel to Riyadh and Bahrain is required.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain comprehensive programme plans, including milestones, dependencies, decisions, and risks.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for bank relationships.
• Organize and lead weekly meetings with bank counterparts, including working groups and steering committees, ensuring timely completion of actions.
• Address and resolve programme delays by engaging with detailed issues until progress is restored.
• Identify opportunities for programme expansion within existing engagements and translate them into defined follow-on projects.
• Manage approval-linked milestones and go-live gates in coordination with the compliance team.
• Proactively identify risks and propose viable solutions.

Initial 90-Day Objectives

• Establish one programme plan and weekly cadence that is active and adopted by all counterparties.
• Successfully deliver the first inherited bank milestone on schedule.
• Implement a RAID (Risks, Assumptions, Issues, Dependencies) log that is trusted by both internal and client teams.

Qualifications and Requirements

• A minimum of 6 years of experience in project or programme management, with at least 4 years focused on delivery with banks or financial institutions in Saudi Arabia.
• Demonstrated experience in managing senior client relationships and fostering account growth beyond administrative tasks.
• Proactive and hands-on approach, with the ability to delve into details and resolve stalled workstreams independently.
• Proven ability to influence and lead internal and client teams through effective cadence and results.
• Strong understanding of core systems, APIs, and integration delivery to accurately assess estimates and identify potential slippage.
• Must be based in Jeddah or willing to relocate.

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Delivery experience with banks in other GCC countries.
• Domain expertise in open banking, lending, or payments.
• Established professional relationships within GCC banks.
• Proficiency with AI tooling and current knowledge of LLM capabilities, utilizing them to enhance programme efficiency while discerning when human oversight is necessary.
• Experience in guiding a regulated product through go-live with SAMA or CBB supervised institutions.