PROJECT MANAGER BANKING DATA & AI

About the Role

Duncan & Ross is seeking a Project Manager - Banking - Data & AI to lead a large-scale Data Lake Modernization program for a banking client in Riyadh. This full-time role involves managing the technical migration and modernization of data platforms, alongside implementing AI use cases such as hyper-personalization of banking products and Next Best Offer (NBO) capabilities. The Project Manager will bridge technical teams, business stakeholders, and senior banking client sponsors, requiring expertise in both traditional data/infrastructure delivery and AI/ML-enabled business transformation.

Key Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end project planning, governance, and delivery of the data lake modernization program, including scope, timeline, budget, resourcing, and risk/issue management.
• Lead delivery of the AI/ML use case workstream for hyper-personalization and Next Best Offer, coordinating data scientists, ML engineers, and banking product/marketing stakeholders.
• Define and manage the project roadmap covering data platform migration (legacy to modern data lake/lakehouse architecture), data pipeline modernization, data governance, and AI model deployment.
• Act as the primary point of contact for senior client stakeholders (CIO/CDO/Head of Marketing/Retail Banking), managing expectations, steering committees, and executive reporting.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams including Data Engineering, Data Science/AI, Cloud/Infrastructure, Business Analysts, and Change Management resources.
• Ensure alignment between the data lake modernization workstream and AI use case delivery, sequencing dependencies correctly (*, data readiness before model deployment).
• Manage third-party vendors/technology partners (*, cloud providers, data platform vendors) as required for the project.
• Drive adoption of Agile/hybrid delivery methodologies, managing sprints, backlogs, and release planning for both data engineering and AI workstreams.
• Ensure robust data governance, data quality, and regulatory compliance (SAMA, data privacy/PDPL) are embedded throughout the modernization effort.
• Track and report on business value realization from AI use cases (*, uplift in offer acceptance rates, personalization engagement metrics, campaign ROI).
• Identify, escalate, and mitigate project risks, particularly around data migration integrity, model performance, and change adoption.
• Support change management and business readiness activities to ensure banking product and marketing teams can effectively operationalize NBO/hyper-personalization outputs.
• Prepare and present steering committee packs, status reports, and business case tracking for senior leadership and client sponsors.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data/Information Systems, Engineering, Business, or a related field. A Master's degree (MBA or technical) is an advantage.
• Project management certification such as PMP, PRINCE2, or equivalent is required.
• Agile certification (*, CSM, SAFe) is highly desirable given the hybrid delivery approach.
• Minimum of 7+ years of project/program management experience, including at least 3+ years managing large-scale data platform/data lake or data engineering programs.
• Prior experience delivering AI/ML-enabled use cases in a banking or financial services context; experience with personalization engines, recommendation systems, or Next Best Offer/Next Best Action is strongly preferred.
• Experience working within a consulting environment, managing client relationships, steering committees, and multi-vendor delivery teams.
• Experience in the banking/financial services sector in Saudi Arabia or the broader GCC is strongly preferred; familiarity with SAMA regulatory and data governance requirements is a plus.
• Proven track record managing cross-functional teams spanning data engineering, cloud infrastructure, data science, and business/marketing stakeholders.
• Experience with cloud data platforms (*, AWS, Azure, GCP, Snowflake, Databricks) and modern data architecture concepts (data lakehouse, data mesh) is highly valued.

Work Type

This is a full-time position requiring 5-10 years of relevant experience.

Location

The role is based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Application Process

Salary for this position will be discussed during the interview process.