Assistant Vice President – IT – Orient

Job description / Role

Orient is an Al-Futtaim company, considered a leader in the regional insurance market with representation in the UAE, Oman, Egypt, Syria, and Sri Lanka, and the only company in the Middle East that carries a combined ratings A Excellent from A.M. Best and A (strong) from Standard and Poor's.

Orient is also accredited with ISO 9001 Quality Management Certification. The company believes in a well structured transparent corporate culture, highly professional standards and integrity, clear strategy and employee empowerment.

The duties and responsibilities for this role are:

* IT Budget - Prepare the IT budgets relate to procurement of PCs, workstations, network support, infrastructure upgrading and software enhancements in order to acquire the required resources in a timely and well planned manner for utilization for business and operational needs.
* Feasibility / Implementation of LAN and A 400 systems - Conduct feasibility studies in co-ordination with MSD in order to acquire the require resources in a timely and well planned manner for utilization for business and operational needs.
* WAN / LAN set up and operations - Install, manage and maintain various LAN & WAN devices, required for the efficient and uninterrupted running of the system throughout the company's UAE location network in order to provide effective support to the end users for achieving their business objectives.
* Co-ordination with MSD / PMS creative UK - Review and discuss all user requirements and coordinate feasibility, testing and implementation with MSD & software vendor in order to provide the specific user needs in an efficient and cost effective manner.
* Formats design / specifications / printing - Review all relevant pre-printed business forms and documents to ascertain their suitability for the main frame's output and re-design or modify the programming specifications in order to incorporate the specific user needs and also confirm to the Government's statutory requirements.
* PC / Main frame / MIS support - Install and trouble shoot desktop computing tools & design and generate required MIS reports in order to provide ongoing support to the users and facilitate the decision making process by management.
* Updating IT knowledge / Technology - Study and stay abreast with all trends & developments in the IT technology field in order to ensure updating of knowledge and skills and enable utilization of the most appropriate technology for achieving the company's specific business needs.     
* Updating IT knowledge / Technology - Liaise with vendors to obtain quotations for supply of hardware, software and peripherals and evaluate suitable alternatives in order to procure the requisite items at the most cost effective rates.

Requirements

To be successful in winning this role, the candidate should possess the following qualifications:

* Holding a Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology / Computer Science.
* Must have 8 to 10 years of experience in a progressive organisation.
* Knowledge of standard software and hardware in PCs. Experience of system implementation / leading a computerization project in Insurance sector.
* Excellent presentation skills, strong interpersonal & analytical skills.

About the Company

Established in the 1930's, the Al-Futtaim Group initially operated as a trading enterprise. Rapid development throughout the 1940's and 50's saw it establish itself regionally as an integrated commercial, industrial and services organisation, positioning itself one of the leading business houses in the lower Gulf region. Today, it operates collectively over 40 companies bearing the Al-Futtaim name, dominates many market segments in the UAE, and has expanded its sphere of operation to include Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Egypt.

The Group comprises a diverse range of strategically positioned operating subsidiaries and associate companies, structured to give the Al-Futtaim Group the flexibility and versatility to keep ahead of local competition while keeping pace with the ever-evolving global business scenario. The Groups continued investment in world-class systems technology is clear evidence of its commitment to maintain leading edge performance and service delivery.

The success of the Al-Futtaim Group can be attributed to a business approach that combines the ability to change with the traditional values of integrity, service and social responsibility that define its core business philosophy. This, linked with the Groups belief in decentralisation, gives the heads of the operating companies a high degree of functional autonomy and authority, providing the Group with essential flexibility, and individual employees a clearly defined work culture and sense of responsibility.