Abdelqader AlAraj, Senior Principal - Leading Public Sector and M&A

Abdelqader AlAraj

Senior Principal - Leading Public Sector and M&A

Mercer

Location
Saudi Arabia - Riyadh
Education
Master's degree, Master of Business Administration (Major: Management)
Experience
18 years, 3 Months

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Work Experience

Total years of experience :18 years, 3 Months

Senior Principal - Leading Public Sector and M&A at Mercer
  • United Arab Emirates - Dubai
  • My current job since June 2019

Building/developing business units into contributors to the organization’s strategy. Engaged across ME delivering transformative projects and organizational development solutions with focus on government, and in-depth experience in developing strategy to execution Framework and governance. Led multiple Human Capital transformation projects supporting government entities to align its structure and operating model with the strategic direction, enable HR function, and enable corporatization agenda.
Selected Accomplishments:
 Global Relationship Manager to key accounts across the region bringing the whole firm to cater for clients’ needs and focusing on accounts planning, integration, and growth
 Led multiple Human Capital Transformation projects including multiple ministries, authorities, funds, and private sector entities. Such projects covers E2E Human Capital transformation components like Organization Design, Workforce Planning, HR function setup, and multiple HR frameworks
 As part of mega transformation projects, Abdelqader led Employee Engagement Surveys, Culture Assessment, Leadership Assessments, and Competencies Framework Development.
 Led and supported multiple transformation playbooks including HC Transformation, HR function setup, HR Operating Model, and Assessment Approach in Government sector

Director - Management Consulting at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
  • Saudi Arabia - Riyadh
  • July 2014 to June 2019

Executive leader, entrusted with responsibility of providing advocacy to high impact Program and Project Management, PMO establishment and Transformation Management solutions across the Kingdom for several businesses both the government and Private sectors.
Successful career includes distinctive blend of skills encompassing C-level leadership, management and technology consulting, change management and building global high performance teams.
Instrumental in enhancing the overall performance and boost operational efficiency through appropriate organizational excellence systems and robust strategy deployment
Selected Accomplishments:
 Successfully supporting large-scale PMO & TMO set-up in alignment client requirements, consistently delivering quantifiable business impact by applying excellence in PM methodologies, and risk management functions.
 Hand-picked as an Engagement Director to lead engagements and client teams in multiple ministries and government entities in establishing the transformation office and incorporating Executive Office for Senior leaderships right from start-up and turnaround and business development, negotiations, staff management, and financial supervision as well as mentoring PwC team for attainment of desired results.
 Nominated as Portfolio Manager for establishing Project Management Office, while providing the foundation for maturing the organization in a rapidly changing global environment.
 Championing the QA function for further aligning project portfolio with business strategy.
 Providing thought leadership and successfully leading business development right from identifying opportunities, reviewing proposals and structuring process and seeking stakeholder consensus.
 Serving as People Manager (Coach) for a diversified team and hiring suitable people; ensuring that the skills within the Consulting Line of Service meeting the forecasted requirements of the business and using best practice to drive the improvement of delivery methodologies.
 Coordinating between various functional teams, client representatives and business for management of cross project dependencies, risks and issues.

Program Manager at Etisalat Telecom
  • United Arab Emirates - Abu Dhabi
  • December 2013 to June 2014

Provided strategic direction to the E2E Mobile Network Modernization Program to leverage emerging technologies towards strengthening of network infrastructure in sync with engineering transformation agenda, market demands, and regulatory requirements
Selected Accomplishments:
 Led program planning, execution, monitoring and control within agreed schedule, budget and scope as well as streamlined associated processes encompassing costing, risk management, resource allocation and stakeholder management.
 Oversaw multiple projects from concept through completion and fuelled successful program delivery; complied with program quality and project standards through application of best practices.
 Tracked and followed up on program activities aligned with governance processes to ensure optimized performance; monitored results against KPIs to secure fulfilment of defined milestones/targets.
 Conducted benefits analysis to assess feasibility and setting priority of projects and phases according to business needs in alignment with the strategy, in addition to accomplishing timely identification of prevailing risks and issues management strategies to mitigate shortfalls.
 Maintained communication with team members, executive figureheads and stakeholders; networked with press and public representatives to develop credibility, trust and commitment.
 Cultivating a robust network of vendor and external contractor connections to uphold change management and continuous improvement objectives complementary to changing market needs.

Project Manager at PACT Telecom
  • Jordan - Amman
  • July 2011 to November 2013

Directed project development and implementation for internal customers in Business Development Unit, and external clients, to attentively meet preferences, budget and scope specifications. Integral involvement in sales and product management functions to develop winning strategies targeting revenue growth, cost savings, and swift customer acquisition
Selected Accomplishments:
 Identified client needs and determined functional requirements to target realization of committed benefits; prepared and maintained project management plans for assured contractual compliance. In addition to established project success criteria and KPIs including time, cost, scope and quality goals in line with business drivers to steer improved profitability, quality execution and customer satisfaction.
 Performed reviews and formulated status reports for presentation to Board of Directors; developed all documentation pertaining to project timing, costs and defined scope to confirm fulfilment of project objectives and deliverables.
 Conducted stakeholder engagement meetings and served as focal point for all client inquiries; provided support regarding project phases and exemplary service delivery to resolve escalated situations.

Project Manager at Al-Mada Al-Baeed Electronics
  • Jordan - Amman
  • September 2008 to June 2011

Led project management activities though the projects’ life cycle within the agreed budget, schedule and scope. Key role in business development activities from targeting opportunities into securing a deal
Selected Accomplishments:
 Served as Management Consultant to streamline solution fit analysis to improve client engagement, value-added service provision, and overall business performance
 Designed project management handbook, and consequently defined WBS covering deliverables with committed costs/schedule; managed bottom up and top down estimates to determine project viability.
 Led project management activities including scheduling, communication, execution and progress monitoring; assessed risks, revised plans to match business strategy, and handled project financials.

Consultant, Hi-Tech at NSN (Nokia Siemens Networks)/Saudi Telecom Company “STC”
  • Saudi Arabia - Abha
  • August 2006 to August 2008

Outsourced from NSN (Nokia Siemens Networks) to STC to contribute expertise towards various projects
Key Projects to Credit:
 NOKIA 3G Project: Supervised phase 2 and phase 3 execution, and managed subcontractors
 SDH Tellabs Project: Oversaw phase 1 and phase 2 execution, and managed subcontractors
 Tellabs (ADM & ATM) Project: Coordinated execution, and managed subcontractors
 Edge Activation Project and Capacity Upgrade
Selected Accomplishments:
 Led the implementation of NSN Projects in South Region - KSA, based on STC and NOKIA quality standards.
 Served as a transmission consultant for operation and maintenance department and made pivotal contributions as a BTS consultant in realigned documentation including "PAT", "NFDED", and "OIL" documents.

Project Engineer and Team Lead at Northern Digital Telecom "NDT"
  • Jordan - Amman
  • February 2006 to July 2006

 Leading a team for the deployment of Tellabs 6340 nodes, Nokia Microwave links and BTS solutions.

Education

Master's degree, Master of Business Administration (Major: Management)
  • at German Jordanian University-TAG Graduate School of Business
  • January 2014
Bachelor's degree, B.Sc. Communication & Electronics Engineering
  • at Applied Science University
  • September 2005

Specialties & Skills

Project Management
Team Management
Stakeholder Management
Telecommunication Industry
Program Management
Product Management, Benefits Analysis,Budget & Scoping,Business Development
Program Management,Project Planning and Management, Management Consultancy
Operational Leadership,Team Management,Communication,Analytical Ability,Time Management
Management Reporting and Analyses, Documentation,Resource Management,Change Management
Stakeholder and Vendor Relationship Management, Performance Management/KPIs
Customer Service,Negotiations,Contract Administration,Quality Assurance
Fiscal Management & Estimation,Risk Assessment,Workflow Coordination
Management Consulting
Performance Management
Change Management
Strategy Management
Transformation
Human Capital Transformation

Languages

Arabic
Expert
English
Expert

Memberships

Junior Chamber International (JCI) - Amman
  • Active Member
  • January 2013
Project Management Institute (PMI)
  • Active Member/ Shadow Board Member with PMI Jordan
  • August 2010
Jordan Engineers Association
  • Member
  • October 2005
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)
  • Member
  • January 2014

Training and Certifications

Society for Human Resources Management Senior Certified Professional (Certificate)
Date Attended:
December 2020
Valid Until:
December 2023
Multiple other trainings in leadership and soft skills (Training)
Training Institute:
PwC
Multiple other trainings in management consulting (Training)
Training Institute:
PwC
Project Management Professional Certificate "PMP" (Certificate)
Date Attended:
August 2010
Valid Until:
December 2019
Program Management Professional Certificate "PgMP" (Certificate)
Date Attended:
December 2014
Valid Until:
December 2019
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (Certificate)
Date Attended:
August 2015
Balanced Scorecard Professional “BSC” (Certificate)
Date Attended:
February 2017