Operation & Excellence Head

The job is located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and requires 100% onsite and full-time presence. Position Objectives: To implement and lead an operations governance function for a nationwide secure private network project to ensure operational excellence and service delivery quality for the end-users for a large LTE network implementation. It includes Operation and Service Excellence, Network Performance, and Improving policies, processes, and capturing all KPIs and progress through data analysis and Power BI Dashboards Job Description & Responsibilities: Operations: Oversee operations, maintenance and performance of a nationwide secure private network, act as escalation owner for major and complex issues. Design, implement, and continuously improve processes, policies, procedures, governance frameworks, SLAs/OLAs and compliance standards. Serve as the primary interface for reporting on network performance, service levels, and strategic projects to senior leadership and external governance bodies (e.g., Technology Excellence & Control, Technology Strategy & Architecture). Conduct regular audits (configuration, software, KPIs/QKIs), oversee managed services contracts, MSP onboarding and security/data governance compliance. Lead change & configuration management, automation & digitalisation, capacity planning and congestion mitigation while interfacing with design & delivery teams. Performance Management & Service Excellence: Implement real-time monitoring, daily/weekly reporting, fault handling, escalation, repeated-fault analysis and major root-cause reporting. Govern SLA compliance, exception management, customer complaints and overall service excellence. Develop and distribute network performance reports using Power BI (KPIs, MTTR, utilisation, upgrades, asset movement). Drive proactive initiatives and mitigation plans with Network Operations and MSPs to continuously improve network performance and customer experience. QA and Acceptance Govern acceptance and handover of network assets and vendor deliverables from Delivery to Operations, including field QA, vendor implementation quality supervision and infrastructure delivery acceptance. Risk Management & Compliance: Develop and maintain a risk & compliance framework covering regulatory, security and quality standards; lead operational and regulatory audits and ensure timely closure of findings. Change Management: Establish and enhance change management processes, OLAs and SLAs; manage configuration management, COW movement, automation initiatives, capacity planning and congestion mitigation. Qualifications & Experience: Bachelor’s Degree in Telecommunications or Engineering Minimum 20 years’ experience with at least 7 years in a senior operations management position and at least 3 years as Head of Operations and Excellence. Extensive experience in the management of operations outsourcing in complex telecom networks and developing and implementing SLAs and SLA management. Experienced in designing organisations and processes for network operations and managing change in an operational environment. Experience in managing and influencing to achieve results in a matrix organisation. A few years of working experience in a developed market is a must. Strong Hands-on experience in Data Analysis, Advanced Excel Hands-on expertise in designing Executive Dashboards using PowerBI. Hands-on expertise in preparing professional MS PowerPoint presentations, think cell-based Presentations. A proven operational excellence mindset Experience with OSS/cloud/security solutions from the leading vendors will be an advantage.