Program Manager (Data/AI)

Sitting between business sponsors, delivery teams, and technology, this role is about turning ambitious Data & AI agendas into well-run, predictable programs. With a mix of stakeholder management, planning, and hands-on delivery oversight, you’ll help clients move from slideware and pilots to outcomes they can measure and trust.

Program Manager (Data / AI)

Calimala partners with enterprises across the Gulf and Europe to design, build, and scale Data & AI teams. As a Program Manager, you’ll join a network of practitioners who understand both the technical realities of data and AI work and the organizational effort required to land it—across multiple teams, vendors, and stakeholders.

This role sits at the center of how Data & AI initiatives are shaped, sequenced, and governed. You’ll help define roadmaps, structure work into clear streams, and ensure that delivery teams have what they need—while keeping leadership aligned on scope, priorities, risks, and results.

What you'll be doing

As a Program Manager (Data / AI) at Calimala, you’ll lead and support engagements where data platforms, analytics, and AI solutions come together in a single change journey. One program might involve standing up a new data platform and a series of analytics use cases; another could focus on scaling existing ML products, improving governance, and aligning multiple teams around a shared roadmap.

“We treat Data & AI as change programs, not just tech projects: clear goals, accountable owners, and a delivery rhythm that people can rely on.”

You’ll work closely with sponsors, architects, engineering leads, and external partners to coordinate delivery, manage dependencies, and keep decisions moving. You’ll set up and run the routines that keep programs healthy—steering committees, status reporting, risk and issue management—and keep an eye on adoption and business value, not just technical milestones.

Who we're looking for

You’re comfortable operating in complex environments with many moving parts. You can talk in enough technical detail to challenge and support engineering teams, while also presenting a clear narrative to senior stakeholders on where the program stands and what decisions are needed.

You’ve likely managed large projects or multi-stream programs in data, analytics, or digital transformation. At Calimala, we value depth, accountability, and partnership—you take ownership of outcomes, not just plans, and you build trust by being clear, prepared, and calm under pressure.

• Strong experience managing data, analytics, or AI/ML programs in enterprise or consulting environments

• Proven ability to define and manage roadmaps, scope, budgets, and dependencies across multiple workstreams

• Comfortable working with technical leads across data platforms, engineering, and AI/ML to translate delivery detail into executive-friendly views

• Experience setting up and running governance structures: steering committees, status reporting, RAID logs, decision tracking

• Familiarity with both agile and more traditional delivery methods, and the judgment to apply them pragmatically

• Strong communication and facilitation skills, including stakeholder alignment, conflict resolution, and expectation management

• Experience working with distributed teams and vendors; exposure to regulated or complex environments (e.g. financial services, energy, public sector) is a plus

We’re looking for practitioners who see program management as enabling real change: people who bring structure without bureaucracy, keep teams focused on outcomes, and help Data & AI initiatives land in the business, not just in the backlog.