Product & Deployment Lead, APAC & Project Planner

**Date Posted:**2026-02-11**Country:**United Arab Emirates**Location:**Otis L.L.C, 37th floor, The One Tower, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, United Arab Emirates**Role Overview**We are seeking for a Product & Deployment Lead, APAC & Project Planner in charge of a team deploying the Global SMS application across multiple countries.This role ensures that:* Deployment activities are delivered on time, within scope, and in compliance with local regulations and organizational standards.* The deployment framework is always enhanced and scalable for future deployments.The position requires:* Close collaboration within the team and with cross-functional teams, including development, infrastructure, security, and business stakeholders.* Analytical skills to identify opportunities (automation, simplifications, continuous improvements, ...)### **Key Responsibilities:** * Lead a SMS deployment team* Execute initial discovery of SMS solution in “MT0” session, identify enhancements and support adequate functional specification requirements definition.* Prioritize enhancements as pre or post Go Live* Ensure Pre-Go Live enhancements are within the allocated budget and timeline* Lead Data Migration, performance testing, integration testing, business continuity testing, ...* Lead UAT (including Data and integration signoff, performance testing if applicable, business continuity testing if applicable, ...)* Support change management (Lead country Expert/key user training, support/monitor champions training execution)* Successful deployment within time and budget* Handover support post go live to sustain team* Monitor post Go Live adoption and defects* Monitor team resource allocation with support of project planner to avoid under and over utilization* Monitor and reconcile weekly progress with the project plan* Communicate to stakeholders on progress and budget* Have a deployment MFA and increase score to be above 5.5 (out of 7)**Deployment Strategy & Framework*** Contribute to designing the deployment strategy.* Enhance and improve the existing deployment template in order to:* Reduce deployment timeline and cost.* Support standard modular approach.* Optimize the overall process (Country discovery “MT0”, enhancements definition and prioritization, UAT, signoff, ...)**UAT/Test Planning & Strategy*** Continuously enhance the Azure DevOps (ADO) structure to efficiently collect, manage, and act on UAT feedback.* Review and refine existing test plans and scripts, ensuring they reflect current system requirements and user expectations.* Maintain and evolve testing assets based on:* Functional Specification Documents (FSDs)* System updates and enhancements* Real-time user feedback during UAT cycles* Develop testing strategies that align with product goals, emphasizing traceability, coverage, and risk mitigation.* Collaborate to define and improve the ADO framework for test management and traceability.* Include data migration, interface, perf testing, DRP/Business continuity, etc**Test Execution & Validation*** Lead and execute functional, performance, and user acceptance tests (UAT) to validate system behavior under diverse conditions.* Monitor and report on test progress, ensuring transparency and timely escalation of issues.* Drive defect resolution by coordinating with development and QA teams, ensuring root cause analysis and timely fixes.**Collaboration & Stakeholder Management*** Partner with country stakeholders* Support change management* Partner with CTO teams (build, interface, data load) and PMO to ensure alignment across deployment and testing activities.* Engage with product design engineers, robust design leaders, and business analysts to ensure test coverage reflects business needs.* Facilitate cross-functional workshops and syncs to align on priorities, timelines, and quality expectations.**Automation & Continuous Improvement*** Propose and contribute to the development of automated regression test suites to enhance testing efficiency and reduce manual effort.* Participate in root cause analysis (RCA) for defects and document lessons learned to improve future testing cycles.* Advocate for continuous improvement in testing practices, tools, and team collaboration.**Documentation & Compliance*** Maintain comprehensive documentation of test results, deployment procedures, and validation reports.* Support internal and external audits by ensuring traceability, compliance, and quality assurance standards are met.* Contribute to knowledge bases and training materials to support onboarding and knowledge transfer.**Governance & Metrics*** Define and track KPIs for deployment success, test coverage, defect resolution, and UAT satisfaction.* Establish governance models for deployment approvals, rollback procedures, and change control.* Provide regular updates to leadership on deployment health, risks, and improvement opportunities.**Qualifications & Skills*** Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills across technic