Fractional Head of IT in the UAE

A fractional Head of IT gives a company the judgement and ownership of an IT leader on an agreed number of days a month instead of a full-time salary. I offer it to UAE and GCC companies from the experience of running the whole IT function for a manufacturing group across six sites in five countries, reporting directly to the owner.

Who needs one

Companies of roughly 50 to 600 people with an IT support person or an outsourced provider but nobody who owns the function: nobody deciding what to buy, nobody accountable for backups and access, nobody directing the ERP roadmap, nobody translating between the owner and the vendors. Also companies between two full-time heads of IT, or preparing for one.

What it covers

Vendors, contracts and IT purchasing. Budget and priorities. Security, identity and backups that are actually tested. The ERP roadmap and direction for in-house or outsourced developers. AI projects chosen for payback. Hiring the full-time person when the time comes. A weekly cadence, a standing priority list, written decisions, and a monthly review with the owner or managing director.

What I bring

Since December 2015 I have owned the IT function of a plastics manufacturing group: six sites, five countries, around 150 users, a team of six plus outsourced developers, reporting directly to the owner. One Odoo ERP for the group, five AI systems in production, a PostgreSQL migration across eight major versions with no unplanned downtime, Google Workspace single sign-on across the group, and the IT for each new factory built from nothing.

How it runs

Two or four days a month, on-site in Dubai, Sharjah and across the UAE or remote for the wider Gulf. Work is done outside my employer's hours or by arrangement, and never for a competitor of my employer. Fees are quoted in writing before anything is paid, and the engagement can end with a month's notice.

Read the evidence

• Service: fractional or part-time Head of IT
• Case study: identity and access rebuild
• Case study: PostgreSQL 9.5 to 16 with no unplanned downtime
• Article: bringing a new factory online, the order of operations
• Skills, with the evidence for each

Questions people ask

How is a fractional Head of IT different from an outsourced IT provider?

The provider does the work: tickets, servers, licences. The fractional head decides what work should be done, holds the provider to it, and answers to the owner for the result. Most companies need both.

How many days a month?

Two days a month covers vendors, priorities and a monthly review. Four days adds hands-on direction of an ERP or AI project. More than that and you should hire a full-time head, and I will help you do it.

Can you start quickly?

Usually within two weeks, with a short IT function review first so the priority list is based on what is actually there.

Do you work with companies outside the UAE?

Yes, remotely, on Dubai time. Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Pakistan are the usual ones.

Talk to me

Email with a few lines about your situation, or message me on LinkedIn. I reply within one working day, Dubai time. Fees are quoted in writing before anything is paid.