
Microsoft Gulf
Lease Construction Manager
- Permanent
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Experience 2 - 5 yrs
- Urgent
Job expiry date: 10/03/2026
Job overview
Date posted
24/01/2026
Location
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Salary
Undisclosed
Compensation
Job description
Cloud Operations and Innovation (CO+I) is responsible for Microsoftâs cloud infrastructure and delivery of global online services with security, compliance, operational excellence, and smart growth. Within CO+I, the EMEA Data Centre Delivery (DCD) team leads end-to-end EPC delivery of Microsoft data centres across the region. The Lease Construction Manager (LCM) is an Individual Contributor, Full-Time role based near Dubai, United Arab Emirates (relocation support provided) with a work site expectation of 3 days per week in-office and travel of 25â50% (travel up to 50% to data center sites). The LCM serves as Microsoftâs Employerâs Representative overseeing construction of one or more leased data centre projects across a metro or country, ensuring the lease provider complies with MSFT requirements in the lease contract/lease agreement contract while delivering the project. The role drives safe, high quality, predictable, and efficient delivery across assigned projects by setting clear goals aligned with EPC regional OKRs, proactively identifying and mitigating risks, coordinating with Microsoft Subject Matter Experts (SME) and Lease Providers to achieve Ready For Service (RFS) for each lease data centre project, aligning team objectives, business processes, vendor management strategies, and cross-group collaboration, and supporting regional DCD initiatives through strategic planning and hands-on execution. Key responsibilities include relentless advocacy for a safe worksite and construction health & safety knowledge, managing stakeholder dependencies, construction deliverables and hand-offs with Microsoft teams including E2E (End-to-End), Security (DCPS), Data Center Engineering (DCE), Data Center Operations (DC Ops), Site Selection and Acquisition (SSA), and Environmental Health & Safety (EHS), managing lease providers and associated teams/partners to deliver RFS, managing and supporting vendor contracts, ensuring regional capacity delivery goals align to business OKRs, and identifying/tracking KPIs to improve delivery of RFS while providing feedback and insights to leadership. Business process responsibilities include maintaining lease contract requirements using MSFT best practices, driving deployment of solutions that can be socialized globally across the MSFT DCD Organization, facilitating decision-making to drive solutions and schedules, managing change, and applying influence, strategies, and negotiation skills to identify options and recommend solutions. Communication responsibilities include acting as single point of contact for project development and delivery, coordinating meetings/activities of Lease Providers and internal MSFT SMEs, attending scheduled owner/architect/contractor (OAC) and other project meetings, reporting project progress on scope, schedule, and budget weekly or as required, and providing weekly project status reporting to DCD standards. Accountability includes managing the construction process to achieve RFS, tracking lessons learned and sharing improvements across groups, routing RFS approval to stakeholders and regional approvers, ensuring lease provider compliance to lease agreement contract, driving business OKRs for regional capacity delivery goals, and assessing resourcing and forecasting business needs to meet demands. Required qualifications include a Bachelorâs degree in civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, construction management or equivalent engineering science (or significant related construction management experience in lieu of a degree) and solid recent experience managing large, complex construction projects involving large-scale MEP plants, plus ability to read and understand commercial lease agreements (preferred). Additional/preferred qualifications include strong understanding of maintenance and corrective break-fix planning on mission-critical infrastructures and understanding electrical engineering principles including breaker coordination studies, switch-gear sequence of operations, and local electrical codes. The role requires meeting Microsoft/customer/government security screening requirements including passing the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.
Required skills
Key responsibilities
- Drive safe, high quality, predictable, and efficient delivery across assigned leased data centre construction projects and set goals aligned with EPC regional OKRs while proactively identifying and mitigating risks
- Serve as Microsoftâs Employerâs Representative and ensure lease provider compliance with MSFT requirements in the lease contract/lease agreement contract during project delivery
- Coordinate with Microsoft Subject Matter Experts (SME) and Lease Providers to achieve Ready For Service (RFS) for each lease data centre project and support efforts to deliver RFS
- Manage stakeholder dependencies, construction deliverables, and hand-offs with Microsoft teams including E2E (End-to-End), Security (DCPS), Data Center Engineering (DCE), Data Center Operations (DC Ops), Site Selection and Acquisition (SSA), and Environmental Health & Safety (EHS)
- Manage lease providers and associated internal partners to deliver RFS and manage the construction process of achieving RFS across one or more leased data centre projects across a metro or country
- Travel up to 50% of the time to data center sites and support regional DCD initiatives through strategic planning and hands-on execution
- Manage and support vendor contracts and align vendor management strategies with team objectives, business processes, and cross-group collaboration efforts
- Ensure regional goals of delivering capacity are aligned to business OKRs and drive the business OKR for regional capacity delivery goals
- Identify and track KPIs to improve delivery of RFS and provide feedback and insight to leadership on areas of improvement
- Maintain lease contract requirements using MSFT best practices and drive deployment of solutions that can be socialized globally across the MSFT DCD Organization
- Facilitate decision-making to drive solutions and schedules and manage change as required while applying influence, strategies, and negotiation skills to identify options and recommend solutions
- Act as the project single point of contact for project development and delivery and coordinate meetings and activities of Lease Providers and internal MSFT SMEs
- Attend scheduled owner/architect/contractor (OAC) and other project meetings and report as necessary
- Report project progress on scope, schedule, and budget weekly or as required and provide weekly project status reporting to DCD standards
Experience & skills
- Hold a Bachelorâs degree in civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, construction management, or an equivalent engineering science OR have significant related construction management experience in lieu of a degree
- Have solid recent experience in construction management of large, complex projects involving large-scale mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) plants
- Demonstrate construction health & safety knowledge and ability to be a relentless advocate for managing a safe worksite
- Demonstrate ability to manage multiple priorities, projects, and deadlines simultaneously and independently manage deadlines and support staff
- Demonstrate ability to influence cross-discipline teams and apply strategies and negotiation skills to identify options and recommend solutions
- Be able to coordinate with Microsoft SMEs and Lease Providers and align team objectives, business processes, vendor management strategies, and cross-group collaboration efforts to achieve Ready For Service (RFS)
- Be able to provide weekly status reporting on scope, schedule, and budget to DCD standards and serve as single point of contact for project development and delivery
- Be able to read and understand commercial lease agreements as a preferred qualification and ensure lease provider compliance to lease agreement contract
- Have strong understanding of maintenance and corrective break-fix planning on mission-critical infrastructures as an additional/preferred qualification
- Understand electrical engineering principles including breaker coordination studies, switch-gear sequence of operations, and local electrical codes as an additional/preferred qualification
- Meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements including passing the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter
- Be able to work on-site 3 days per week in-office and travel 25â50% (up to 50%) to data center sites