RASHA NAWARA
Product Leader
Dubai
Summary
Product Leader with a Track Record of driving Successful Digital Transformation Product Launches.
Currently Leading the Product Team managing Dubai Visa Issuance Systems.
Overview
24
24
years of professional experience
23
23
years of post-secondary education
3
3
Certifications
Work History
Senior Product Manager
EMARATECH
01.2022 - Current
- Lead the end-to-end product strategy, roadmap execution, and continuous evolution of a large-scale government platform offering 200+ digital services, generating over $1B in annual revenue and processing 20M+ transactions annually.
Report directly to the CTO, providing strategic insights and alignment between product vision, business objectives, and technology direction.
Drive cross-functional alignment across software development, business process engineering, UX, infrastructure, and customer channels to ensure cohesive product delivery and continuous improvement.
Own product governance frameworks, ensuring all platform features and releases are aligned with strategic objectives, product vision, long-term roadmap, business goals, and customer experience standards — consistently delivering innovation and measurable impact.
Develop and maintain transparent reporting dashboards on product performance, roadmap progress, and budget adherence, enabling data-driven decision-making and stakeholder confidence.
Serve as the primary escalation point for high-impact issues, proactively identifying and mitigating risks that could affect product success or strategic partnerships.
Senior Product Manager - Service Operations
EMARATECH
01.2020 - 12.2021
Product Manager - Service Operations
EMARATECH
09.2016 - 12.2021
- Direct a team of Product Owners and quality engineers with accountability for digital transformation of Dubai Immigration services.
Engagement Manager
GET GROUP HOLDINGS
02.2010 - 08.2016
- Led end-to-end governance of large-scale technology initiatives, aligning execution with long-term strategic goals and ensuring clear ROI through detailed analysis of Joint Review Process returns.
Owned full accountability for project lifecycle activities — including planning, scheduling, resource allocation, and budgeting — to ensure seamless and timely delivery across multiple initiatives.
Collaborated with the presales team to design comprehensive implementation plans during the bidding phase, detailing key resource requirements (direct/indirect costs, personnel, third-party support, local compliance) and measurable delivery benchmarks.
Conducted proactive risk analysis, developed mitigation strategies, and delivered resource and budget estimations to Finance to support accurate forecasting and execution readiness.
Coordinated closely with cross-functional departments including Hardware, Software, and Procurement to align project planning and maintain open communication on client needs, constraints, and progress.
Acted as Client Support Manager, defining and implementing structured support processes and policies across project execution, implementation, and post-launch issue resolution — driving customer satisfaction and long-term retention.
Leveraged senior-level performance reporting to unify data sources, track strategic KPIs, assess budget variance, and monitor project health — ensuring timely insights for executive stakeholders.
Product Manager - Digital Order Form (DOF) & Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
ARIA SYSTEMS, INC.
09.2004 - 06.2010
Professional Services Manager
ARIA SYSTEMS, INC.
06.2006 - 01.2010
Project Manager
HORIZON INTERACTIVE STUDIOS
07.2003 - 08.2004
Web Developer
HORIZON INTERACTIVE STUDIOS
08.2001 - 07.2003
Education
Bachelor of Engineering - Engineering
07-2001
MBA - Impact of AI And Big Data Analytics On Innovation
04.2001 - 04.2024
In Progress: Expected Date of Completion: April 2024
Skills
E-Government Solutions
Visa Issuance
Digital Transformation
Data Analysis
Data Governance
Digital Transformation
Border Control
Smart Gates
Access Control
AI Product Management
Queuing System
Surveillance
API Integrations
Artificial Intelligence
Product roadmaps
Product lifecycle management
Stakeholder management
Strategic planning
Product launches
Data-driven decision making
Product Vision
Strategy
Key Highlights
- Strategic Product Leader and Top-notch IT Consultant with 17+ years of experience driving large-scale, high-impact digital solutions in collaboration with governments and high-profile organizations. Proven track record of defining product vision, building roadmaps, and aligning cross-functional teams — while reporting directly to C-level executives and government Officials to drive measurable business outcomes.
- Currently serving as the Head of Dubai Visa Issuance Product team. Spearheading a team comprising 7 Product Owners and 6 Quality Engineers, overseeing the management of 8 mission-critical systems, and collaborating with a wider team of 60+ software engineers.
- Led the launch of the first transactional AI assistant integrated with government systems, enabling applicants to submit applications entirely through chat — significantly reducing processing time from 14 minutes to just 2 minutes and eliminating the need for manual form-filling.
- Currently leading software delivery and operations for Dubai Immigration (GDRFA) Visa Issuance Systems, including the channels platform for more than 200+ services, generating billions of AED annually through over 20M transactions per year.
- Played an instrumental role in leading the UAE Work Bundle initiative, integrating 8 separate applications into a single unified service, directly supporting the Zero Bureaucracy vision and streamlining the employment process.
- Contributed significantly to the implementation of the Dubai 360 Policy within Dubai Immigration systems — a strategic digital transformation initiative for which GDRFA received official recognition and awards.
- Spearheaded the implementation of a unified inquiry module interlinking 40+ governmental entities, driving seamless service orchestration and data sharing.
- Played a pivotal role in achieving the ‘100% Paperless Stamp’, aligned with the Dubai Digital Authority's paperless initiative.
- Devised and led backend automation strategies that increased user productivity by 70%.
- Directed a massive data quality improvement initiative, enhancing and monitoring 90M+ records across multiple systems.
- Contributed to GDRFA earning multiple accolades, including Best Entity Achieving Dubai Plan (2021), Best Entity in Efficiency and Governance, and the Grand Award for Leading Government Entity.
- Key contributor to achieving public satisfaction scores between higher than 90%, reflecting consistent service excellence.
- In a previous role as Service Delivery Manager, supported the execution of border control operations and smart gate functionality at one of the world’s busiest airports, facilitating 1.5M+ monthly passenger movements.
- Pioneered the implementation of automation testing for Dubai Visa Issuance Systems, successfully automating all regression test cases. Under my leadership, the QA team developed and executed 1000+ test cases within 6 months.
Certification
Senior Product Manager Certification - Product School, US
Language Fluencies
- English
- Arabic
Coursework
- PMI PMP (Project Management Professional)
- PMI ACP Agile Certified Practitioner
- PMI RMP (Risk Management Professional)
- Cambridge International Diploma in Project Management
Timeline
Senior Product Manager - EMARATECH
01.2022 - Current
Senior Product Manager - Service Operations - EMARATECH
01.2020 - 12.2021
Product Manager - Service Operations - EMARATECH
09.2016 - 12.2021
Engagement Manager - GET GROUP HOLDINGS
02.2010 - 08.2016
Professional Services Manager - ARIA SYSTEMS, INC.
06.2006 - 01.2010
Product Manager - Digital Order Form (DOF) & Customer Relationship Management (CRM) - ARIA SYSTEMS, INC.
09.2004 - 06.2010
Project Manager - HORIZON INTERACTIVE STUDIOS
07.2003 - 08.2004
Web Developer - HORIZON INTERACTIVE STUDIOS
08.2001 - 07.2003
University of Gloucestershire - MBA, Impact of AI And Big Data Analytics On Innovation
04.2001 - 04.2024
Ain Shams University - Bachelor of Engineering, Engineering