Director of Operational Risk

We're excited to be partnering with a leading institution in the UAE that is building a digital-first, AI-enabled financial services organisation from the ground up. This is a unique opportunity to join at an early stage and help shape the operational, risk, and control foundations of a business with significant institutional backing and long-term ambition. If you're passionate about operational risk, resilience, and building scalable risk frameworks, we'd love to hear from you. As Director of Operational Risk, you will be responsible for establishing and leading the bank's operational risk framework, ensuring effective identification, assessment, and mitigation of operational risks across the organisation. Working closely with the CRO and senior stakeholders, you'll play a key role in building a resilient, well-controlled, and future-ready bank from day one. Responsibilities• Build and maintain the bank's operational risk framework, policies, taxonomies, and governance structures. • Establish and oversee the Risk & Control Self-Assessment (RCSA) process and Key Risk Indicator (KRI) framework. • Lead operational risk event management, root cause analysis, remediation tracking, and reporting. • Own the business continuity and operational resilience framework, including testing of critical services. • Provide independent second-line challenge on new products, outsourcing arrangements, and operational processes. • Lead AI risk oversight, including governance, explainability, human oversight controls, and monitoring frameworks. Requirements• 12+ years of operational risk experience within banking or financial services, including leadership of risk teams. • Deep expertise across operational risk frameworks, RCSA, KRIs, operational resilience, and business continuity management. • Proven experience building operational risk frameworks and resilience programmes in regulated environments. • Strong understanding of CBUAE operational risk requirements, business continuity expectations, and Basel operational risk standards. • Experience with AI-enabled risk monitoring, control analytics, and emerging risk management practices. • Professional certifications such as FRM, PRM, or equivalent risk qualifications are highly desirable. Ready to join us? Apply today and take the next step in your career.