AI Governance Specialist | AI Ethics Specialist

Q-REF; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 220,000 - 320,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary & benefits

Professional development

Cross-functional collaboration

Job summary

Q-REF is seeking an AI Governance Specialist to establish responsible, transparent, secure, and compliant AI practices across the organization.

The role combines governance, ethics, policy development, and stakeholder engagement to support responsible AI adoption. You will collaborate with Legal, Compliance, Risk, Security, Data, Technology, and Product teams to implement robust governance and risk controls.

Qualifications

• Experience in AI governance, AI ethics, and risk assessments.
• Ability to develop governance policies and controls.
• Strong analytical and communication skills.
• Experience collaborating with Legal, Compliance, Risk, Security, Data, Technology, or Product teams.

Responsibilities

• Develop AI governance frameworks, policies, standards, procedures, and controls.
• Assess AI use cases against policies, risk requirements, ethical principles, and regulations.
• Conduct AI risk assessments covering privacy, bias, transparency, safety, and operational risks.
• Maintain a comprehensive inventory of AI systems and vendors.
• Develop processes for model development, testing, approval, deployment, and monitoring.
• Establish documentation standards for AI systems and data sources.

Skills

AI governance

AI ethics

Risk management

Compliance

Policy development

Stakeholder engagement

Data privacy

Regulatory requirements

Governance frameworks

Audit processes

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

We’re Hiring: AI Governance Specialist | AI Ethics Specialist

Employment Type: Full-Time

Level: Mid-Level to Senior

We are seeking a detail-oriented and forward-thinking AI Governance Specialist | AI Ethics Specialist to help establish responsible, transparent, secure, and compliant practices for the development and use of artificial intelligence. The ideal candidate will combine AI governance, ethics, risk management, compliance, policy development, and stakeholder engagement skills to support the responsible adoption of AI across the organization.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain AI governance frameworks, policies, standards, procedures, and controls.
• Establish guidelines for the responsible development, deployment, and use of AI systems.
• Assess AI use cases against organizational policies, risk requirements, ethical principles, and applicable regulations.
• Conduct AI risk assessments covering privacy, security, bias, transparency, explainability, safety, and operational risks.
• Maintain an inventory of AI systems, models, applications, vendors, and business use cases.
• Develop AI governance processes covering model development, testing, approval, deployment, monitoring, and retirement.
• Establish documentation standards for AI systems, including intended use, limitations, risks, data sources, and performance requirements.
• Review AI models and applications for potential bias, discrimination, unfair outcomes, or unintended impacts.
• Support the development of responsible AI principles and ethical decision-making frameworks.
• Monitor AI systems for compliance with approved governance requirements and internal controls.
• Define processes for AI incident identification, escalation, investigation, remediation, and reporting.
• Develop AI risk registers and track mitigation activities, control effectiveness, and outstanding issues.
• Collaborate with Legal, Compliance, Information Security, Data Privacy, Risk, Technology, and Product teams.
• Provide guidance to business teams on responsible AI implementation and governance requirements.
• Review third-party AI solutions, vendors, and platforms from governance, risk, privacy, and ethical perspectives.
• Support due diligence and risk assessments for external AI technologies and service providers.
• Monitor developments in AI regulations, standards, industry frameworks, and responsible-AI practices.
• Translate regulatory and policy developments into practical internal requirements and controls.
• Support compliance assessments and readiness activities related to applicable AI regulations and standards.
• Develop AI governance training, awareness programs, guidelines, and educational materials for employees.
• Conduct workshops to help teams understand AI risks, responsible-use principles, and governance procedures.
• Establish review and approval processes for high-risk or sensitive AI applications.
• Define appropriate human oversight requirements for AI-assisted decision‑making processes.
• Develop metrics and reporting frameworks to measure AI governance maturity, compliance, risk exposure, and control effectiveness.
• Prepare governance reports, risk summaries, executive briefings, and recommendations for senior management.
• Support internal and external audits involving AI systems, data governance, privacy, compliance, or technology risk.
• Promote continuous improvement of AI governance processes as technologies, regulations, and organizational requirements evolve.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Information Systems, Law, Compliance, Risk Management, Data Science, Philosophy, Ethics, or a related field.
• Previous experience in AI governance, AI ethics, technology risk, data governance, compliance, privacy, model risk, or responsible AI.
• Strong understanding of artificial intelligence, machine learning, generative AI, and AI system lifecycles.
• Knowledge of responsible AI principles including fairness, transparency, accountability, privacy, safety, and human oversight.
• Experience conducting technology, model, data, privacy, or AI risk assessments.
• Strong understanding of governance frameworks, internal controls, risk‑management principles, and compliance processes.
• Familiarity with major AI governance standards, frameworks, or regulatory requirements is preferred.
• Knowledge of data‑protection and privacy principles relevant to AI systems.
• Ability to assess AI use cases and identify potential ethical, regulatory, operational, and reputational risks.
• Strong policy‑development and documentation skills.
• Excellent analytical and critical‑thinking abilities.
• Strong research skills with the ability to interpret complex regulatory and technical information.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to explain complex AI governance and ethical concepts to technical and non‑technical stakeholders.
• Strong stakeholder‑management and collaboration skills.
• Experience working with Legal, Compliance, Risk, Security, Data, Technology, or Product teams.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple governance initiatives.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality when handling sensitive business, customer, and AI‑system information.
• Understanding of AI model validation, monitoring, testing, or audit processes is an advantage.
• Familiarity with AI documentation, model cards, risk registers, impact assessments, or algorithmic‑impact assessments is beneficial.
• Professional certifications in AI governance, privacy, risk management, compliance, cybersecurity, or related disciplines are advantageous.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary and comprehensive employee benefits.
• Opportunity to shape responsible AI practices across the organization.
• Exposure to generative AI, machine learning, automation, and emerging AI technologies.
• Professional development in AI governance, ethics, risk management, privacy, and compliance.
• Opportunities to collaborate with technology, legal, compliance, security, data, and product teams.
• Participation in AI governance frameworks, policy development, and risk‑management initiatives.
• Access to emerging AI governance tools, standards, and industry practices.
• Support for relevant professional certifications and continuous learning.
• Opportunities to contribute to responsible AI transformation and organizational policy development.
• Recognition for effective governance, risk identification, and responsible AI initiatives.
• Career progression toward Senior AI Governance Specialist, AI Risk Manager, Responsible AI Manager, AI Ethics Manager, AI Governance Lead, or Head of Responsible AI roles.