Chief Risk Officer

PALICAO; Dubai; On-site; AED 1,000,000 - 2,000,000; Full time

Job summary

PALICAO in Dubai seeks a Chief Risk Officer to design, implement and safeguard the enterprise-wide risk management architecture. You will embed governance, define appetite and authority, aligning with Afreximbank standards to support sustainable expansion across continents.

You will lead market, credit, operational and ESG risk, oversee liquidity, strengthen controls, and present risk insights to the Board. 15–20+ years in commodity trading or multi‑jurisdictional institutions is required.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Risk Management, Finance, Economics, or quantitative field (MBA/CFA/FRM preferred).
• 15–20+ years of enterprise risk experience in commodity trading or multi‑jurisdictional institutions.
• Proven ability to design and lead end-to-end ERM frameworks in high‑risk environments.
• Deep knowledge of commodity trading risks, CTRM systems, hedging and trade lifecycle.
• Experience with African/frontier markets and cross-border logistics.
• Experience interacting with Boards, regulators and external risk stakeholders.
• Strong leadership, integrity, decisiveness and independent collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Design and refine the enterprise risk management framework aligned with governance standards.
• Define risk appetite, DoA, and board reporting across risk categories.
• Oversee market, credit, and financial risk including hedging effectiveness.
• Lead liquidity planning, cash-cycle management and funding risk controls.
• Strengthen operational, supply chain, cyber and compliance risk.
• Embed ESG and country risk frameworks and support expansion plans.
• Provide executive risk analysis and present to the Board Risk Committee.

Skills

ERM leadership

Board reporting

Risk governance

Analytical thinking

Executive communication

Independence

Education

Master's degree in Risk Management, Finance, Economics, Quantitative Analysis or related field

MBA

CFA/FRM

Job description

One of our client, a commodity trade and distribution company based in Dubai is seeking a Chief Risk Officer (CRO) who will be responsible for designing, implementing and safeguarding the enterprise-wide risk management architecture. The CRO will play a pivotal role in ensuring the company growth is profitable, compliant, resilient and aligned with Afreximbank’s governance standards, while enabling the business to scale sustainably across the continent.

The Key Focus areas of this role revolves around;

Enterprise Risk Strategy & Governance

• Design, institutionalise and continuously refine company Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Framework, aligned with the company’s risk appetite, governance mandates and Afreximbank’s oversight expectations
• Define and oversee risk appetite, governance structures, Board reporting mechanisms, and the Delegation of Authority (DoA) across all risk categories
• Integrate risk considerations into strategy, capital deployment, trading mandates, commercial decisions, and market expansion plans
• Build a strong risk culture across the organisation and ensure effective challenge to commercial/operational decisions

Trading, Market, Credit and Financial Risk

• Oversee all market‑facing risks across commodity exposure, FX, pricing volatility, counterparty strength and hedging effectiveness
• Define and monitor enterprise-wide risk limits, exposure thresholds, and credit/financial risk appetite in collaboration with trading, finance and treasury
• Lead credit assessments, collateral structures, guarantees, insurance programs, and risk‑mitigation tools to protect the company capital and working capital cycles
• Supervise liquidity and funding risks, ensuring adequate buffers, disciplined cash‑cycle management and alignment with inventory and trading flows

Operational, Supply Chain, Technology and Compliance Risk

• Oversee end‑to‑end operational risks across warehousing, logistics, procurement, CTRM/ERP processes and trade lifecycle controls
• Ensure regulatory compliance across jurisdictions, covering AML/KYC, sanctions, customs rules, tax and cross‑border trading requirements
• Strengthening internal controls, cyber‑security readiness, business continuity and disaster recovery frameworks
• Identify and mitigate supply‑chain vulnerabilities, country‑level disruptions, and operational breakdowns impacting trading and distribution networks

Strategic, Reputational, ESG & Country Risk

• Provide forward‑looking risk analysis to support expansion, investments, JVs, partnerships, and new‑market entries
• Evaluate geopolitical, macroeconomic, country and supply chain risks across company African operating footprint
• Assess reputational, stakeholder, and political risks associated with counterparties, markets, and government partnerships
• Embed ESG risk frameworks aligned to Afreximbank’s sustainability and governance standards

Executive Reporting & Board Engagement

• Present enterprise risk insights to the Board Risk Committee, with actionable recommendations and scenario‑based decision support.
• Develop risk dashboards, early warning systems, and predictive analytics to support leadership decision‑making.
• Serve as the independent risk challenger to the trading, commercial, operations, and finance teams

The profile We Are Looking For:

• Master’s degree in Risk Management, Finance, Economics, Quantitative Analysis or related field (MBA, CFA, FRM strongly preferred)
• 15-20+ years of experience in enterprise risk roles within commodity trading, trade finance, banking, DFIs, or large multi‑jurisdictional institutions
• Proven experience building or leading end‑to‑end ERM frameworks in complex, high‑risk, cross‑border environments
• Deep understanding of commodity trading risks, CTRM systems, hedging strategies, derivatives, and full trade lifecycle oversight
• Exposure to African or frontier markets, customs/trade processes, cross‑border logistics, and supply chain risks
• Demonstrated experience interacting with Boards, regulators, DFIs, multilaterals, sovereign partners, and external risk stakeholders
• Strong leadership presence, high integrity, decisiveness, and the ability to operate independently while collaborating with commercial teams
• Exceptional analytical, communication and executive influencing skills
• Ability to build, mentor, and scale a risk organisation from the ground up