Head - Complex Change

RAKBANK; Dubai; On-site; AED 238,707 - 348,879; Full time

Job summary

RAKBANK is looking for a Head - Complex Change to oversee major banking transformation programmes in Dubai. This senior role involves leading complex initiatives across core banking, digital banking, and payments with executive accountability.

The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in transformation leadership and a proven track record in managing Tier-1 technology partners. This position offers high visibility and a critical role in driving the bank's strategic change efforts.

Qualifications

• 20 years of progressive technology and transformation leadership experience.
• Minimum 5 years in a senior delivery leadership role within a bank or regulated financial institution.
• Proven experience managing Tier-1 vendor relationships.

Responsibilities

• Lead RAKBANK's most complex transformation programmes across banking initiatives.
• Own executive delivery accountability for multi-year transformation programmes.
• Chair programme steering committees and governance forums.

Skills

Complex change leadership

Banking transformation

Programme delivery

Executive delivery accountability

Core banking transformation

Payments modernisation

Digital platform transformation

Risk mitigation

Stakeholder management

Budget management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Business, Technology

MBA or PMI-PgMP certification

Job description

Head - Complex Change

Head - Complex Change in Dubai, United Arab Emirates is a senior Financial Services transformation leadership opportunity for an experienced banking programme delivery executive with deep expertise in complex change execution, core banking transformation, digital platform delivery, payments modernisation, multi‑vendor governance, offshore delivery management, regulatory engagement, and board‑level programme accountability. This role is ideal for a hands‑on delivery leader who can own high‑risk, multi‑year transformation programmes and drive measurable outcomes across scope, time, budget, quality, and risk.

Job Details

Country: United Arab Emirates
City: Dubai
Industry: Financial Services
Function: Management
Salary: 65000-95000
Gender: Any
Candidate Nationality: Any
Job Type: Full‑time

Role Context

The Head - Complex Change will be accountable for the successful delivery of RAKBANK's most strategic and complex transformation programmes across core banking, digital banking, payments, infrastructure, and enterprise technology platforms. The role acts as the bank's senior delivery authority for multi‑platform, multi‑vendor, and multi‑year initiatives with board‑level visibility and CBUAE scrutiny. The successful candidate will lead delivery governance, manage scope control, chair steering forums, hold vendors accountable, align offshore development teams, and proactively mitigate risks before they affect programme outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

• Own executive delivery accountability for RAKBANK's most complex transformation programmes across core banking, digital, payments, and infrastructure.
• Deliver strategic programmes within committed scope, timelines, budgets, quality expectations, and outcome‑based ownership standards.
• Lead hands‑on programme execution across multi‑platform, multi‑vendor, multi‑year, and cross‑functional banking initiatives.
• Design and mobilise complex programme structures, governance forums, delivery workstreams, and interdependency management models.
• Conduct deep upfront delivery assessments to identify risks, constraints, scope challenges, dependencies, vendor gaps, and delivery readiness issues.
• Maintain a live RAID framework that is regularly reviewed with senior stakeholders and executive sponsors.
• Drive proactive risk mitigation before issues escalated into delivery delays, budget pressure, or regulatory exposure.
• Enforce rigorous scope management through disciplined change control, impact assessment, and executive escalation.
• Prevent scope creep by maintaining clear ownership, delivery baselines, decision rights, and programme governance discipline.
• Act as the primary delivery interface with Tier‑1 technology partners, system integrators, vendors, and strategic delivery partners.
• Hold external technology partners accountable for contractual commitments, milestone delivery, quality standards, and issue resolution.
• Lead and align offshore development centres and offshore delivery teams to programme plans, delivery cadence, governance standards, and quality expectations.
• Chair programme steering committees, executive governance forums, delivery checkpoints, and cross‑functional escalation meetings.
• Resolve blockers across business, technology, operations, risk, compliance, audit, security, vendors, and offshore teams.
• Escalate critical issues to the CTO, ExCo, CEO, or board‑level forums when required.
• Coordinate regulatory, audit, compliance, and risk engagement for programmes under CBUAE scrutiny.
• Support technology change submissions, supervisory engagement, regulatory queries, and evidence‑based delivery assurance.
• Produce board‑quality, risk‑adjusted programme reporting with clear visibility on scope, schedule, budget, delivery health, decisions, risks, and value outcomes.
• Build delivery leadership capability across programme managers, change leads, delivery owners, and transformation teams.
• Promote a delivery culture based on accountability, transparency, proactive risk management, commercial discipline, and measurable outcomes.
• Ensure major banking transformation programmes are delivered with strong control, operational readiness, resilience, and stakeholder alignment.

Ideal Profile

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Business, Technology, or a related field.
• MBA, MSP Practitioner, or PMI‑PgMP certification is highly preferred.
• 20 years of progressive technology and transformation leadership experience.
• Minimum 5 years in an EVP, Managing Director, Programme Director, or CXO‑adjacent delivery leadership role within a bank or globally regulated financial institution.
• Proven record of personally leading and successfully completing multi‑year, cross‑platform transformation programmes in banking.
• Direct experience delivering core banking migration, major core platform upgrade, payments modernisation, or digital platform transformation programmes.
• Expert command of upfront risk management, scope control, executive delivery governance, and complex programme mobilisation.
• Demonstrated ability to prevent or resolve scope creep, delivery crises, vendor underperformance, and cross‑workstream execution risks.
• Proven experience managing Tier‑1 vendor relationships, system integrators, offshore development centres, and offshore delivery partnerships.
• Strong ability to hold external parties accountable for contractual delivery, quality standards, milestones, and remediation actions.
• Expert knowledge of enterprise programme governance frameworks such as MSP, PMI‑PgMP, or equivalent methods.
• Ability to adapt formal governance frameworks pragmatically to live banking transformation constraints and delivery pace.
• Experience engaging with central bank regulators such as CBUAE, FCA, MAS, or equivalent authorities on technology change and supervisory matters.
• Strong understanding of banking technology, operational risk, audit expectations, compliance controls, and regulated delivery environments.
• Excellent executive communication, stakeholder management, negotiation, escalation, and decision‑making skills.
• Strong commercial awareness with the ability to manage budgets, vendors, contracts, delivery trade‑offs, and programme value.
• Practical, resilient, hands‑on leadership style with the ability to manage ambiguity, pressure, complexity, and high‑stakes delivery.

Skills Set

• Complex change leadership
• Banking transformation
• Programme delivery
• Executive delivery accountability
• Core banking transformation
• Core banking migration
• Platform upgrade delivery
• Payments modernisation
• Digital platform transformation
• Infrastructure transformation
• Multi‑year programme delivery
• Cross‑functional programme management
• Multi‑vendor governance
• Tier‑1 vendor management
• Offshore Development Centre management
• Offshore delivery governance
• Scope control
• Change control
• RAID management
• Risk mitigation
• Delivery governance
• Programme steering committees
• Board‑level reporting
• Executive escalation
• CBUAE regulatory engagement
• Audit engagement
• Compliance coordination
• Risk management
• MSP framework
• PMI‑PgMP
• Programme mobilisation
• Interdependency management
• Milestone tracking
• Budget management
• Delivery quality assurance
• Contractual accountability
• Stakeholder management
• Transformation leadership
• Banking technology
• Operational readiness
• Strategic programme execution

Why Join Us

This opportunity is ideal for a Head - Complex Change seeking a high‑impact transformation leadership role in Dubai's Financial Services sector. The position offers the chance to lead board‑visible banking transformation programmes, manage Tier‑1 technology partners, drive complex delivery outcomes, and support strategic change under strong governance and regulatory scrutiny. It is a strong fit for a senior delivery leader who wants to combine hands‑on execution, risk control, vendor accountability, regulatory coordination, and enterprise transformation within a respected UAE bank.

About the Company

RAKBANK is a leading UAE banking institution serving personal, SME, commercial, corporate, and wealth management customers through a broad range of financial products, digital banking services, and client‑focused solutions. The bank is committed to innovation, governance, operational resilience, customer service, and sustainable growth. Through its core banking, digital, payments, infrastructure, data, AI, and transformation initiatives, RAKBANK continues to strengthen modern financial services and support evolving customer needs across the United Arab Emirates.