Head of Compliance Technology Platforms

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank; United Arab Emirates; On-site; AED 350,000 - 600,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading bank in the UAE is seeking a Head of Compliance Technology Platforms responsible for overseeing the bank's compliance systems. This senior leadership role focuses on ensuring the resilience and performance of AML technology and leading a team of experts. The ideal candidate will have substantial experience in financial crime compliance, especially in AML, and will possess strong analytical and leadership skills. Collaboration with internal and external stakeholders is essential for enhancing compliance operations.

Qualifications

• 7-10+ years in banking IT or financial crime compliance, specifically in AML.
• Certifications such as CAMS or ICA are preferred.
• In-depth knowledge of UAE AML/CFT laws and international standards.

Responsibilities

• Lead, manage and develop a team of 2-4 domain experts.
• Ensure platform resilience, performance, and compliance with regulations.
• Deliver strategic transformation of AML capabilities.

Skills

Strong analytical skills

Problem-solving abilities

Leadership abilities

Excellent communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Computer Science, or related field

Tools

SAS AML

SQL

AWS

Azure

Job description

Head of Compliance Technology Platforms

Location: Abu Dhabi

This is a senior hands‑on leadership role responsible for ensuring the resilience, performance, and evolution of ADIB’s compliance systems. The role holder leads a team of domain experts to deliver stable day‑to‑day technical support for the bank’s compliance operations, drive continuous improvement, and execute critical regulatory and strategic change. The role encompasses end‑to‑end technology ownership of the Anti‑Money Laundering technology eco‑system and will be accountable for ensuring platform is resilient, secure, scalable and fit for purpose to detect and prevent financial crime. The role is a blend of technical expertise in data and systems with a deep understanding of UAE and international AML/CFT regulations.

Key Accountabilities of the Role

Strategic Leadership

• Will be a key senior leader within the Compliance Platform and the extended leadership team of Core Platforms and Data Architecture.
• Will shape and own ADIB’s AML system technology strategy in line with the banks overall Technology Strategy.
• Bring emerging technology practices to ADIB’s AML system team to drive efficiency. In particular, will drive the use of AI in increasing our detection sophistication and reduce manual alert effort.
• Will deliver the strategic transformation of AML capabilities from OMNI to SAS and maximize the new systems capabilities.

Service and Resilience

• Responsible for maintaining system performance (AML system) against agreed SLA’s and customer expectations (24*7 – 365).
• Manage end‑to‑end AML service support across batch and online digital journeys.
• Lead the management, configuration, and optimization of AML monitoring systems (SAS) to effectively identify unusual transaction patterns and potential financial crime.
• Own incident management: respond to major incidents, lead root‑cause analysis, and implement permanent fixes. Run post‑incident reviews and resilience testing.
• Bring industry insights into service management and improve ADIB’s AML system service availability KPI’s.

Change and Delivery

• Own and prioritize the BAU business change request backlog across the AML system team in line with the banks strategy.
• Deliver critical regulatory and strategic projects under tight deadlines.
• Oversee all solution designs, ensuring compliance with target architecture, security standards, and best practices.
• Manage change across the full SDLC lifecycle (requirements, design, testing, deployment, post‑go‑live).
• Ensure all changes are delivered to a high quality with robust testing and controls.
• Drive efficiency through change tooling (test automation, CICD, etc) to increase our speed to market.

Customer Experience & Digital Enablement

• Collaborating with compliance and IT teams to tune and optimize AML solutions, reducing false positives while ensuring effective detection of suspicious activities.
• Partner with the business on current customer or operational pain points and implement solutions that can digitalize these pain points, reducing customer friction and operational workloads.
• Proactively seek AI opportunities to advance ADIB’s AML system technology service.

Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Responsible for AML system adherence to technology governance frameworks ensuring adherence to internal controls, audit standards, and regulatory obligations.
• Ensure all open actions, risks and central bank enquiries are dealt with and closed on time.
• Support the execution of financial crime risk assessments, assess system controls, evaluate process deficiencies, and recommend corrective actions to mitigate identified risks.

Team Leadership and Development

• Lead and develop a team of 2–4 subject matter experts.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation and technical excellence.
• Build internal capability to reduce vendor dependency.
• Drive the team to high performance through coaching and ambitious targets.

Stakeholder Management

• Responsible for managing internal relationships with AML system stakeholders across the bank.
• Run monthly planning sessions with key senior stakeholders to prioritize AML system team backlog.
• Manage external relationships relating to AML system

Performance Monitoring and Reporting

• Develop a set of KPI’s that will be used to manage and drive team performance across service availability, team cadence, vendor quality.
• Through these KPI’s and relevant data, observe ‘focus on flow’ and drive continuous improvement.

Technology and Enterprise Applications Senior Leader

• As a senior leader in Technology, the role holder will be required to contribute to Enterprise Application platform and wider Technology initiatives.
• Learn and share best practice and efficiencies across Enterprise Applications.

Vendor and System Oversight

• Responsible for managing relationships with AML system vendor.
• Conducting regular vendor performance review sessions with vendors across, service availability & SLA’s, defects, project deliverables, strategy opportunities.

Specialist Skills / Technical Knowledge Required for this Role

• Experience: 7-10+ years of experience in banking IT or financial crime compliance, with significant experience specifically in AML system.
• Technical Proficiency: Expertise in AML software (SAS AML), data analysis tools, SQL, and potentially cloud environments (AWS/Azure).
• Regulatory Knowledge: In-depth knowledge of local UAE AML/CFT laws, CBUAE regulations, and international standards (e.g., FATF, OFAC).
• Certifications: Professional certifications such as CAMS (Certified Anti‑Money Laundering Specialist) or ICA (International Compliance Association) are highly preferred.
• Soft Skills: Strong analytical, problem‑solving, leadership, and communication skills to effectively bridge the gap between technical and non‑technical stakeholders.
• Education: A Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Computer Science, or a related field.