Head of Middle Office & Customer Onboarding

Head of Middle Office & Customer Onboarding

Job Responsibilities
• Reporting into the COO; Oversee the overall management of the Middle Office function in Middle East (in-house Middle Office team), and liaise with Global Middle Office teams in Shared Services, across the three fundamental pillars of Client Onboarding, Third-party and Broker Network and Account Setup & Administration.
• Develop and maintain relationships with clients and external counterparties, including brokers, banks, and custodians.
• Implement improvement projects to the systems/processes/internal controls for new and existing market/products.
• Participate in the development and implementation of policies and procedures, SOPs, Service Level Agreements, and Business continuity plans for the Middle Office to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and internal controls.
• Regularly evaluate the efficiency of business procedures according to organizational objectives and implement improvements.
• Liaise with internal and external stakeholders on escalations and improve relationships and communication channels between different areas of the business and Middle Office.
• Work closely with the trading desk and the relationship managers to ensure timely error handling and client requests.
• Consult with IT to implement changes to existing system functionality and advise on new project initiatives.
• Lead a team of middle office analysts, providing training, coaching, and feedback as needed. Set individual and team objectives, manage quarterly KPIs, and educate teams on how to identify and reduce errors, focusing on root cause analysis and improving controls, breeding a culture of change management and consistent improvement.
• Provide cost-benefit analysis to Management when required.
• Assist with the Internal Audit function for the Middle Office, including the implementation of subsequent management action items in a timely manner.
• Collaborate with other teams within the company, including the front office, finance, compliance, and IT, to improve processes and systems.
• Handle any other ad hoc projects required by Management.
Job Requirements
• Bachelor s degree in Finance, Business, or related field. Professional qualifications (e.g., CFA, CA, CPA) preferred.
• 8+ years in Middle Office/Operations in financial services, with 4+ years in a leadership role.
• Strong knowledge of trade lifecycle, client onboarding, KYC/AML.
• Experience with financial products across asset classes.
• Familiarity with Middle Office systems and reporting tools.
• Proficient in Excel; basic IT/system project knowledge is a plus.
• Understanding of regulatory requirements.
• Experience in SOPs, audits, and internal control frameworks.
• Strong team management, communication, and stakeholder engagement.
• Analytical, detail-oriented, and proactive in process improvement.
• Able to handle escalations and deliver under pressure.