Head of Operational Risk, Controls and Quality

Intelligent Solutions HR Consultancy; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 200,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading recruitment firm in Abu Dhabi is seeking a Head of Operational Risk, Controls & Quality for a growing insurance organization. This senior role involves strengthening governance, operational resilience, and compliance across multiple business lines. The ideal candidate will have 8–12 years of relevant experience, strong leadership skills, and in-depth knowledge of UAE insurance regulations. This role is essential for driving operational excellence and ensuring regulatory alignment.

Qualifications

• 8–12 years of experience in operational risk, quality assurance, or compliance within insurance or financial services.
• Strong experience across multiple insurance lines of business (Health, Life, P&C).
• In-depth knowledge of UAE insurance regulations and governance standards.

Responsibilities

• Lead enterprise‑wide Non‑Financial Risk Assessments (NFRAs) across all lines of business.
• Monitor the design and effectiveness of operational and regulatory controls.
• Oversee the complaints management framework across customer segments.

Skills

Operational risk management

Quality assurance

Regulatory compliance

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree in business administration, Risk Management, or related discipline

Job description

Head of Operational Risk, Controls and Quality

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | Posted on 12/01/2026

We are hiring a Head of Operational Risk, Controls & Quality for our client, a fast-growing insurance organization operating across multiple lines of business. This senior leadership role is responsible for strengthening first‑line governance, operational resilience, quality assurance, and regulatory compliance across Health, Life, Motor, Marine, Aviation, and broader P&C portfolios.

The role plays a critical part in supporting business scale and multi‑line expansion while ensuring strong operational discipline, customer experience, and regulatory alignment. The successful candidate will embed robust risk and control frameworks, lead quality and complaints oversight, and act as a key partner to senior leadership, regulators, and external stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead enterprise‑wide Non‑Financial Risk Assessments (NFRAs) across all lines of business.
• Monitor the design and effectiveness of operational and regulatory controls, ensuring timely remediation of gaps.
• Oversee quarterly control testing cycles, maintaining audit readiness and regulatory documentation.
• Ensure operational risk events are identified, reported, investigated, escalated, and closed within agreed SLAs.
• Own first‑line governance for operational risk in collaboration with Risk, Compliance, and Internal Audit.
• Oversee the development, testing, and maintenance of Business Continuity Plans (BCP).

Quality Assurance & Continuous Improvement:

• Lead the enterprise Quality Assurance (QA) framework across all operational teams.
• Ensure consistency in quality standards, sampling methodologies, and review practices.
• Drive root‑cause analysis and corrective action plans arising from QA findings.
• Lead transformation, automation, and process optimization initiatives aligned with operational KPIs.

Financial Crime & Regulatory Oversight (First Line):

• Oversee centralized alert management covering KYC, Sanctions, PEPs, Transaction Monitoring, FATCA, and CRS.
• Act as Operations SME for FATCA/CRS onboarding, classification, documentation, and reporting readiness.
• Ensure PCI‑DSS compliance across all payment touchpoints and successful annual certification.
• Coordinate first‑line implementation of regulatory changes in partnership with Compliance, Risk, and Legal.
• Ensure operational adherence to AML/KYC, CBUAE conduct rules, health authority regulations, and sector‑specific mandates across all LOBs.

Complaints Management:

• Oversee the complaints management framework across customer, broker, and corporate segments.
• Monitor complaints performance, turnaround times, and regulatory compliance.
• Ensure complaints insights drive service improvements, control enhancements, and better customer outcomes.
• Own governance standards that elevate customer experience across all lines of business.

Leadership & Stakeholder Management:

• Recruit, lead, mentor, and develop the Operational Risk, Controls & Quality team.
• Act as business lead for selection and enhancement of department IT systems.
• Manage departmental budget and resource planning.
• Support product and sales cycles from tender stage through onboarding.
• Deputize senior operations leadership as required and contribute to enterprise‑wide initiatives.

Key Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Risk Management, Compliance, or a related discipline.
• 8–12 years of experience in operational risk, internal controls, quality assurance, or compliance within insurance or financial services.
• Strong experience across multiple insurance lines of business (Health, Life, P&C preferred).
• In‑depth knowledge of UAE insurance regulations, control frameworks, and governance standards.
• Prior exposure to regulatory audits, risk reviews, and operational readiness assessments.
• Proven ability to build and embed effective first‑line control environments.
• Strong leadership, stakeholder management, and communication skills.
• Excellent analytical ability with high attention to detail.
• Demonstrated success leading cross‑functional initiatives in fast‑paced, scaling environments.
• High integrity, accountability, and a customer‑centric mindset.