Head of Operations

AlgoQuant; Dubai; On-site; AED 440,000 - 551,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading asset management firm in Dubai seeks a Head of Operations to oversee its end-to-end operating model. This role is critical for ensuring operational integrity, resilience, and scalability, while leading both the middle office control function and operations team. The ideal candidate will possess strong risk management skills, experience in operational governance, and the ability to manage incidents effectively. You will play a pivotal role in ensuring that operational workflows meet institutional standards.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in operational management within financial services.
• Strong understanding of risk management and regulatory compliance.
• Experience leading teams in a high-pressure environment.

Responsibilities

• Own and evolve the end-to-end operating model of operations.
• Lead the Middle Office control function and Operations team.
• Ensure robust operational frameworks and governance are in place.
• Act as escalation owner for operational incidents and disruptions.

Skills

Operational management

Risk management

Team leadership

Control frameworks

Incident management

Job description

Head of Operations – AlgoQuant Asset Management

Location: Dubai

Reporting to: CFO/COO

About AlgoQuant

At AlgoQuant, we’re building the future of digital asset management, grounded in rigorous research, world‑class technology, and a relentless focus on performance.

We began as a proprietary trading firm, developing sophisticated algorithmic strategies and operating in some of the most complex and fast‑moving markets. That DNA remains at our core, but today we are evolving into a fully remote, globally distributed investment management business. This transformation reflects a broader ambition: to scale our edge, deliver institutional‑grade results, and set new standards for the industry.

Our quantitative environment is built to empower innovation, combining vast data capabilities, disciplined model development, and highly automated execution. Risk is embedded in every layer of our thinking, with robust measurement, control, and scenario analysis integrated into our systems and decision‑making. Technology is not just a tool for us, it’s a core competency and a competitive advantage.

Role Overview

The Head of Operations is responsible for ensuring the integrity, resilience, and scalability of AlgoQuant’s end‑to‑end operating model, from execution through to settlement, reconciliation, NAV support, reporting, and investor servicing. This role sits at the centre of AlgoQuant’s platform and is accountable for building and running the operational system that enables the firm to trade efficiently at scale while meeting institutional expectations across controls, governance, and transparency. The Head of Operations will lead both the Middle Office control function and Operations execution teams, and will serve as the primary escalation point for operational incidents, market events, and counterparty/custodian issues.

A key element of the remit includes operational readiness and lifecycle oversight for AQ’s structured BTC‑denominated instruments, ensuring processes for settlement, custody, servicing, treasury movements, and reporting are fully embedded and repeatable.

Key Responsibilities

End‑to‑End Operating Model Ownership

• Own and continuously evolve AQ’s operating model across Trading & execution (venues, brokers, OTC), Post‑trade, settlements, custody, treasury, Reconciliation (positions, cash, P&L, fees), NAV support & fund administration coordination, Investor flows, reporting, and servicing workflows.
• Define and enforce operational accountability across Middle Office and Operations, including documented procedures, controls, and runbooks.
• Ensure operational workflows scale across strategies, venues, and jurisdictions.

Leadership of Middle Office + Operations

• Lead the Middle Office control function and Operations team as a single integrated operating system.
• Set performance standards, control expectations, and escalation frameworks across both groups.
• Hire, develop and retain high‑calibre operational talent, aligned with AQ’s technical, trading‑centric culture.
• Drive execution discipline: daily cadence, weekly controls, break management, and continuous improvement.

Control Framework & Governance

• Ensure robust controls exist across trade capture integrity, position and cash reconciliation, wallet management and approvals, transfer processes and limits, data integrity and reporting accuracy.
• Own and maintain operational governance artefacts: evidence logs, exception reporting, incident playbooks and escalation matrices.
• Build “audit‑ready by design” processes across Middle Office and Ops.

Operational Risk Management & Incident Oversight

• Act as AQ’s operational escalation owner for market disruption, venue outages, transfer/settlement failures, custody issues, operational breaches, limit events, and security escalations.
• Lead incident response across teams (Trading, Tech, Risk, Finance), coordinate communications, and run post‑incident reviews.
• Own operational risk