Head of Risk and Compliance

ClearGrid; Dubai; On-site; AED 500,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

ClearGrid seeks a dedicated risk and compliance leader to own the compliance framework across its product suite in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. You will be the sole owner initially, setting policies, controls, and licensing actions, and serving as MLRO and data protection officer.

You will partner with Legal, Finance, Product, Engineering, and Operations from day one. You will build the function, hire a team as it scales, and ensure regulatory and contractual obligations are met across markets,

Qualifications

• 6+ years in risk and compliance within financial services, fintech, lending, or debt collection with UAE/KSA exposure.
• Knowledge of CBUAE and SAMA regulations related to lending, collections, consumer protection and outsourcing.
• Proven ability to write policies, build risk registers, and run control testing programs from scratch.
• Experience leading client due diligence, external audits, and regulator correspondence.
• Fluent English; professional Arabic strongly preferred.
• Hands-on, sole owner of the function with ability to scale the team.

Responsibilities

• Design, write, and maintain policies, standards, and control sets for all product lines.
• Track regulatory obligations across UAE and KSA, including licensing, registrations, and regulator responses.
• Lead due diligence with banks and lenders, manage audit responses, and remediation of findings.
• Set conduct standards for collections and customer communications across channels.
• Oversee UAE PDPL and KSA PDPL compliance, data handling, DPAs, and cross-border transfers.
• Own AML, CFT, sanctions screening, and KYC/KYB frameworks for servicing and funding flows.
• Build and run the operational risk register and testing calendar, manage incidents.
• Support Securitize with portfolio criteria, covenant monitoring, and reporting obligations.
• Govern AI/ automated decisioning governance, with explainability and human oversight.
• Train commercial, product, and operations teams to bake compliance into workflows.

Skills

Risk & compliance

Financial services

UAE/KSA regulations

Policy writing

Audit management

Due diligence

AML/CFT

Data protection

English fluent

Arabic preferred

Job description

Job Description:

Who We Are

ClearGrid is revolutionizing the debt resolution industry with cutting-edge AI and advanced analytics. We leverage real-time data, machine learning, and automation to optimize debt recovery for financial institutions. As we scale our technology platform, we are building high-performance, resilient systems to support our next phase of hyper-growth.

About the Role

We are hiring our first dedicated risk and compliance leader to own the compliance framework across ClearGrid’s full product suite: Command, Allocate, and Securitize.

This is a broad, hands‑on generalist mandate. You will set the policies, build the controls, and be the single point of accountability for how we meet our regulatory and contractual obligations across the UAE and Saudi Arabia. You will work directly with the CEO, and partner daily with Legal, Finance, Product, Engineering, and Operations.

You will be the person our bank and lender clients speak to when they want assurance, and the person our internal teams come to before shipping something that touches regulated activity. It suits someone who is comfortable owning a function end to end, and who would rather build the framework than inherit one. You start as the sole owner of the function; you will hire and shape the team as the function scales and act as our registered MLRO and data protection officer.

Your First 90 Days

• Map our licensing and registration position in both markets and close any gaps

• Stand up the operational risk register and the first control testing calendar

• Close out the open items on our most active client due diligence and audit responses

• Set the baseline collections conduct and complaint handling standards across all channels

What You’ll Own

• Compliance framework. Design, write, and maintain the policies, standards, and control sets covering all three product lines. Keep them current as regulation, products, and client requirements change.

• Regulatory obligations across UAE and KSA. Track and interpret CBUAE and SAMA requirements relevant to lending, collections, outsourced servicing, and consumer credit. Own licensing and registration obligations, regulatory notifications, and responses to regulator queries.

• Client and partner assurance. Lead compliance due diligence with banks, lenders, and funding partners. Own questionnaires, audit responses, evidence packs, and contractual compliance obligations, including reporting commitments and remediation of audit findings.

• Consumer protection and conduct. Set collections conduct standards and fair treatment principles. Own complaint handling, contact conduct rules, quality monitoring of customer communications, and outcome testing across voice, chat, and messaging channels.

• Data protection. Own compliance with the UAE PDPL and the KSA PDPL (SDAIA) across the platform. Cover data handling and retention, DPAs, sub‑processor and vendor reviews, cross‑border transfer mechanisms, and breach response.

• Financial crime. Own AML, CFT, and sanctions obligations relevant to servicing and funding flows. Cover counterparty KYC and KYB, screening controls, escalation routes, and suspicious activity reporting where applicable.

• Risk register and control testing. Build and run the operational risk register. Set and execute the control testing calendar, manage incident and breach handling, and track remediation to closure.

• Structured funding compliance. Support Securitize with portfolio eligibility criteria, covenant monitoring, investor and lender reporting obligations, and SPV governance requirements.

• AI and automated decisioning governance. Set the controls around automated decisioning and AI-generated customer communications, including review workflows, audit trails, explainability, and human oversight requirements.

• Advisory and enablement. Act as the escalation point for compliance questions across the business. Train commercial, product, and operations teams so that compliance is built into how we work rather than checked at the end.

What You’ll Bring

Non-negotiable

• 6+ years in risk and compliance within financial services, fintech, lending, or debt collection, with direct UAE and/or KSA regulatory exposure

• Working knowledge of CBUAE and SAMA regulations relevant to lending, collections, consumer protection, and outsourcing arrangements

• Track record of writing policies, building risk registers, and running control testing programs from scratch rather than administering existing ones

• Experience leading client due diligence, external audits, and regulator correspondence in a financial institution or a vendor serving them

• Fluent English; professional Arabic strongly preferred

• Comfortable operating as the sole owner of the function, hands‑on across strategy and execution

Strong plus

• Practical experience with AML, CFT, sanctions screening, and KYC/KYB frameworks

• Applied knowledge of UAE and KSA data protection law, DPAs, and cross‑border data transfer requirements

• Experience designing complaint handling and fair treatment frameworks for consumer‑facing operations

• Exposure to receivables funding, securitization, or structured finance compliance

• Familiarity with governance of AI or automated decisioning systems

• Professional certification such as ICA, ACAMS, or CISI

Requirements: