Head of Risk MENA

Capital.com; Dubai; On-site; AED 500,000 - 750,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive Salary

Work-Life Harmony

Generous Time Off

Employee Referral Program

Comprehensive Health Benefits

Workation / Remote Work days

Volunteer Days

Job summary

Capital.com is expanding its leadership in the MENA region and seeks a seasoned risk leader to build the second-line functions from the ground up. You will design governance, risk appetite, and KRIs aligned with regulatory demands while managing regulatory relationships across the Gulf.

This role requires influencing senior leadership and ensuring controls across markets, tech, and operations. You will report to the Risk Management leadership and collaborate with global teams to establish

Qualifications

• 8 years in risk management within regulated financial services.
• Direct experience with CMA CBUAE or comparable Gulf regulatory frameworks preferred.
• Background in trading, payments, or multi-product financial services environments is an advantage.
• Professional risk qualification (FRM PRM or CFA) is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Build the Enterprise Risk Management Framework for the MENA business including risk appetite statements, KRIs, governance policies and committee structures.
• Lead regulatory relationships across MENA ensuring risk function contributes to supervisory expectations, licensing milestones, regulatory submissions and inspections.
• Oversee market, operational and technology risk providing independent second-line challenges on exposure management, controls and resilience.
• Design liquidity and financial risk oversight mechanisms including stress testing and scenario analysis.
• Own third-party risk governance with due diligence and ongoing monitoring for tech partners, payment providers, and outsourcing.
• Challenge first-line decisions on new products and material business changes to ensure proper risk sign-off.
• Deliver decision-ready risk reporting to senior leadership and the board including breaches and remediation progress.
• Coordinate with global risk teams to maintain group-wide standards while building a regionally independent function.

Skills

Governance design

Regulatory engagement

Risk appetite frameworks

Professional risk qualification

Job description

We are a leading trading platform that is ambitiously expanding to the four corners of the globe. Our top-rated products have won prestigious industry awards for their cutting-edge technology and seamless client experience. We deliver only the best so we are always in search of the best people to join our ever-growing talented team.

operates regulated financial services in MENA today and the business is scaling across products and regulatory commitments faster than its governance infrastructure can keep up.

The second-line risk function is being built now and this role owns that work: appetite frameworks governance structures regulatory relationships and board reporting calibrated for what the business is becoming. Building a risk function from scratch rather than inheriting one is rare at this level and it is what this role requires.

Responsibilities

• Build the Enterprise Risk Management Framework for the MENA business including risk appetite statements KRIs governance policies and committee structures calibrated to the regulatory environment and the businesss growth stage.

• Lead the companys regulatory relationships across MENA owning the risk functions contribution to supervisory expectations licensing milestones regulatory submissions and inspections.

• Oversee market operational and technology risk across the business providing independent second-line challenges on exposure management execution controls pricing integrity and operational resilience.

• Design liquidity and financial risk oversight mechanisms including stress testing and scenario analysis that reflects regulatory requirements peak operational conditions and adverse market scenarios.

• Own third-party risk governance setting due diligence and ongoing monitoring standards for technology partners payment providers market data providers and outsourced operations.

• Challenge first-line decisions on new products partnerships and material business changes ensuring risk sign-off operates as a gating discipline rather than a downstream check.

• Deliver decision-ready risk reporting to senior leadership and the board including appetite breaches emerging risks incidents and remediation progress that drives action rather than archives information.

• Coordinate with global risk teams to maintain group-wide standards while building a regionally independent function with its own governance and escalation paths.

Requirements

Industry Knowledge:

• 8 years in risk management within regulated financial services with experience spanning governance design risk appetite frameworks and active regulatory engagement.

• Direct experience with CMA CBUAE or comparable Gulf regulatory frameworks strongly preferred.

• Background in trading payments or multi-product financial services environments is an advantage.

• Professional risk qualification (FRM PRM or CFA) is a plus.

Problem-Solving

• You have built governance frameworks from scratch not administered existing ones.

• You can translate ambiguous regulatory requirements into practical structures.

• You are comfortable in environments where the business is still defining what it is building.

Collaboration and Influence

• You are credible with boards senior leadership and regulators.

• Your challenge lands through evidence and clarity.

• You build alignment across Finance Compliance Technology Operations and Product without creating noise or blocking progress.

Mindset and Style

• You take ownership of outcomes when something needs to exist you build it.

• You maintain independent judgment under pressure.

• You are comfortable in an environment where governance structures are being designed alongside the business itself.

What you will get in return

• Competitive Salary: We believe great work deserves great pay! Your skills and talents will be rewarded with a salary that makes you feel valued and motivated.
• Work-Life Harmony: Join a company that genuinely cares about you -because your life outside of work matters just as much as your time on the clock.
• Generous Time Off: Need a breather Our annual leave policy lets you recharge and enjoy life outside of work without a worry.
• Employee Referral Program: Love working here Share the love! Bring your talented friends on board and get rewarded for growing our awesome team.
• Comprehensive Health Benefits: Weve got your back with a medical insurance plan. Plus location-specific benefits and perks!
• Workation Wonderland: Live your digital nomad dreams with 30 extra days to work remotely from anywhere in the world (some restrictions apply). Adventure awaits!
• Volunteer Days: Make a difference! Take two additional paid days each year to support causes you care about and give back to the community.

Be a key player at the forefront of the digital assets movement propelling your career to new heights! Join a dynamic and rapidly expanding company that values and rewards talent initiative and creativity. Work alongside one of the most brilliant teams in the industry.

Required Experience

Director