Operational Risk Lead (UAE National)

Aventus Global Talent; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 350,000 - 650,000; Full time

Job summary

Aventus Global Talent is seeking an Operational Risk Lead (UAE National) based in Abu Dhabi to lead risk governance, resilience and control frameworks. The role collaborates with Finance, Internal Audit and portfolio companies to ensure robust risk management across the organization.

The candidate will drive continuity planning, stress-testing, and reporting to senior leadership, with strong stakeholder engagement and regulatory alignment in the UAE.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in operational or enterprise risk.
• Experience across RCSA, business continuity, resilience, crisis management, internal controls/ICFR or insurance.
• Comfort presenting to senior management and governance committees.

Responsibilities

• Lead risk identification, assessment and governance framework design from concept to day-to-day tools.
• Run structured risk and control reviews across corporate functions with live KPI view.
• Lead continuity and resilience planning, mapping dependencies and stress-testing disruptions.
• Coordinate with Finance and Internal Audit to tighten controls and assess insurance coverage vs risk.
• Benchmark risk maturity across portfolio companies and promote group standards.
• Summarize risk insights for senior leadership and boards, connecting Finance, Investments, HR, Tech and Facilities.

Job description

Operational Risk Lead (UAE National)

Location: Abu Dhabi

About the Company

Our client is an investment management conglomerate backed by a SWF, with a diversified portfolio spanning both regional and international markets. It takes an integrated approach to investing, building and managing assets and projects across a broad mix of sectors - from infrastructure, real estate and utilities, to transport and supply chains, agriculture, healthcare and financial investments.

Key Responsibilities

• Play a lead role in building and refining how the group identifies, assesses and governs operational and enterprise risk, from framework design through to the practical tools teams use day to day
• Run structured risk and control reviews across corporate functions, keeping a live view of key risk indicators and flagging emerging exposures early
• Lead continuity and resilience planning - mapping what the business depends on (talent, tech, third parties, physical sites) and stress-testing how it would hold up under disruption, including crisis and emergency response readiness in line with UAE regulatory expectations
• Work alongside Finance and Internal Audit to tighten internal controls and financial reporting controls, and sense-check whether insurance cover matches actual risk exposure
• Benchmark risk and resilience maturity across portfolio companies, pushing adoption of group standards and helping close any gaps found
• Package up risk insight for senior leadership, the Audit & Risk Committee and Board, acting as the connective tissue across Finance, Investments, HR, Technology and Facilities

Requirements

• 8+ years in operational or enterprise risk, ideally spanning RCSA, business continuity, resilience, crisis management, internal controls/ICFR or insurance
• Background in a large diversified corporate, sovereign investor, financial institution, asset manager, government-linked entity or top-tier professional services firm
• Comfortable working across multiple business units or portfolio companies rather than a single entity
• Strong stakeholder and communication skills, with comfort presenting to senior management and governance committees