Risk Officer

Zodia; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 260,000 - 460,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Private health care

Generous Annual Leave

Flexible working arrangements

Job summary

Tungsten Custody Solutions Limited, part of the Zodia Custody Group, seeks a senior Risk Officer for its ADGM/VARA-regulated operations. You will design enterprise risk frameworks, advise the executive team, and oversee operational, financial, and cyber risk controls to meet regulatory standards.

The role focuses on risk governance, incident management, stress testing, and regulatory reporting, with leadership responsibilities and a strong emphasis on digital asset risk knowledge.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in a Risk Management function within financial services.
• Experience developing risk governance frameworks and overseeing a risk function.
• Regulatory understanding in UAE, ADGM, FSRA and VARA.
• Experience in risk governance, Enterprise Risk Management, Incident Management, Disaster Recovery.
• Strong leadership and ability to influence senior stakeholders.
• Knowledge of digital asset regulation and blockchain technology.

Responsibilities

• Design and maintain an enterprise-wide risk framework and conduct risk assessments.
• Advise the executive team and board on risk strategy.
• Identify, mitigate, and manage operational and financial risks.
• Collaborate with Technology to address cybersecurity risks and policies.
• Oversee stress-testing and risk analytics/reporting.
• Manage incident response, escalation, and regulator notifications.
• Promote risk culture and training across the organization.

Skills

Leadership

Communication skills

Risk management

Regulatory understanding

Incident management

Stakeholder management

Tools

Risk analytics tools

Job description

Tungsten Custody Solutions Limited is part of the Zodia Custody Group of companies and has offices under ADGM and VARA. Zodia Custody is an institution-first digital assets platform backed by the power of StandardChartered Bank.

Through the combination of its custody, treasury, and settlement solutions, Zodia Custody enables institutional investors around the globe to realise the full potential of the digital assets future – simply, safely, and without compromise.

Risk Officer

This is a full-time role for a Risk Officer in the ADGM for an FSRA authorised digital asset custodian. The individual will be responsible for safeguarding Zodia against emerging risks by establishing and maintaining a robust risk framework, proactively managing incidents, performing risk assessments and overseeing the controls required to meet regulatory standards.

The ideal candidate is an experienced risk professional with existing knowledge of risk frameworks within digital asset regulations along with experience or a strong interest in digital assets.

Key Responsibilities:

• Enterprise Risk Management: Design and enhance an enterprise-wide risk management framework and conduct comprehensive risk assessments.
• Strategic Risk Advising: Act as a risk advisor to the executive team and board.
• Operational Risk Management: Identify, mitigate, and manage operational risks.
• Technology and Cybersecurity: Collaborate with tech teams to address cybersecurity risks and develop cybersecurity policies.
• Financial Risk Management: Handle financial risks including credit, market, and liquidity, and Oversee stress-testing.
• Reputational Risk Management: Monitor and manage potential risks to Tungsten's reputation and develop crisis management strategies.
• Risk Analytics and Reporting: Set up risk analytics/reporting frameworks and provide regular reports.
• Risk Culture and Training: Foster risk awareness across the organization and design risk
• Management training.
• Act as Incident Manager for risk, compliance, and operational incidents in the absence of a dedicated Incident Manager appointment, ensuring incidents are identified, logged, triaged, and escalated without delay.
• Coordinate the immediate response to incidents, including engagement of relevant stakeholders (Technology, Operations, Legal, Senior Management) and, where applicable, external parties.
• Ensure incidents are assessed for regulatory notification obligations and that any required notifications to the regulator are made within prescribed timeframes.
• Maintain an incident log/register capturing root cause, impact assessment, remediation actions, and lessons learned.
• Escalate material incidents to senior management and the Board in accordance with the entity's escalation thresholds and reporting protocols.
• Support post-incident review and ensure remediation actions are tracked to closure.

Risk Appetite Statement — Ownership and Governance

• Own and maintain the Risk Appetite Statement (RAS), ensuring it remains current, board-approved, and reflective of the entity's risk-taking capacity and strategic objectives.
• Define and maintain documented escalation thresholds across all material risk categories, ensuring breaches of risk appetite are identified on a timely basis.
• Establish and maintain breach reporting protocols, ensuring any breach of risk appetite thresholds is reported to senior management and, where material, to the Board, with appropriate detail on cause, impact, and remediation.
• Operate with independence from business and revenue-generating functions in the exercise of risk oversight responsibilities, free from undue influence in risk assessment, reporting, and escalation.
• Be subject to conflict-of-interest safeguards, including a requirement to declare any actual or potential conflicts and to recuse from decisions where independence may be compromised.

• 7+ years' experiencein a Risk Management function within financial services.
• Previous Riskexperience developing risk governance frameworks and overseeing a risk function.
• Regulatory Understandingin UAE, ADGM, FSRA and VARA regulatory frameworks,
• Existing knowledgeof developing and managing Risk Governance Frameworks, Enterprise Risk Management, Incident Management, Disaster Recovery and undertaking Business Risk Assessments
• Strong delivery mindset— proactive, detail‑oriented and comfortable operating at pace.
• Leadership experiencemanaging teams and influencing senior stakeholders.
• Knowledge of digital asset regulationand associated risks; strong interest in blockchain technology.
• UAE residencyeligible and ability to work regularly from ADGM.
• Exceptional communication skillsand a reputation for integrity, transparency and trust.
• Desirable:Experience in digital asset firms, custody, or blockchain analytics tools.

We are a friendly team, with monthly socials and seasonal celebrations as well as offering a range of fantastic benefits including:

• Competitive salary
• Private health care
• Generous Annual Leave
• Flexible working arrangements (subject to agreement)