Senior Business Intelligence Analyst

Mal.AI; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 300,000 - 540,000; Full time

Job summary

Mal.AI is building a Sharia-compliant digital bank and seeks a Lead - Business Intelligence to establish the enterprise BI function from day one. You will own metrics, executive and operational reporting, self-service analytics, and a path to agentic insights across every domain of the bank. This is a rare greenfield opportunity.

You will not inherit a legacy BI stack or a crowded team structure. You will lead the enterprise analytics function from ground up under the Head of Data in Abu Dhabi

Qualifications

• 8+ years in business intelligence, analytics, or data leadership in regulated environments.
• Proven experience building BI capability as a first hire or solo lead.
• Strong command of enterprise KPI design, metrics frameworks, and cross-domain reporting.
• Advanced SQL and hands-on experience with modern BI tools (Power BI, Tableau, Looker, Metabase).
• Experience with semantic layers or metrics layers (dbt metrics, LookML or equivalent).
• Excellent dashboard and data visualization skills for executive and operational audiences.
• Ability to translate messy business problems into clean, measurable analytics.
• Builder mindset with governance, accessibility, and stakeholder influence.

Responsibilities

• Define the BI operating model and roadmap as the founding BI Lead.
• Own enterprise metrics layer, KPI dictionary, and reporting standards across banking domains.
• Champion data storytelling and translate data into decision-ready narratives for leadership.
• Create KPIs and dimensions, identify insight gaps, and prioritize data product initiatives.
• Design and deliver dashboards for Credit & Lending, Finance, Core Banking, CRM, and more.
• Establish BI governance, access controls, dataset certification, and refresh SLAs.
• Enable self-service analytics with certified datasets and comprehensive documentation.
• Collaborate with Data Engineering and AI teams on models, prescriptive analytics, and agentic reporting.

Skills

Advanced SQL

Power BI

Tableau

Looker

Semantic layer

Data storytelling

Stakeholder management

Executive communication

Tools

Power BI

Tableau

Looker

dbt Metrics

LookML

Metabase

Job description

Mal is building a Sharia-compliant digital bank powered by modern technology and ethical principles. As our first Lead - Business Intelligence, you will establish the enterprise BI function from the ground up: trusted metrics, executive and operational reporting, self-service analytics, and a path to agentic insights across every domain of the bank.

This is a rare greenfield opportunity. You will not inherit a legacy BI stack or a crowded team structure. You will build the enterprise analytics function from day one: the metrics layer, reporting standards, dashboard catalogue, self-service model, and the foundation for AI-assisted insights. Reporting to the Head of Data and based in Abu Dhabi (on-site), you will be the sole BI lead. Working hands‑on across Credit and Lending, Finance and Treasury, Core Banking and Payments, CRM and Customer 360, Product, Customer Support, Compliance, Cyber Security, and People Operations.

You will partner closely with data engineers on analytical marts and semantic models, and with our AI team on prescriptive and agentic reporting. You will also work directly with domain leaders who need trusted numbers, clear narratives, and faster decisions. If you want ownership, breadth, and the chance to define how a digital bank uses data at scale, this role was built for you. Turn platform data into timely, governed decisions: define the enterprise KPI dictionary, deliver dashboards at every level, run the internal reporting cadence, and enable domain teams to self-serve without metric chaos. This is a greenfield role for a senior BI leader who can build alone, influence without authority, and scale the function as Mal grows.

• Define the BI operating model and roadmap as the founding BI Lead, establishing a clear and credible path for future team growth.

• Define, build, and own Mal's enterprise metrics layer, KPI dictionary, and reporting standards across all banking and business domains.

• Champion data storytelling, translating complex data into compelling, decision-ready narratives for leadership and non-technical stakeholders.

• Turn ambiguous business questions into clear KPIs and dimensions, proactively identifying insight gaps to help the Head of Data prioritize pipeline and data product initiatives.

• Design, build, and deliver executive, management, and operational dashboards across all critical functions including Credit & Lending, Finance & Treasury, Core Banking & Payments, CRM & Customer 360, Product, Customer Support, Compliance, Cyber Security, and People Operations.

• Own Mal s internal reporting rhythm, driving the seamless execution of daily operational views, weekly business reviews, monthly close support, and quarterly board-ready packs.

• Support regulatory and external reporting readiness by aligning internal metrics with strict submission and audit requirements.

• Establish comprehensive BI governance, spanning access tiers, metric definitions, version control, refresh SLAs, and change management.

• Enable self-service analytics for domain teams through certified datasets, robust documentation, training, and clear access controls.

• Partner with Data Engineering to ensure data marts, semantic models, and data contracts are optimized for both central reporting and decentralized self-service.

• Collaborate with the AI team to develop prescriptive analytics, automated insights, and governed agentic reporting solutions.

• Complete a full discovery across all domains: reporting needs, current tools, metric conflicts, and stakeholder priorities

• Publish Mal's first enterprise KPI dictionary with clear owners, definitions, and refresh rules

• Launch BI governance foundations: access tiers, certified datasets, naming standards, and intake process

• Stand up the core BI platform with appropriate security and access controls

• Deliver the first executive dashboard pack for leadership review

• Launch live dashboards for priority domains, starting with Credit and Lending and Finance and Treasury

• Release CRM and Customer 360 views for product and customer support teams

• Implement semantic layer definitions for the top 25 enterprise KPIs

• Establish weekly business review and monthly management reporting cadence

• Run the first self-service analytics enablement sessions for domain leads

• Produce a regulatory reporting alignment map between internal metrics and external requirements

• Present a 90-day BI roadmap, operating model, and plan for scaling the function beyond the first hire

Desired Candidate Profile

• 8+ years in business intelligence, analytics, or data leadership, ideally in banking, fintech, or another regulated environment

• Proven experience building or leading BI capability, including as a first hire or solo lead

• Strong command of enterprise KPI design, metrics frameworks, and cross-domain reporting

• Advanced SQL and hands‑on experience with modern BI tools (Power BI, Tableau, Looker, Metabase, or similar)

• Experience with semantic layers or metrics layers (dbt metrics, LookML, or equivalent)

• Excellent dashboard and data visualisation skills for both executive and operational audiences

• Ability to translate messy business problems into clean, measurable analytics

• Track record of working effectively with data engineers, product leaders, finance, risk, and operations

• Solid grasp of BI governance in regulated settings: access control, certified datasets, and metric ownership

• Strong communication and stakeholder influence without needing formal authority

• Builder mindset: pragmatic, fast-moving, quality-conscious, and comfortable creating structure from scratch

• Willing to work on-site in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Visa sponsorship available

• Experience standing up BI in a neobank, digital bank, or high-growth fintech

• Familiarity with UAE regulatory and management reporting expectations

• Understanding of Sharia-compliant banking products and Islamic finance reporting

• Multi-domain banking background across lending, payments, treasury, CRM, and operations

• Experience rolling out self-service analytics with strong governance

• Exposure to prescriptive analytics, agentic AI, or natural-language BI

• Python for analysis, automation, and validation

• Experience producing board-level or investor-grade management reporting