Director of Investment Operations

Zad; Kuwait City; On-site; KWD 60,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

ZAD, a Kuwaiti financial services group, seeks a Director of Operations to lead strategy, operation integrity, and scaling across markets. You will own the trade lifecycle, back-office processing, regulatory compliance, client operations, and risk management while building a high-performing team that can grow with ZAD.

The role requires hands-on leadership with deep capital markets expertise, strong regulatory knowledge, and the ability to drive automation and improvements across platforms and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, or related field.
• 10+ years of financial operations experience, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role within a regulated brokerage, capital markets, or fintech environment.
• Proven track record building and scaling operations, including team development, process architecture, and regulatory compliance management.
• Deep understanding of the full trade lifecycle, settlement, reconciliation, and back-office operations in a multi-market environment.
• Demonstrated ability to manage cross-functional relationships and external counterparties at a senior level.
• Strong command of operational risk management and regulatory compliance frameworks relevant to capital markets.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to present complex operational matters to executives and board audiences.

Responsibilities

• Define and implement ZAD's operational strategy across markets, aligning with growth and regulatory obligations.
• Own end-to-end trade lifecycle including execution, settlement, and reconciliation across markets.
• Oversee back-office processes: KYC, onboarding, deposits/withdrawals, processing, settlement, disputes.
• Design and maintain robust workflows, SOPs, controls, and reconciliation frameworks.
• Drive continuous improvement through automation and standardisation to reduce manual workload and risk.
• Maintain CMA regulatory compliance posture, audit-ready documentation and responses to reviews.
• Lead a high-performing operations team with clear KPIs, coaching and succession planning.
• Manage relationships with brokers, custodians, and market infrastructure providers to service levels.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Capital markets

Operations management

Regulatory compliance

Process improvement

Risk management

Team development

Cross-functional collaboration

Vendor management

Arabic language

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, or related field

Job description

About ZAD

ZAD is the brainchild of a group of young, passionate Kuwaiti financial professionals driven by a vision of fostering a culture of investment in Kuwait. And for this team, Zad began as a means to answer a need in the market: the need to make investment an accessible concept and viable choice for a broader audience

Role Summary

The Director of Operations is a senior leadership appointment responsible for the strategic direction, operational integrity, and continuous evolution of ZAD's operations function across all markets. This role carries full ownership of the trade lifecycle, back-office processing, regulatory compliance, client operational support, and risk management, while building and leading a high-performing operations team capable of scaling with ZAD's growth.

The Director of Operations is expected to operate at both the strategic and execution level, bringing the judgement of a seasoned capital markets professional and the hands-on leadership of someone who understands what it takes to run a regulated brokerage at scale.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic Operations Leadership

• Define and execute ZAD's operational strategy across all markets, aligning it with the company's growth objectives and regulatory obligations.
• Own the operational readiness of ZAD's platforms, ensuring the function scales effectively as new markets, products, and client segments are added.
• Serve as the operational authority in the executive team, providing the Deputy CEO with clear, data-driven visibility into operational performance, risks, and priorities.

2. Trading Operations and Trade Lifecycle Management

• Lead and continuously improve ZAD's end-to-end trade lifecycle, including order execution, settlement, reconciliation, corporate actions, and fund movements across all markets.
• Set and enforce standards for accuracy, timeliness, and reliability, holding the function accountable to measurable SLAs.

3. Back-Office, Onboarding and Client Operations

• Own all back-office processes including KYC, client onboarding, deposits and withdrawals, transaction processing, settlement, and dispute resolution.
• Ensure client-facing operational touchpoints are seamless, compliant, and consistently delivered to the highest standard.

4. Process Architecture and Continuous Improvement

• Design, implement, and maintain robust operational workflows, SOPs, internal controls, and reconciliation frameworks across the full function.
• Drive a culture of continuous improvement, identifying inefficiencies and leading automation and standardisation initiatives that materially reduce manual workload and operational risk.

5. Regulatory Compliance and Governance

• Take executive accountability for the operational compliance posture of ZAD, ensuring all processes meet CMA requirements and relevant market infrastructure obligations.
• Maintain audit-ready documentation and controls at all times, and lead the function's response to regulatory reviews and findings.

6. Risk Management and Business Continuity

• Own ZAD's operational risk framework, including incident management, escalation protocols, and recovery planning.
• Proactively identify and mitigate operational risks before they translate into client, regulatory, or reputational impact.
• Maintain and regularly test operational business continuity and disaster recovery plans.

7. Team Leadership and Organisational Development

• Build, develop, and retain a high-performing operations team, establishing a clear structure, capability development pathways, and a culture of accountability and excellence.
• Set and manage KPIs across the team, providing coaching, performance management, and succession planning for key roles.

8. Cross-Functional and External Stakeholder Management

• Act as the primary operational interface between Operations and Technology, Compliance, Finance, Product, and Client Relations, ensuring smooth cross-functional execution.
• Manage relationships with brokers, custodians, and market infrastructure providers, holding them to contractual and service standards.

9. Technology, Automation and Innovation

• Identify system gaps and lead the evaluation and implementation of technology solutions that strengthen operational capability.
• Drive UAT and systems integration requirements in close partnership with the Technology team, ensuring operational needs are properly translated into technical deliverables.

10. Executive Reporting and Operational Intelligence

• Build and maintain KPI dashboards, incident logs, risk registers, and performance reports that give executive leadership real-time visibility into operational health.
• Present operational performance, risks, and strategic recommendations to the Deputy CEO and board as required.

Qualifications and Experience

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, or a related field.
• 10 or more years of progressive experience in financial operations, with a minimum of 5 years in a senior leadership role within a regulated brokerage, capital markets, or fintech environment.
• Proven track record of building and scaling operations functions, including team development, process architecture, and regulatory compliance management.
• Deep understanding of the full trade lifecycle, settlement, reconciliation, and back-office operations in a multi-market environment.
• Demonstrated ability to manage cross-functional relationships and external counterparties at a senior level.
• Strong command of operational risk management and regulatory compliance frameworks relevant to capital markets.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to present complex operational matters clearly to executive and board-level audiences.

Preferred

• Professional qualification in finance, operations, or risk management.
• Experience operating across multiple markets or jurisdictions simultaneously.
• Track record of leading large-scale technology, automation, or digital transformation initiatives within an operations function.
• Established relationships with market infrastructure providers, custodians, or regulatory bodies in the capital markets space.
• Strong Arabic and English language skills.

Skills and Competencies

Strategic Operations Leadership: Thinks beyond day-to-day execution, setting the operational direction that enables ZAD to scale confidently into new markets and products.

Operational Expertise and Judgement: Brings deep, current knowledge of capital markets operations and exercises sound, data-driven judgement under pressure.

Leadership and Organisational Development: Builds high-performing teams, develops successors, and creates accountability structures that do not depend on any individual.

Regulatory Authority: Recognised internally and externally as the executive accountable for operational compliance. Proactive rather than reactive in managing regulatory risk.

Process Excellence and Innovation: Drives continuous improvement with rigour, implementing automation and standardisation that materially strengthens the function.

• Stakeholder Influence: Communicates with clarity and credibility at executive, regulatory, and counterparty level. Resolves cross-functional challenges with authority and tact.