Head of Cards- Credit/Lending

JOB TITLE: Head of Credit / Lending

TERM: 12 months

CLIENT LOCATION: Dubai UAE

DIVISION: Consumer

REPORTS TO: Group CEO

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE: Minimum 15 years in retail banking with 8 years of credit card business leadership. Proven success in launching and scaling card portfolios in the Middle East.

MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS**:

• Deep expertise in credit card product lifecycle management
• Experience launching standalone or co- branded card programmes
• Familiarity with GCC regulatory frameworks (e.g. UAE Central Bank)
• Strong leadership and stakeholder management skills
• Fluent in English; Arabic is a plus

PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT

To lead the strategic setup and operational launch of a new independent credit card business. The role will define the product vision build and lead the team ensure regulatory compliance and drive market penetration and profitability.

Key Activities

Core Responsibilities and Accountabilities

• Strategic Leadership: Shape the credit card business model aligning with the banks broader retail strategy and segment-specific goals (mass affluent SME).
• Product Development: Design and launch a suite of credit card products with differentiated value propositions including digital-first and premium offerings.
• Risk & Compliance: Establish robust credit risk frameworks underwriting policies and ensure adherence to local and international regulations.
• P&L Ownership: Manage the full P&L of the credit card business including revenue cost and profitability levers.
• Team Building: Recruit structure and mentor a high-performing team across product analytics operations and sales.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders including regulators fintechs payment networks and loyalty partners.
• Innovation & Digitalisation: Leverage AI/ML tools for credit scoring fraud detection and personalised offers. Drive digital onboarding and omnichannel customer experiences.
• Regional Coordination: Align with regional hubs and support regional product innovation and compliance.
• Vendor & Partner Management: Oversee selection and integration of processing platforms loyalty engines and collections partners etc

KPIs

• Time-to-market for product launch
• Customer acquisition and activation rates
• Portfolio profitability (NIM fee income cost of risk)
• Credit loss ratios and delinquency metrics
• Digital origination and usage rates
• Customer satisfaction and NPS

Knowledge and Experience

• 15years in Cards Management with 8years in a Head Of/EVP level
• Education: Bachelors degree in finance Economics Business or related field. A Masters degree (e.g. MBA or MSc in Finance) is highly preferred
• End-to-End Cards Expertise: Proven experience managing the full lifecycle of card products credit and virtual including issuing and acquiring businesses.
• Strategic Market Insight: Deep understanding of regional and global cards market trends including competitor analysis pricing strategies and product positioning
• Digital Channel Integration: Demonstrated ability to leverage digital platforms (e.g. mobile banking internet banking e-wallets) to drive card acquisition activation and usage
• E-commerce & Omni-Channel Fluency: Strong grasp of e-commerce ecosystems and omni-channel strategies to enhance customer experience and card penetration
• Product Innovation & Development: Track record of launching differentiated card products and value propositions tailored to mass affluent and SME segments.
• Risk & Compliance Acumen: Familiarity with credit risk frameworks fraud prevention and regulatory compliance across GCC jurisdictions.
• P&L Ownership: Experience managing the cards business P&L including budgeting forecasting and profitability optimisation.
• Customer Lifecycle Management: Expertise in designing and executing activation usage rewards and retention programmes to boost engagement and reduce churn.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Ability to collaborate with IT operations marketing and third-party vendors to deliver seamless card experiences.

Mandatory Skills**

• Strategic planning and execution
• Product innovation and lifecycle management
• Credit risk and portfolio analytics
• Regulatory compliance and governance
• Cross-functional leadership and communication
• Agile project delivery and digital transformation