Head of R&IC (Regulation and Internal Control) Middle East

Excited to grow your career

BBVA is a global company with more than 160 years of history that operates in more than 25 countries where we serve more than 80 million customers. We are more than 121000 professionals working in multidisciplinary teams with profiles as diverse as financiers legal experts data scientists developers engineers and designers.

We are looking for a highly experienced professional to hold a strategic triple-role within our BBVA ADGM Branch. As the Head of R&IC (Regulation and Internal Control) you will cover the main responsibilities of Compliance MLRO -Money Laundering Reporting Officer- & NFR -Non-Financial Risks-. Additionally you will serve as the primary liaison with the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).

You will be responsible for ensuring the entity adheres to ADGM rules (COBS GEN AML) maintaining the Approved Person status and simultaneously leading the Non-Financial Risk (NFR) unit to align local operations with the BBVA Groups Non Financial Risk Strategy while keeping up-to-date the knowledge of main local regulations.

About the job:

Key Responsibilities

1. Regulatory Compliance & Governance (Function: Compliance Officer)

• Regulatory Liaison: Serve as the main point of contact for the FSRA on all compliance matters thematic reviews and Requests for Information (RFIs).

• Advisory: Advise senior management and business lines on regulatory developments permissible activities and new product launches.

• Policy Management: Assess maintain and update the Compliance Manual and internal policies to ensure alignment with ADGM/FSRA rulebooks.

• Monitoring & Reporting: Coordinate compliance risk assessments monitoring and testing activities. Generate quarterly reports for the Board and Senior Management.

• Regulation follow up: Maintain continuous monitoring and stay abreast of all pertinent regulatory amendments. Execute a preliminary evaluation to ascertain the direct repercussions of these alterations on the Branchs operational processes Standards and activities as well as the prospective effect on the policies and procedures of CIB BBVA S.A.

• Training: Provide annual compliance training to local staff members.

• Data Protection: Coordinate and resolve any matter related to data protection including but not limited to advising staff responding to any assessment requests providing training and handling authority requests.

2. Anti-Money Laundering & Financial Crime (Function: MLRO)

• Oversight: Oversee the day-to-day implementation of the AML/CFT framework and sanctions screening.

• Reporting Officer: Act as the focal point for the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). Receive Internal Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) from employees investigate and file external SARs when appropriate.

• Client Onboarding: Advise on and approve the onboarding of high-risk clients (EDD/KYC) and oversee Customer Due Diligence processes.

• Regulatory Updates: Receive and act upon findings resolutions or sanctions from local (UAE) or international regulatory bodies.

3. Non-Financial Risk Management (Function: NFR Head)

• Framework Implementation: Ensure the level of non-financial risks is aligned with Group strategy and facilitates the development of the C&IB business (Global Markets Transactional Banking etc.).

• Risk Identification & Assessment: monitor Risk & Control Self-Assessments (RCSA) define risk appetite and monitor indicators under the Risk Control Specialist approach.
  Operational Events: Manage the registry analysis and reporting of operational losses events and near misses.

• Internal Control Coordination: Coordinate with the 1st Line of Defense (Business) 2nd Line (Risk Control) and 3rd Line (Internal Audit) to ensure robust process ownership.

• Governance: Act as a full member at NFR Committees and admission procedures within CIB.

Requirements & Qualifications

Mandatory Regulatory Requirements

• Residency: Must be a resident of the UAE. This is a mandatory requirement for the MLRO function under FSRA rules.

• Approved Person Status: Must be eligible to obtain Approved Person status from the FSRA (Fit & Proper criteria: competence integrity financial soundness).

Education & Experience

Education:

• Bachelors degree in Law Economics Business or Engineering. A Masters degree is highly valued.

Experience:

• At least 10 years of experience in internal control non-financial risk audit compliance or Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB).

• Proven experience liaising with regulators (FSRA/DFSA preferred) internal auditors and external auditors.

• Experience holding a Head of Compliance or MLRO title in a regulated financial institution.
  

Certifications (Highly Desirable)

• AML/Compliance: CAMS (ACAMS) ICA Diploma in GRC/AML or CISI (Combatting Financial Crime/Global Financial Compliance).

• Risk: Certifications related to financial markets risk or control.
  

Skills & Competencies

• Regulatory Knowledge: Strong understanding of ADGM/DIFC regulations UAE Federal AML Laws and international standards.

• Industry Knowledge: Deep understanding of CIB products activities and operations.

• Soft Skills: Strong interpersonal skills for 360º management (peers team leadership) proactivity to drive improvements and focus on execution.
  

Languages

• English: C1/Native level required (Mandatory).

• Arabic: Native/Fluent is highly desirable for dealings with local authorities.

• Spanish: Valuable for communication with Group HQ.
  

Skills: