Senior Manager - Operational and Regulatory Risk Controls

Overview

Job purpose

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the regional Regulatory Affairs, Governance, Compliance, Operational Risk, and Business Continuity functions across Healthcare and Employee Benefits businesses, ensuring alignment with regulatory requirements, corporate strategy, and risk appetite.
• Serve as the primary liaison with regulators, government authorities, industry bodies, and executive leadership on regulatory, governance, risk, and compliance matters.
• Establish and maintain effective governance, compliance, operational risk, and resilience frameworks, ensuring robust controls, oversight, and consistent implementation across all jurisdictions.
• Oversee regulatory engagements, inspections, audits, investigations, licensing activities, regulatory submissions, reporting obligations, and remediation of findings.
• Provide regulatory and risk oversight for new products, business initiatives, market expansions, transformation projects, partnerships, tenders, and strategic transactions.
• Lead enterprise compliance programs and regulatory change management, ensuring timely implementation of regulatory requirements and sustainable compliance practices.
• Direct Operational Risk Management activities, including risk assessments, RCSA, KRI monitoring, risk registers, incident management, control testing, and mitigation planning.
• Sponsor Business Continuity and Operational Resilience programs, including BCP, BIA, crisis management, testing, recovery planning, and regulatory resilience requirements.
• Drive regulatory intelligence and horizon scanning to assess emerging regulatory developments, business impacts, risks, and opportunities.
• Promote a strong governance and compliance culture through stakeholder engagement, training, awareness programs, and reporting to senior management and governance committees.
• Maintain enterprise-wide repositories of regulatory obligations, governance documentation, policies, procedures, audit actions, risk assessments, and compliance records.

Operational & Technical Responsibilities

• Interpret and assess regulatory laws, regulations, circulars, standards, and supervisory communications across operating jurisdictions.
• Prepare, review, and coordinate regulatory submissions, licensing applications, renewals, certifications, declarations, annual returns, and regulatory reporting.
• Conduct regulatory impact assessments and provide guidance on products, operations, customer documentation, contracts, processes, and business initiatives.
• Monitor regulatory obligations, compliance action plans, risk registers, operational incidents, audit findings, complaints, and remediation activities.
• Perform compliance reviews, control assessments, root-cause analysis, and risk evaluations to identify and address regulatory and operational risks.
• Coordinate audits, inspections, investigations, customer disputes, and regulatory inquiries, ensuring timely responses and closure of findings.
• Develop governance frameworks, policies, procedures, compliance advisories, guidance notes, and control documentation.
• Support Business Continuity Management through maintenance of continuity plans, impact assessments, testing records, and resilience documentation.
• Prepare management reports, dashboards, committee papers, and executive updates covering regulatory, compliance, audit, risk, and governance matters.
• Deliver regulatory training and awareness programs and provide technical guidance to business stakeholders.
• Support due diligence, outsourcing reviews, strategic projects, and business initiatives through regulatory, governance, and risk assessments.
• Liaise with regulators, auditors, consultants, legal advisors, industry associations, and internal stakeholders on regulatory and compliance matters.

Essential Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Law, Legal Studies, or a related field.
• A Master’s degree in a related field is advantageous.
• Proficiency in Arabic is an added advantage.
• Insurance qualifications, such as a Diploma in Insurance, are preferred.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in Operational Risk, Regulatory Affairs, Compliance, or Audit in a leadership role.
• Prior experience within the healthcare insurance industry in the Gulf region is mandatory.