Job Purpose

The Head of Compliance Assurance is responsible for establishing, maintaining and executing an independent second line Compliance Assurance Programme that provides assurance over the effectiveness of the Bank’s compliance risk management framework, regulatory compliance obligations, and financial crime compliance controls.

The role serves as the independent challenge function within Compliance and is responsible for assessing whether business units and control functions are effectively identifying, managing, monitoring and mitigating compliance risks in accordance with applicable regulations, internal policies and risk appetite.

The role holder is accountable for developing and implementing the annual Compliance Assurance Plan, executing thematic and risk-based assurance reviews, reporting assurance outcomes to senior management and governance committees, monitoring remediation activities and providing insight into emerging compliance risks and control weaknesses.

The role will play a key leadership role in establishing and embedding the Compliance Assurance Framework within Bank of Sharjah and ensuring alignment with CBUAE regulations, AML/CFT obligations, Market Conduct requirements, and best practices.

Key Accountabilities

Regulatory Compliance Assurance

·         Provide independent assurance over compliance with CBUAE regulations, standards, notices and guidance.

·         Assess compliance with Consumer Protection Regulation and Standards.

·         Assess compliance with Market Conduct requirements and related governance arrangements.

·         Review regulatory reporting processes and controls to ensure accuracy, completeness and consistency.

·         Assess effectiveness of remediation actions arising from regulatory inspections and supervisory engagements.

·         Provide assurance over implementation of new regulatory requirements.

Assurance Review Execution

·         Lead and execute end-to-end assurance reviews.

·         Develop review scopes, testing programmes and Terms of Reference.

·         Evaluate design and operational effectiveness of controls.

·         Identify control deficiencies, root causes and systemic issues.

·         Escalate significant issues on a timely basis.

·         Prepare high-quality assurance reports for management and governance committees.

Issue Management and Remediation

·         Maintain oversight of assurance findings and management action plans.

·         Challenge root cause analysis and remediation proposals.

·         Validate closure of findings and assess sustainability of corrective actions.

·         Escalate overdue or ineffective remediation actions.

Regulatory Engagement

·         Support responses to CBUAE inspections and supervisory reviews.

·         Provide assurance-related insights to regulators where required.

·         Monitor regulatory developments and assess implications for the assurance programme.

Governance and Reporting

·         Prepare periodic assurance reports for the CCO, Executive Management and Board Committees.

·         Provide management information on assurance outcomes, thematic issues, emerging risks and control effectiveness.

·         Present significant findings and recommendations to senior stakeholders.

·         Maintain assurance dashboards and key risk indicators.

Leadership Responsibilities

·         Establish and lead the Compliance Assurance function.

·         Promote a culture of accountability, transparency and continuous improvement.

·         Build and maintain strong working relationships with senior management, Internal Audit, Risk Management and business functions.

·         Support recruitment and development of assurance resources as the function evolves.

·         Drive consistency, quality and professionalism across all assurance activities.

Risk Management Responsibilities

• Act as an independent second line control function.
• Identify emerging compliance and conduct risks across the Bank.
• Provide effective challenge to risk and control owners.
• Escalate significant compliance issues to the CCO and relevant governance forums.
• Support enhancement of the Bank’s compliance risk management framework.

SPECIFICATION

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Law, Finance, Business, Risk Management or related discipline.
• Professional certification preferred (ACAMS, ICA, CRCM, CIA, CAMS-Audit, CISA or equivalent).

Experience:

• Minimum 12-15 years’ experience in Compliance, Compliance Assurance, Internal Audit, Risk Management or Regulatory Compliance within banking or financial services.
• Minimum 5 years in a leadership or senior management role.
• Strong experience with UAE regulatory requirements and CBUAE expectations.
• Experience in designing and executing assurance reviews and monitoring programmes.
• Experience in interacting with regulators and senior governance committees.

Skills (Training/ Banking/ IT/ Other Relevant):

• Strong understanding of compliance risk management frameworks.
• Strong understanding of AML/CFT and Financial Crime Compliance requirements.
• Strong understanding of Consumer Protection and Market Conduct requirements.
• Excellent analytical, investigative and report writing skills.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing capability.
• Ability to independently challenge senior stakeholders.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong project management and organisational skills.