Risk Manager

Irwin & Dow is partnering with a highly respected Dubai-based organisation to appoint an Manager to lead its Financial Crime Risk team — a senior role for an experienced risk or compliance leader ready to take ownership of strategy, people, and high-stakes regulatory decisions. Leading a team of 8–10, you will be responsible for executing the team’s supervisory work plan and ensuring a risk-based, proportionate approach across all financial crime risk activity — including AML/CFT and targeted financial sanctions oversight. You’ll act as the team’s technical authority, providing guidance on complex financial crime matters, while also stepping in to lead in your Director’s absence. This role sits close to the centre of decision-making. You’ll contribute directly to strategic planning and policy development, oversee regulatory projects from inception to delivery, and represent the organisation in engagement with senior executives, boards, and international regulatory counterparts. Where past international standard-setting work, FATF assessments, or national risk evaluations are part of your background, that experience will be highly valued here. People leadership is core to the role, not an add-on: you’ll set objectives, manage performance, and actively develop your team — including supporting graduate and intern development programmes — while building the kind of open, high-trust culture that holds up under regulatory scrutiny.

We’re looking for candidates with 10+ years of regulatory, compliance, or risk management experience, ideally including at least two years in a managerial or supervisory capacity, gained within a financial services regulator or a regulated entity. A relevant Bachelor’s degree is required (postgraduate study or certifications such as ACAMS, CFA, FRM, or PRM are a strong plus), along with strategic thinking, sound judgement under pressure, and the presence to deliver difficult messages to senior stakeholders when needed.