Director - Financial Crime Advisory
Capitex · Riyadh
About the role
We are looking for an exceptional Director to lead and grow a Financial Crime Compliance (FCC) Advisory practice based in Saudi Arabia, with reach across the wider GCC region. This is a senior, client-facing role that combines deep regulatory expertise with hands-on delivery and entrepreneurial business development.
The successful candidate will be a self-driven practitioner with a proven track record of winning and delivering significant FCC advisory mandates for banks and financial institutions in the GCC. You will be passionate about building a thriving FCC advisory practice for the long term, and will bring equal parts commercial drive, technical depth, and delivery discipline.
The role is a 50/50 split between business development and project delivery. You will be expected to manage and grow a team while personally overseeing the quality and execution of client engagements.
Key responsibilities
Business development & practice growth (50%)
- Own and drive the end-to-end business development lifecycle for FCC advisory services across Saudi Arabia, with visibility across the GCC.
- Build, maintain, and expand a strong network of C-suite, CCO, CMLCO, and senior compliance relationships at local and international banks, payment firms, and financial institutions.
- Proactively identify, pursue, and close new advisory mandates across the full spectrum of FCC services, including: gap assessments, AML/CFT programme reviews, sanctions and transaction monitoring (TM) model validation, KYC/CDD/EDD remediation, financial crime risk assessments, monitorships/Skilled Persons Reviews, and technology selection and implementation.
- Develop compelling client proposals, presentations, and thought leadership content aligned to regional and international regulatory priorities.
- Build and commercialise innovative, technology-enabled FCC advisory solutions and take them to market.
- Achieve and exceed annual revenue targets of USD 1 million and above from managed client accounts.
- Represent the firm at industry forums, conferences, and regulatory engagement events across the GCC.
Project delivery & quality assurance (50%)
- Lead delivery of complex, multi-workstream FCC advisory engagements across GCC clients, ensuring on-time, on-budget, and high-quality outcomes.
- Serve as senior engagement lead and subject matter expert across core FCC domains.
- Provide expert guidance on the selection, implementation, and configuration of leading sanctions screening and transaction monitoring technology platforms.
- Review and quality-assure all deliverables before client submission, ensuring analytical rigour, regulatory accuracy, and professional presentation.
- Mentor and develop junior and mid-level team members, fostering a culture of excellence and client focus.
Team building & leadership
- Recruit, build, and manage a high-performing FCC advisory team, setting clear performance expectations and development pathways.
- Foster an inclusive, accountable, and high-energy team culture.
- Act as a role model for quality standards, client service, and ethical conduct.
Core FCC domains
You will act as senior engagement lead across the following areas:
- Gap assessments against SAMA, CBUAE, FATF, and internal standards
- AML/CFT programme design, remediation, and framework transformation
- Sanctions and transaction monitoring model validation (design, parameters, thresholds, output quality)
- Sanctions and TM system tuning and optimisation
- KYC / CDD / EDD remediation and look-back programmes
- Monitorship / Skilled Persons Review (SPR) support
- Financial crime risk assessments (enterprise-wide, product, channel, customer segment)
- Regulatory examination readiness and response
What we're looking for
Experience (all mandatory)
- 15+ years of total professional experience
- 10+ years in FCC advisory / consulting
- 5+ years selling FCC advisory projects to banks and financial institutions
- 10+ years delivering FCC engagements end to end
- Proven experience working with local GCC banks
- Track record of building and managing a team
- Demonstrated management of client accounts generating USD 1 million+ per annum
- Technical & domain expertise
Deep, hands-on expertise across all FCC domains listed above, plus:
- Sanctions screening systems (e.g. Fircosoft/Accuity, Oracle OFAC) — selection, implementation, configuration, and tuning
- Transaction monitoring systems (e.g. SAS AML, NICE Actimize, Oracle FCCM, Temenos, FIS MANTAS)
- At least one full system selection and one implementation/configuration engagement (mandatory)
Regulatory knowledge
- Saudi Arabia: SAMA AML/CFT Framework, Rules Governing AML/CFT, Sanctions Rules, CDD Requirements
- UAE: CBUAE AML/CFT Regulations, SCA Requirements, UAE Cabinet Decisions on AML/CFT
- GCC: working familiarity with CBB (Bahrain), CBK (Kuwait), CBO (Oman), QCB (Qatar)
- FATF: 40 Recommendations, Mutual Evaluation Reports, and Guidance Papers
- Global reference context: EU AML Directives, OFAC, UK Sanctions, Wolfsberg Principles
Digital & data science
- Must have built at least one digital/technology-enabled FCC advisory solution and taken it to market
- Strong understanding of how RegTech, AI/ML, and automation are transforming financial crime risk management
- Knowledge of data science concepts and tools (Python preferred) applied to FCC analytics: network analysis, transaction analytics, model performance testing, alert optimisation
- Ability to articulate, demo, and sell data-driven FCC solutions to both C-suite and technical buyers
Who you are
- Highly motivated, self-driven, and proactive — you set your own agenda and hold yourself to the highest standards
- Genuinely passionate about building and scaling a financial crime advisory practice, not just delivering projects
- Quality-conscious with exceptional attention to detail
- Commercially savvy — you know how to originate, shape, price, and close consulting mandates
- A trusted relationship builder with a credible personal brand in the GCC banking and regulatory ecosystem
- A confident communicator at all levels, both written and verbal
- A natural leader who mentors others and invests in their team's growth
- Resilient and energised by the challenges of a fast-moving regulatory environment
Nice to have
- Arabic language proficiency (professional/business level) — a significant advantage for client engagement in KSA
- Python skills applied to FCC analytics (transaction monitoring analysis, model performance testing, alert threshold optimisation, network analytics)
- Background from a Big 4 firm, global management consultancy, or specialist FCC advisory firm
- Prior experience at or with an FCC technology vendor (e.g. Accuity, SAS, Actimize, Oracle)