Services Controls: Strategy and Process Governance; Middle East Senior Vice President

This is an exciting opportunity to be the part of an established team in Citi’s Services’ Controls organization based in UAE with senior responsibilities across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) Cluster for Services business.

The Controls function is part of Services’ 1st line of defense, and the MEA Cluster team manages risk in alignment to this, within the wider Middle East and Africa (MEA) Franchise given the unique Regulatory regimes that are at play

• High impact leadership role within the MEA Cluster, reports directly to the MEA Cluster Controls Head (Director) with a mandate to serve as the principal Controls partner to the MEA Operations organization and act as the key bridge between Operations, Product, and Geography teams — ensuring a unified, coherent approach to risk and control delivery across the full breadth of the cluster across all products
• Distinctively, this is an individual contributor role defined by a proactive risk reduction mandate- moving the organization away from reactive control management toward forward-looking thematic reviews, early identification of control gaps, and continuous process improvement. This is pursued through a control simplification lens and a client-centric approach, ensuring that stronger controls translate directly into an enhanced client experience rather than added complexity.
• This role directly supports the Transformation agenda, strengthens the first line risk and controls environment, and protects the Services business across one of its most geographically diverse regions.
• The role works closely with key stakeholders across Services (Cluster Controls peers, Product, Operations and Technology) and partners with other teams across Citi for execution.
• Expertise in risk management along with deep knowledge of Products and Processes impacting Transaction Banking and financial products is preferred.

• Drive a proactive, forward-looking risk reduction agenda across the MEA Cluster through thematic reviews, early identification of control gaps, and continuous process improvement across all 29 markets.
• Define and execute the MEA Controls strategy in alignment with the broader Services Controls framework, applying a process and control simplification lens to enhance client experience.
• Serve as the primary Controls partner to MEA Operations — acting as the key bridge between Operations, Product, and Geography teams to deliver a unified approach to risk and control across all products.
• Provide strategic advisory and challenge to Product, Operations, Sales as well as country Services leadership on control design, effectiveness, and remediation across Transaction Banking and financial products.
• Identify and drive enhancements to documentation, controls, and processes — including within the Managers Control Assessment (MCA) construct — to meet local and cross-border risk and regulatory requirements.
• Support the MEA Services Controls Transformation agenda by embedding first line risk and control best practices into transformation work streams and process re-engineering initiatives.
• Oversee relevant governance committees — including chairing meetings, managing agendas, and ensuring rigorous follow-up on action items.
• Lead the identification, escalation, and end-to-end resolution of control issues and risk events across the MEA Cluster in line with firmwide escalation guidelines.
• Serve as a key contributor to MEA Franchise and Services forums, representing the Controls function on risk and governance matters.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with senior stakeholders across multiple countries, products, and control functions within MEA and globally, to influence outcomes and drive accountability.