Policies & Controls Director

Job Purpose

This role is responsible for ensuring the authority remains aligned with the latest regulatory requirements. It also involves leading the development, refresh, and governance of governance-and-compliance documentation, including policies, requirements, standards, standard operating procedures, and related materials. In addition, the position owns the design of the second line of defense control framework and reviews the authority’s control set for key compliance risks such as bribery and corruption, insider dealing in listed companies, money laundering, terrorism financing, conflicts of interest, and regulatory changes.

Key Responsibilities

• Contribute to the development of the General Governance and Compliance administration work plan and ensure it supports the authority’s broader strategy.
• Build the operational plan for the Governance and Compliance Policies and Controls function and align it with both the General Governance and Compliance work plan and the Legal Affairs and Compliance Agency strategy.
• Prepare standard operating procedures related to standards and policies for implementation across the authority.
• Implement approved plans and provide the input needed to achieve the Standards and Policies function’s objectives in support of the authority’s overall strategic goals.
• Discuss financial budget requirements with senior management and provide input during budget preparation.
• Ensure the Governance and Compliance Policies and Controls budget is used efficiently and report progress accurately.
• Review initiatives and recommend those that generate positive outcomes for the Standards and Policies function while reducing financial, operational, and regulatory risk.
• Develop procedures to identify and track new or amended national and international compliance obligations, including legislative and contractual matters, public law, royal orders, international agreements, relevant fair obligations, mandatory sector rules and standards, and other regulatory requirements, so that the authority stays current and can apply them effectively.
• Coordinate with the Corporate Communication and Awareness Agency to communicate new or updated external and internal laws, regulations, and requirements through briefings, meetings, letters, memos, emails, or other awareness formats.
• Create procedures to assess impact, update related policies, standards, and procedures, and implement new or revised compliance duties.
• Conduct research and benchmarking against best practices at least once a year to improve compliance framework practices and related unified functional policies and procedures.
• Own the Governance and Compliance document library and review it regularly at least annually, including checking document coverage, completeness, classification, and quality; identify gaps and improvement opportunities such as drafting new internal documents or revising existing ones, along with the required action plans.
• Develop, review, and periodically update the comprehensive control framework for risks owned by the General Governance and Compliance function as the second line of defense.
• Define control requirements for the first and second lines of defense for risks within the General Governance and Compliance risk framework.
• Establish and continuously measure second line of defense controls owned by the Governance and Compliance function against defined KPIs.
• Define the overall control framework and ensure it is aligned with leading practices.
• Lead the development of compliance-related control requirements for both the first and second lines of defense.
• Drive cross-functional collaboration with control owners to collect and document first- and second-line controls.
• Ensure the control set is complete and current, covering all control categories, descriptions, types, owners, and related details.
• Oversee the implementation of the General Governance and Compliance function’s second line of defense controls.
• Monitor and review reports on the performance and effectiveness of the function’s controls.
• Provide expert advice and recommendations to improve how existing controls are implemented.
• Participate in identifying and recruiting key talent.
• Coach, guide, and support direct reports to ensure work is delivered in line with defined processes and policies.
• Set individual performance goals, provide ongoing support, evaluate and recognize team performance, and give continuous feedback.
• Build a high-performing work environment and reinforce the authority’s values.

Qualifications and Requirements

• A bachelor’s degree in Legal Studies, Business Administration, or an equivalent field is required.
• A master’s degree in Legal Studies, Business Administration, or a related equivalent field is preferred.
• At least 8 years of experience in the field, including 3 years in a managerial role.