UAE In-Country Services Technology Lead and MENAP Cluster Lead, Citi

About the job

The UAE In-Country Services Technology Lead and MENAP Cluster Lead is a pivotal leadership role responsible for orchestrating end-to-end technology delivery, governance, and operational resilience across the United Arab Emirates and the broader Middle East and Pakistan (MENAP) cluster.

This position acts as the primary technology executive facing in-country business heads, product leaders, regulatory bodies, internal audit, and regional governance committees. The incumbent provides integrated execution accountability across multiple business franchises (including Institutional Clients Group, Treasury and Trade Solutions, Markets, Corporate Banking, and Commercial Banking).

In addition to strong leadership, governance, and program orchestration capabilities, a solid foundation in hands-on technology development and software engineering is considered a highly complementary and advantageous skill set.

Technical development proficiency empowers the Lead to conduct deep-dive architecture reviews, assess onshoring/localization code-level feasibility, evaluate regulatory technical controls, and accelerate production incident root-cause investigations.

Key Responsibilities & Core Pillars

Pillar 1: Cross-Franchise Technology Initiatives & Delivery Orchestration

End-to-End Delivery Accountability: Lead and direct multi-franchise technology programs, aligning global and regional technology delivery roadmaps with local country priorities.
Integrated Dependency Management: Proactively identify, track, and remediate technical, operational, and organizational dependencies across distributed global delivery teams, local technology partners, and third-party vendors.
Execution Governance: Establish robust program governance metrics, KPIs/milestones, risk registers, and executive steering committees to ensure transparent delivery reporting and on-time execution.

Pillar 2: Regulatory Engagement, Audits & Governance Forums

Regulatory Authority Faceoff: Lead technology engagements with local and regional regulators (e.g., Central Bank of the UAE, DFSA, FSRA, and regional authorities across the MENAP footprint).
Audit & Compliance Management: Drive internal and external technology audits, regulatory inspections, peer reviews, and Continuous Comprehensive Compliance (CCC) / Regulatory Control Framework (RCF) forums.
Mandated Action Closure: Maintain rigorous oversight over Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) and audit remediation items, ensuring timely, verifiable, and sustainable closure.