Manager Governance & Operational Risk📣 إعلان

About Hala and the Role

Hala is a leading fintech company operating in the MENAP region, focused on redefining financial services and empowering SMEs with advanced financial and technological tools. Established in 2017, Hala is licensed by the Saudi Arabian Central Bank. The company is seeking a Manager Governance & Operational Risk to join its team in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for a full-time position.

This role ensures that operational processes, controls, and product launches are well-governed, compliant, and managed within Hala’s defined risk appetite. The Manager Governance & Operational Risk will collaborate closely with various departments, including Operations, Product, Technology, Risk, Compliance, Information Security, and Internal Audit, to identify risks, strengthen controls, manage incidents, and support secure product launches.

Key Responsibilities

• Maintain the Operations risk register and track mitigation actions.
• Conduct risk and control assessments across operational processes.
• Review the design and effectiveness of key operational controls, identify control gaps, and ensure corrective actions are completed.
• Monitor operational risk indicators, incidents, losses, and recurring issues, escalating material risks and control failures to management.
• Manage the governance process for new product and service launches, ensuring all required risk, compliance, operational, technology, security, and customer-impact assessments are completed.
• Coordinate launch-readiness reviews with relevant departments and confirm that operating procedures, controls, training, customer support, reporting, and incident processes are prepared before launch.
• Maintain launch checklists, approvals, decisions, risks, dependencies, and action logs, escalating unresolved critical risks before go-live.
• Monitor post-launch performance, incidents, customer issues, and control effectiveness, leading post-launch reviews and ensuring lessons learned are implemented.
• Maintain Operations policies, procedures, control documents, and approval matrices, coordinating Operations governance meetings and tracking decisions and actions.
• Ensure policies and procedures are reviewed and approved on time, maintaining clear ownership and accountability for operational risks and controls.
• Coordinate the investigation of operational incidents and service failures, leading root-cause analysis and corrective-action tracking.
• Identify recurring incidents and recommend process improvements, ensuring material incidents are escalated to appropriate stakeholders.
• Prepare operational risk and governance reports for senior management, monitoring key risk indicators, control performance, incidents, and overdue actions.
• Coordinate Operations responses to Risk, Compliance, Internal Audit, External Audit, and regulatory reviews, tracking audit and regulatory findings until closure.
• Support risk assessments for critical vendors and outsourced services, monitoring vendor performance, incidents, and control weaknesses.
• Support business continuity planning and operational resilience testing, ensuring critical processes have recovery plans and operational workarounds.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Risk Management, Business Administration, Finance, Operations, Engineering, or a related field.
• 5–7 years of experience in operational risk, governance, controls, audit, compliance, or operations.
• Experience in fintech, payments, banking, or another regulated industry is preferred.
• Demonstrated experience supporting product launches, risk assessments, control testing, and incident management.

Required Skills and Competencies

• Strong understanding of operational risk, governance, regulatory requirements, and internal controls.
• Strong risk judgment and attention to detail.
• Ability to challenge and influence stakeholders effectively.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Clear communication and reporting skills.
• Strong planning and action-tracking capabilities.
• Ability to work effectively across Product, Technology, Operations, Risk, and Compliance functions.
• High integrity, accountability, and ownership.

Benefits and Work Environment

• An inclusive and diverse culture that supports remote, in-office, and hybrid work setups.
• Competitive compensation packages, including the potential for shares.
• Prioritization of personal development through regular training and an annual learning stipend.
• Opportunity to join a team comprising over 30 nationalities working across 7 countries.
• Autonomy, mentoring, and challenging goals that contribute to career growth.
• A work environment that offers significant responsibility and trust.