Policies & Controls Senior Researcher

About the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority

The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) is seeking a Policies & Controls Senior Researcher to join their team in Riyadh. This full-time role requires 2-5 years of relevant experience and involves working under minimal supervision to contribute to operational achievements and objectives within a specific functional area.

Purpose of the Role

The Policies & Controls Senior Researcher is responsible for preparing complex, specialized, or unplanned reports relevant to their field of work. This role operates within established guiding principles and procedures, contributing significantly to the completion of operational milestones and objectives.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop standardized work procedures for identifying and monitoring new or amended national and international regulatory compliance obligations, including legislative, contractual, general system, supreme orders, international agreements, fair obligations, mandatory sector-related rules and standards, and regulatory policies.
• Coordinate with the Corporate Communication and Awareness Agency regarding new or updated external and internal regulations, bylaws, and requirements through meetings, letters, memos, emails, or other awareness formats.
• Establish standardized work procedures for impact assessment, updating relevant policies, standards, and procedures, and implementing new or amended compliance duties.
• Conduct research and benchmark best practices (at least annually) to enhance current practices related to ZATCA's compliance framework and policies for all standardized functional policies and procedures for Governance and Compliance Management.
• Manage and periodically review (at least annually) the Governance and Compliance Management document library, ensuring the suitability, completeness, and classification of document types, and ensuring quality.
• Identify gaps and areas for improvement, such as preparing new internal documents for the General Department of Governance and Compliance or reviewing existing documents (*, policies, standards, standardized work procedures), along with necessary action plans.
• Prepare, review, and periodically update a comprehensive controls framework for risks under the responsibility of the General Department of Governance and Compliance as a second line of defense.
• Identify compliance control requirements for the first and second lines of defense related to risks within the Governance and Compliance General Department's risk framework.
• Develop and continuously measure second-line-of-defense controls under the responsibility of Governance and Compliance Management, according to defined key performance indicators.
• Adhere to all relevant standardized operational policies, processes, and procedures to ensure work is executed correctly and consistently.
• Assist in resolving escalated issues and provide necessary support to less experienced teams to ensure efficient work execution.
• Escalate complex issues to the appropriate personnel to ensure proper and correct resolution of issues.
• Perform other duties as required by business needs.
• Stay updated on the latest trends and developments in policy and controls design, implementation, and monitoring, including international best practices, to ensure the alignment and applicability of compliance-related processes and procedures.
• Support in identifying channels, systems, and tools for monitoring regulatory requirements.
• Monitor regulatory requirements and inform relevant stakeholders of any changes as needed.
• Participate in determining the impact of new or updated regulatory requirements on existing policies, controls, and other documents owned by the General Department of Governance and Compliance.
• Participate in designing controls for the first and second lines of defense within the Authority, detailing control owners, control frequency, and other relevant aspects.
• Support in developing supporting documents to facilitate control implementation and testing, and update the Authority's control set by adding all developed or updated controls.
• Participate in developing policies, standards, requirements, and standardized work procedures within the General Department of Governance and Compliance document library.
• Train less experienced employees on various functional activities to ensure knowledge transfer, when applicable.
• Provide clear guidance, prioritize tasks, assign and delegate responsibility, and monitor the progress of subordinates or less experienced employees.
• Support employees or direct subordinates in executing their tasks according to established processes and policies.

Qualifications and Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Legal Studies, Business Administration, or an equivalent field.
• A minimum of 2 years of experience in a relevant field, with 2-5 years preferred.

Work Type

This is a full-time position based in Riyadh.

Application Process

Candidates who meet the qualifications are encouraged to apply.