Assistant Vice President - Credit Risk (Saudization)

Role Overview

Assistant Vice President - Credit Risk (Saudization) at QNB, located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, within the Risk Management Division.

Company Overview

QNB Group was established in 1964 as the country's first Qatari-owned commercial bank and is now the largest bank in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. The Group operates through subsidiaries and associate companies in more than 31 countries across three continents, serving up to 20 million customers through 1,000 locations and an ATM network of 4,300 machines. The organization employs more than 28,000 people and holds credit ratings from Standard & Poor's (A), Moody's (Aa3), and Fitch (A+). QNB ranks as the most valuable bank brand in the Middle East and Africa according to Brand Finance Magazine.

Role Purpose

The incumbent will assist in managing the credit approval process for individual credit facility proposals from Corporate and Retail customers (retail proposals outside applicable policy parameters). The role assesses the quality of credit exposure sought, ensures adherence to established policies and procedures, and applies best practices in credit risk in accordance with Basel II and other relevant guidelines.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy and Risk Framework

• Perform activities within the assigned Credit Risk Strategy that reflects the Group's tolerance for risk and expected profitability.
• Ensure use of a standardized process for evaluating credit proposals so all approved credits are within QNB's Credit Risk Strategy.
• Work towards improving overall Group credit portfolio by instilling credit risk best practices.
• Understand and effectively perform your role under the Three Lines of Defence principle to identify, measure, monitor, manage and report risks.

Governance and Compliance

• Ensure compliance with established and approved credit risk policies and procedures and ensure a sound environment for identifying, measuring, monitoring and controlling credit risk is in place.
• Ensure that all credit approvals meet overall policy guidelines and QCB regulations and stipulate terms and conditions to mitigate the credit risk borne or faced by the Group.
• Coordinate with Compliance Group to ensure an appropriate response to obtain updates on regulations pertaining to credit risk review promulgated by the Central Bank.
• Comply with all applicable legal, regulatory and internal compliance requirements including Group Compliance Policies and Procedures (AML & CTF, Sanctions Policy, Data Protection Policy, Fraud Control Policy, Whistle Blowing Policy, Conflict of Interest and Insider Dealing Policy).
• Support the framework of RCSA, KRI, Incident reporting and remediation, as appropriate, in accordance with Operational Risk Management requirements.
• Ensure systematic good outcomes for clients in accordance with Conduct Risk policy.

Credit Assessment and Approval

• Perform credit assessments and provide credit approvals within the authority delegated to the incumbent.
• Supervise assessment of credit proposals to ensure adequacy and analyse various credit risk facets to measure a final credit risk rating including assessment of the requested facility and guarantees provided, client management and background, industry analysis, country analysis, external agency credit rating (if applicable), financial and cash flow analysis and the risk rating from the credit risk rating tool in use.
• Based on assessment, recommend extending or declining the facility request or asking for additional security, further structuring of the deal or facility to safeguard the Group's interests.
• Check coordination with business unit Relationship Managers for timely receipt of customer documents and other information required to evaluate the creditworthiness of proposed borrowers.
• Address and facilitate correction of any weaknesses identified during assessments, audits or examinations.

Stakeholder Management and Service Delivery

• Build and maintain strong and effective relationships with all other related departments and units to achieve the Group's goals and objectives.
• Coordinate activities with business units to ensure timely processing of customer credit requests within established Turn around Times (TATs).
• Maintain activities in accordance with Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with internal departments and units to achieve improvements in turn-around time.
• Ensure adherence to Turn around Times (TATs) specified in the SLAs.
• Assist the SVP of Risk in the development and finalization of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) between respective overseas operations and Head Office units and departments as needed, to the extent they relate to business functions.
• Provide timely and accurate information to external and internal auditors and the Compliance function as and when required.
• Assist customers in all their queries on Bank's products and seek solutions to their requests.

Performance and Delegation

• Assist the SVP of Risk in creating Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the department and monitor their achievement on a periodic basis.
• Act within the limits of the powers delegated to the incumbent and delegate authority to respective staff and monitor same.
• Implement KPIs and best practices for role.
• Promote cost consciousness and efficiency and enhance productivity to minimise cost, avoid waste and optimise benefits for the bank.
• Demonstrate clear understanding of the important factors behind the bank's financial and non-financial performance.

Continuous Improvement and Innovation

• Set examples by leading improvement initiatives through cross-functional teams ensuring successes.
• Identify and encourage people to adopt practices better than the industry standard.
• Continuously encourage and recognise the importance of thinking out-of-the-box within the team.
• Encourage, solicit and reward innovative ideas even in day-to-day issues.

Learning, Development and Team Leadership

• Possess an understanding of business processes and controls in all related credit and operational areas.
• Maintain an understanding of all pertinent regulations and best practices pertaining to overall credit operations.
• Support risk management training across all business areas within the Group.
• Proactively identify areas for professional development of self and undertake development activities.
• Seek out opportunities to remain current with all developments in professional field.
• Hold meetings with staff and assess their performance and your team's overall performance on a regular basis.
• Take decisive action to ensure speedy resolution of unresolved grievances or conflicts within team members.
• Identify development opportunities and activities for staff and facilitate and coach them to improve their effectiveness and prepare them to assume greater responsibilities.
• Maintain appropriate knowledge to ensure full qualification.

Additional Information

• Closing Date: 31 December 2026