Senior Manager - Policy

Role Overview

Senior Manager – Policy at the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) within Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).

Company Overview

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) is responsible for the regulation of financial services providers in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and for the regulation of related activities. The role sits within the Policy & Legal Division.

Role Purpose

To assist the Director – Policy in the efficient operation of the Policy team within the Policy & Legal Division, leading the development and implementation of the regulatory framework for the FSRA in response to industry developments and in line with international standards.

Key Responsibilities

Policy Development and Implementation

• Identify and implement policy initiatives for the development and maintenance of the regulatory framework of the FSRA in response to industry developments and in line with international standards set by bodies including the IAIS, BCBS, IOSCO, and FATF.
• Manage policy proposals from project initiation, planning, benchmarking, policy development, to seeking relevant approval(s) to publish.
• Contribute to the legislative drafting process for both improvements to the current FSRA legislative framework and any new legislative initiatives, as well as any other associated legislation where relevant to the FSRA and the broader ADGM.
• Horizon scan for international financial services policy and legislative landscape and propose any relevant proposals for improvement for consideration by the FSRA.

Consultation and Stakeholder Management

• Manage the consultation process by collating and analysing feedback in response to published consultation or discussion papers with a view to implementing legislative changes to enact policy proposals.
• Manage the public consultation process with respect to legislative changes proposed by the FSRA.
• In conjunction with the Legal team, consider and where appropriate respond to policy queries and interpretation requests from internal and external stakeholders.
• Manage relationships with external stakeholders, including international regulators, market participants and any other relevant stakeholders, where required by the Director.
• Participate in any working groups and committees with other local and federal regulatory and government authorities, including international assessments of the UAE undertaken by the OECD, FATF and the IMF/World Bank.
• Participate in national and international forums with regulatory bodies to consult on policy and legislative matters relating to financial services and its regulation, where appropriate.

Advisory and Support Services

• Provide high-quality advisory services in order to enable other divisions of the FSRA to achieve the objectives of the FSRA and ADGM.
• Provide other divisions in the FSRA with timely, high quality and consistent policy advisory services in order to enable the FSRA to achieve its objectives and those of the ADGM, including through peer reviewing materials produced by the team, the division and other areas of the FSRA and ADGM.
• Review and provide feedback to legislation enacted by other local and federal regulatory and government authorities including the CBUAE, SCA and the MoF.

Sector-Specific Support

• Support wider policy and legislative initiatives for the key sectors in ADGM including Insurance, Asset Management, Fintech/Regtech/Suptech, Private Banking and Wealth Management, Market Infrastructure and Digital Assets, and Sustainable Finance.

Project and Operations Management

• Manage complex and large policy projects, including staff and external resources.
• Monitor and seek to improve the internal processes and procedures of the team, the division and, where required to do so, the FSRA.
• Prepare relevant Board Papers and liaise with internal ADGM bodies, including the Office of Legal Affairs, Governance and Compliance.

Leadership and Accountability

• Mentor more junior members of the team and line manage, if required.
• Demonstrate behaviours and actions consistent with ADGM's competencies framework for this role including leadership, communication, collaboration, integrity and trust, problem solving, innovation, agility and accountability.

Information Security

• Understand, adopt, adhere and practice responsibilities and controls as per ADGM Information Security policy and as per best practices explained in the induction and awareness sessions.
• Maintain confidentiality, integrity and availability of ADGM information at all times, both within and outside ADGM.

Qualifications & Experience

Education

• Bachelor's or Master's degree, ideally in the fields of finance, public policy, or actuarial sciences.

Essential Experience

• Minimum of 10–12 years of experience in the insurance or banking industry, ideally with an international regulator.
• Expertise in prudential matters, ideally in the insurance industry.
• Expertise in leading and contributing to the creation and implementation of regulatory policies.
• Strong internal and external stakeholder management skills, including excellent influencing and negotiation skills.
• Demonstrate strong project management, planning, organisation and analytical skills.

Desirable Experience

• Experience with Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) assessments in relation to alignment with the IAIS principles and standards.
• Experience with the Common Framework for the Supervision of internationally active insurance groups (ComFrame) and/or the International Capital Standards (ICS).

Skills & Competencies

• Excellent written and oral communication skills to translate complex ideas into plain language for others at all levels of the FSRA, other ADGM authorities and external stakeholders.
• Fluent in business English.