Job description

Employment: Full-time Reporting to: CEO / Project Lead Key stakeholders: Head of Wealth Management, Operations, Compliance & MLRO, CIO, Chief Trader, Finance, external and group technology teams Company Overview Our client is building a new DFSA-regulated wealth management and brokerage platform in DIFC, backed by a large institutional financial group with significant financial and technology resources.
The company is currently at the infrastructure and platform build-out stage.
The objective is to create an international, scalable and technology-led wealth management and brokerage business, with the potential to expand its regulatory permissions and product capabilities over time.
Role Overview They are seeking an experienced Chief Technology Officer with a proven track record of building digital architecture within a r egulated bank, broker, investment platform or wealth management institution.
This is not a general corporate IT, infrastructure support or purely software-development role.
The successful candidate must have directly participated in the design, implementation or transformation of an end-to-end financial-services technology platform, covering the client journey, trading and investment systems, operations, data, cybersecurity and regulatory requirements.
The CTO will take ownership of the company’s technology strategy, target architecture and digital transformation agenda.
The person will also act as the bridge between the DIFC management team and internal or external development teams located in other jurisdictions.
The role is highly hands-on.
During the initial build-out, the CTO will be expected to define requirements, challenge proposed solutions, manage vendors and developers, control delivery and ensure that the technology platform supports the company’s business and regulatory model.
Mandatory Experience Candidates must demonstrate substantial, hands-on experience in one or more of the following environments: •⁠ ⁠regulated brokerage; •⁠ ⁠private banking or wealth management; •⁠ ⁠digital banking; •⁠ ⁠investment management or trading platforms; •⁠ ⁠securities or multi-asset financial infrastructure.
The successful candidate must have experience building or materially transforming several components of the following technology stack: •⁠ ⁠digital client onboarding and KYC workflows; •⁠ ⁠mobile application and client web portal; •⁠ ⁠CRM and Relationship Manager workstations; •⁠ ⁠OMS, EMS, PMS and back-office systems; •⁠ ⁠trading, custody and settlement integrations; •⁠ ⁠securities and cash position keeping; •⁠ ⁠client, management and regulatory reporting; •⁠ ⁠data architecture, analytics and management information; •⁠ ⁠API architecture and integration layers; •⁠ ⁠cybersecurity, identity and access management; •⁠ ⁠cloud or hybrid infrastructure; •⁠ ⁠vendor and outsourced development governance.
A background limited to general office IT, infrastructure support, telecoms, generic project management or non-financial consumer applications will not be sufficient.
Key Responsibilities 1.
⁠ ⁠Target Digital Architecture •⁠ ⁠Design the end-to-end target technology architecture for the brokerage and wealth management platform.
•⁠ ⁠Define how the client application, CRM, onboarding, trading systems, PMS, OMS, back office, reporting and data layers will interact.
•⁠ ⁠Establish a scalable architecture capable of supporting additional asset classes, clients, jurisdictions and regulatory permissions.
•⁠ ⁠Identify system dependencies, integration risks and areas of excessive manual processing.
•⁠ ⁠Determine which components should be developed internally, acquired from vendors or outsourced.
2.⁠ ⁠Digital Transformation Strategy •⁠ ⁠Develop a practical digital transformation roadmap for the first 6, 12 and 24 months.
•⁠ ⁠Translate the company’s business model into a coherent technology and delivery strategy.
•⁠ ⁠Prioritise the minimum viable platform required for client onboarding and commercial launch.
•⁠ ⁠Ensure that short-term solutions do not prevent future scaling or institutionalisation.
•⁠ ⁠Introduce appropriate architecture, product and delivery governance.
3.⁠ ⁠Digital Client Journey •⁠ ⁠Lead the design and implementation of the full digital client journey.
•⁠ ⁠Build onboarding workflows covering document collection, KYC, classification, approvals, e-signatures and account-opening status.
•⁠ ⁠Develop client portal and mobile application functionality.
•⁠ ⁠Build RM-facing tools providing visibility over client status, portfolios, requests and outstanding actions.
•⁠ ⁠Implement secure communication, portfolio reporting, statements and service-request functionality.
•⁠ ⁠Ensure that the client experience is consistent with an international private banking and wealth management proposition.
4.⁠ ⁠Brokerage and Investment Technology •⁠ ⁠Lead the selection, implementation and integration of OMS, EMS, PMS and back-office systems.
•⁠ ⁠Work with Operations and Trading on cash and securities booking, order routing, allocations, settlement, reconciliation and corporate actions.
•⁠ ⁠Coordinate integrations with brokers, custodians, banks, exchanges, market-data vendors and other financial counterparties.
•⁠ ⁠Evaluate systems such as QORT, QUIK and international alternatives based on scalability, regulatory suitability and integration capabilities.
•⁠ ⁠Support multi-asset capabilities across equities, fixed income, FX, funds, structured products and derivatives.
•⁠ ⁠Ensure reliable front-to-back trade lifecycle processing and data consistency.
5.⁠ ⁠Data and Reporting Architecture •⁠ ⁠Define the company’s data model, data ownership and golden-source architecture.
•⁠ ⁠Establish reliable client, portfolio, cash, securities and transaction data.
•⁠ ⁠Build management dashboards and operational reporting.
•⁠ ⁠Support client statements, performance reporting and regulatory reporting.
•⁠ ⁠Introduce data-quality controls, reconciliation logic and audit trails.
•⁠ ⁠Develop an architecture capable of supporting advanced analytics and AI-enabled services over time.
6.⁠ ⁠Regulatory Technology and Controls •⁠ ⁠Work closely with Compliance, Risk, Finance and Operations to ensure that systems meet DFSA requirements.
•⁠ ⁠Embed segregation of duties, maker-checker controls and approval workflows.
•⁠ ⁠Maintain complete audit trails for access, decisions, transactions and system changes.
•⁠ ⁠Support regulatory reporting, compliance monitoring and audit requests.
•⁠ ⁠Ensure appropriate data retention, confidentiality and record-keeping.
•⁠ ⁠Design technology controls around outsourcing, business continuity and operational resilience.
7.⁠ ⁠Cybersecurity and Infrastructure •⁠ ⁠Take ownership of cybersecurity, infrastructure and information-security standards.
•⁠ ⁠Establish identity and access management, privileged-access controls and role-based permissions.
•⁠ ⁠Define cloud, hosting, network and data-security architecture.
•⁠ ⁠Implement cyber monitoring, incident response, vulnerability management and penetration testing.
•⁠ ⁠Establish backup, disaster-recovery and business-continuity arrangements.
•⁠ ⁠Coordinate the technology requirements for the DIFC office, including connectivity, devices, secure networks and server infrastructure.
8.⁠ ⁠Development and Vendor Management •⁠ ⁠Manage internal developers, external vendors and group technology resources.
•⁠ ⁠Establish clear technical specifications, delivery milestones, budgets and acceptance criteria.
•⁠ ⁠Introduce structured product backlog, release management and change-control processes.
•⁠ ⁠Set and monitor SLAs, KPIs and escalation mechanisms.
•⁠ ⁠Ensure that critical knowledge, source code, documentation and system ownership remain under the company’s control.
•⁠ ⁠Prevent excessive dependency on individual developers or external service providers.
9.⁠ ⁠Technology Leadership •⁠ ⁠Build the internal technology organisation as the platform grows.
•⁠ ⁠Recruit and manage business analysts, solution architects, developers, infrastructure and cybersecurity specialists.
•⁠ ⁠Present technology strategy, risks, budgets and delivery status to senior management and the Board.
•⁠ ⁠Act as the primary technology counterpart for business, operations, compliance and investment functions.
•⁠ ⁠Create a disciplined but commercially practical technology culture.
Candidate Profile •⁠ ⁠At least 12–15 years of relevant technology experience.
•⁠ ⁠At least 5 years in a senior technology, architecture or digital transformation role within a regulated financial institution.
•⁠ ⁠Direct experience in a broker, private bank, wealth manager, digital bank or investment platform is strongly preferred.
•⁠ ⁠Proven record of delivering a major digital transformation or building a financial-services platform from the ground up.
•⁠ ⁠Strong understanding of front-to-back brokerage and investment workflows.
•⁠ ⁠Knowledge of client onboarding, CRM, trading, settlement, custody, portfolio management and reporting systems.
•⁠ ⁠Experience with complex integrations and API-based architecture.
•⁠ ⁠Strong understanding of cybersecurity, data governance and regulatory technology controls.
•⁠ ⁠Experience managing distributed and outsourced technology teams.
•⁠ ⁠Ability to communicate effectively with senior business stakeholders and convert business requirements into technical architecture.
•⁠ ⁠Fluent English; Russian is a significant advantage.
•⁠ ⁠UAE, DIFC, DFSA or comparable international regulatory experience is desirable.
Required Leadership Style The person must be: •⁠ ⁠hands-on and delivery-oriented; •⁠ ⁠capable of building, not only advising; •⁠ ⁠commercially minded but control-conscious; •⁠ ⁠able to challenge developers, vendors and business stakeholders; •⁠ ⁠comfortable working with incomplete requirements in an early-stage environment; •⁠ ⁠disciplined in documentation, architecture and delivery governance; •⁠ ⁠able to balance speed, scalability, cost and regulatory risk.