Country Manager, Dubai

Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Salary: USD 160,000 per year

Overview

This role leads the Dubai business for a trade collections organisation, with full accountability for revenue growth, operational performance, client outcomes and regulatory compliance. You will build and manage a high-performing local team, deepen relationships with exporters, importers, banks, insurers and logistics partners, and ensure consistent delivery across the collections lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the country P&L, budgeting, forecasting, pricing and performance reporting.
• Drive origination and growth across trade collections services (including documentary collections, open account support, dispute management and recovery workflows).
• Lead end-to-end operations: case intake, document handling, payment follow-up, escalation, reconciliation and closure within agreed SLAs.
• Develop strategic partnerships with financial institutions and trade ecosystem stakeholders.
• Implement strong governance, risk controls and client due diligence in line with AML/CTF requirements.
• Ensure adherence to applicable regulations and industry standards (including ICC URC 522 and relevant trade practices).
• Recruit, coach and retain talent; set KPIs and embed a performance-driven culture.
• Oversee client onboarding, service reviews and issue resolution to maintain high satisfaction and retention.
• Represent the business with regulators, auditors and key clients as required.

Requirements

• Significant leadership experience within trade finance and/or trade collections, documentary operations, receivables management or related financial services.
• Proven track record of building revenue, managing P&L and delivering operational excellence.
• Strong knowledge of trade documentation, payment terms, collections processes and dispute resolution.
• Sound understanding of UAE regulatory expectations, AML/CTF, sanctions screening and compliance controls.
• Excellent stakeholder management, negotiation and commercial judgement.
• Ability to analyse performance data and implement process improvements.
• Outstanding communication skills in English; Arabic is advantageous.
• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business, Economics or a related field; professional qualifications are desirable.
• Willingness to travel regionally as needed.

What Success Looks Like

• Consistent growth in new mandates and recurring revenue.
• Strong control environment with clean audit outcomes.
• Improved turnaround times, recovery rates and client satisfaction.
• A motivated, capable team delivering measurable results.