Director of Investment Operations

About ZAD ZAD is the brainchild of a group of young, passionate Kuwaiti financial professionals driven by a vision of fostering a culture of investment in Kuwait. And for this team, Zad began as a means to answer a need in the market: the need to make investment an accessible concept and viable choice for a broader audience Role Summary The Director of Operations is a senior leadership appointment responsible for the strategic direction, operational integrity, and continuous evolution of ZAD's operations function across all markets. This role carries full ownership of the trade lifecycle, back-office processing, regulatory compliance, client operational support, and risk management, while building and leading a high-performing operations team capable of scaling with ZAD's growth. The Director of Operations is expected to operate at both the strategic and execution level, bringing the judgement of a seasoned capital markets professional and the hands-on leadership of someone who understands what it takes to run a regulated brokerage at scale. Key Responsibilities 1. Strategic Operations Leadership • Define and execute ZAD's operational strategy across all markets, aligning it with the company's growth objectives and regulatory obligations. • Own the operational readiness of ZAD's platforms, ensuring the function scales effectively as new markets, products, and client segments are added. • Serve as the operational authority in the executive team, providing the Deputy CEO with clear, data-driven visibility into operational performance, risks, and priorities. 2. Trading Operations and Trade Lifecycle Management • Lead and continuously improve ZAD's end-to-end trade lifecycle, including order execution, settlement, reconciliation, corporate actions, and fund movements across all markets. • Set and enforce standards for accuracy, timeliness, and reliability, holding the function accountable to measurable SLAs. 3. Back-Office, Onboarding and Client Operations • Own all back-office processes including KYC, client onboarding, deposits and withdrawals, transaction processing, settlement, and dispute resolution. • Ensure client-facing operational touchpoints are seamless, compliant, and consistently delivered to the highest standard. 4. Process Architecture and Continuous Improvement • Design, implement, and maintain robust operational workflows, SOPs, internal controls, and reconciliation frameworks across the full function. • Drive a culture of continuous improvement, identifying inefficiencies and leading automation and standardisation initiatives that materially reduce manual workload and operational risk. 5. Regulatory Compliance and Governance • Take executive accountability for the operational compliance posture of ZAD, ensuring all processes meet CMA requirements and relevant market infrastructure obligations. • Maintain audit-ready documentation and controls at all times, and lead the function's response to regulatory reviews and findings. 6. Risk Management and Business Continuity • Own ZAD's operational risk framework, including incident management, escalation protocols, and recovery planning. • Proactively identify and mitigate operational risks before they translate into client, regulatory, or reputational impact. • Maintain and regularly test operational business continuity and disaster recovery plans. 7. Team Leadership and Organisational Development • Build, develop, and retain a high-performing operations team, establishing a clear structure, capability development pathways, and a culture of accountability and excellence. • Set and manage KPIs across the team, providing coaching, performance management, and succession planning for key roles. 8. Cross-Functional and External Stakeholder Management • Act as the primary operational interface between Operations and Technology, Compliance, Finance, Product, and Client Relations, ensuring smooth cross-functional execution. • Manage relationships with brokers, custodians, and market infrastructure providers, holding them to contractual and service standards. 9. Technology, Automation and Innovation • Identify system gaps and lead the evaluation and implementation of technology solutions that strengthen operational capability. • Drive UAT and systems integration requirements in close partnership with the Technology team, ensuring operational needs are properly translated into technical deliverables. 10. Executive Reporting and Operational Intelligence • Build and maintain KPI dashboards, incident logs, risk registers, and performance reports that give executive leadership real-time visibility into operational health. • Present operational performance, risks, and strategic recommendations to the Deputy CEO and board as required. Qualifications and Experience Required • Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, or a related field. • 10 or more years of progressive experience in financial operations, with a minimum of 5 years in a senior leadership role within a regulated brokerage, capital markets, or fintech environment. • Proven track record of building and scaling operations functions, including team development, process architecture, and regulatory compliance management. • Deep understanding of the full trade lifecycle, settlement, reconciliation, and back-office operations in a multi-market environment. • Demonstrated ability to manage cross-functional relationships and external counterparties at a senior level. • Strong command of operational risk management and regulatory compliance frameworks relevant to capital markets. • Excellent communication skills, with the ability to present complex operational matters clearly to executive and board-level audiences. Preferred • Professional qualification in finance, operations, or risk management. • Experience operating across multiple markets or jurisdictions simultaneously. • Track record of leading large-scale technology, automation, or digital transformation initiatives within an operations function. • Established relationships with market infrastructure providers, custodians, or regulatory bodies in the capital markets space. • Strong Arabic and English language skills. Skills and Competencies Strategic Operations Leadership: Thinks beyond day-to-day execution, setting the operational direction that enables ZAD to scale confidently into new markets and products. Operational Expertise and Judgement: Brings deep, current knowledge of capital markets operations and exercises sound, data-driven judgement under pressure. Leadership and Organisational Development: Builds high-performing teams, develops successors, and creates accountability structures that do not depend on any individual. Regulatory Authority: Recognised internally and externally as the executive accountable for operational compliance. Proactive rather than reactive in managing regulatory risk. Process Excellence and Innovation: Drives

Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, or a related field. 10 or more years of progressive experience in financial operations, with a minimum of 5 years in a senior leadership role within a regulated brokerage, capital markets, or fintech environment. Proven track record of building and scaling operations functions, including team development, process architecture, and regulatory compliance management. Deep understanding of the full trade lifecycle, settlement, reconciliation, and back-office operations in a multi-market environment. Demonstrated ability to manage cross-functional relationships and external counterparties at a senior level. Strong command of operational risk management and regulatory compliance frameworks relevant to capital markets. Excellent communication skills, with the ability to present complex operational matters clearly to executive and board-level audiences.

1. Strategic Operations Leadership: Define and execute ZAD's operational strategy across all markets, align with growth objectives and regulatory obligations; ensure platforms readiness as markets/products/client segments expand; provide data-driven visibility into performance, risks, and priorities. 2. Trading Operations and Trade Lifecycle Management: Lead end-to-end trade lifecycle (order execution, settlement, reconciliation, corporate actions, fund movements) and enforce standards for accuracy and SLA adherence. 3. Back-Office, Onboarding and Client Operations: Own KYC, client onboarding, deposits/withdrawals, transactional processing, settlement, dispute resolution; ensure seamless, compliant client-facing operations. 4. Process Architecture and Continuous Improvement: Design and maintain workflows, SOPs, controls, and reconciliation; drive automation and standardization to reduce manual workload and risk. 5. Regulatory Compliance and Governance: Maintain operational compliance posture per CMA requirements; audit-ready documentation; lead responses to regulatory reviews. 6. Risk Management and Business Continuity: Own operational risk framework, incident management, escalation, and disaster recovery; regularly test BC/DR plans. 7. Team Leadership and Organisational Development: Build and retain a high-performing team; establish structure and development pathways; manage KPIs and succession planning. 8. Cross-Functional and External Stakeholder Management: Act as operational interface with Technology, Compliance, Finance, Product, and Client Relations; manage brokers, custodians, and market infrastructure providers. 9. Technology, Automation and Innovation: Identify gaps; evaluate and implement solutions; drive UAT and system integration with Technology. 10. Executive Reporting and Operational Intelligence: Build KPI dashboards, incident logs, risk registers; present performance and recommendations to Deputy CEO and board.