Vice President - Collections Strategy

Vice President - Collections Strategy (Group Credit Risk)

What You'll Be Doing:

Collections Strategy & Portfolio Performance

• Develop and execute the Bank's end-to-end collections strategy across Retail, SME, Business Banking, and Islamic portfolios.
• Design treatment strategies across the entire delinquency lifecycle, from early-stage collections through recoveries and legal escalation.
• Define customer segmentation approaches that optimize recovery outcomes while maintaining fair customer treatment.
• Drive measurable improvements in collections effectiveness, roll rates, cure rates, recoveries, and portfolio performance.
• Balance customer outcomes, operational efficiency, regulatory compliance, and profitability objectives.

Advanced Analytics, AI & Decision Science

• Lead the development and deployment of collections decision strategies using predictive analytics, machine learning, and AI-driven models.
• Leverage behavioural, transactional, demographic, and external data to improve collections effectiveness.
• Own collections decision trees, customer contact strategies, prioritization logic, and treatment design.
• Continuously challenge and enhance models based on outcomes, testing, and portfolio performance.
• Develop data-driven strategies that deliver better customer outcomes and lower loss rates.

Digital Collections Transformation

• Drive the evolution of digital collections channels including mobile, digital servicing, self-service journeys, automated outreach, and intelligent communications.
• Build customer-centric digital journeys that increase engagement and self-cure rates.
• Partner with Technology and Data teams to maximize value from the Bank's decision engine and collections technology platforms.
• Champion automation and digital-first collections strategies across the portfolio.

Credit Risk & Portfolio Feedback Loop

• Partner closely with Credit Risk, Credit Policy, and Underwriting teams to provide insights from collections performance.
• Identify emerging portfolio risks, underwriting opportunities, and segments requiring enhanced controls.
• Use collections data to influence future lending strategies and portfolio quality improvements.
• Support portfolio forecasting and credit performance analysis.

Vendor & Partner Management

• Manage external collection agencies, specialist vendors, analytics providers, and technology partners.
• Establish performance scorecards, service standards, governance frameworks, and commercial arrangements.
• Continuously evaluate vendor effectiveness and identify opportunities to improve recovery outcomes.
• Ensure outsourced activities align with customer conduct expectations and regulatory requirements.

Governance, Fairness & Regulatory Compliance

• Ensure compliance with UAE regulatory requirements, consumer protection regulations, and internal governance standards.
• Partner with Compliance, Legal, and Islamic Banking governance teams to ensure appropriate treatment strategies.
• Maintain strong controls around customer fairness, conduct risk, and complaint management.
• Support regulatory reviews, audits, and board-level reporting requirements.

Executive Reporting & Stakeholder Management

• Present portfolio performance, strategic initiatives, and investment cases to senior management and executive committees.
• Deliver portfolio insights, business cases, and recommendations to ExCo and Risk Committees.
• Collaborate closely with Operations, Finance, Legal, Compliance, Technology, Data, and Customer Experience teams.
• Act as the strategic leader for collections optimization and transformation across the Bank.

What We're Looking For:

Education

• Bachelor's Degree in Finance, Economics, Mathematics, Statistics, Data Science, Engineering, Business Administration, or a related discipline.
• Master's Degree, MBA, FRM, CFA, Data Science, Analytics, or Risk qualifications are highly desirable.

Experience

• 10+ years of experience within Collections Strategy, Credit Risk, Analytics, Portfolio Management, Decision Science, Recoveries, or Consumer Lending.
• Extensive experience developing collections strategies within retail lending and SME portfolios.
• Proven track record of using analytics and technology to improve collections performance and customer outcomes.
• Experience leading transformation initiatives in banking, financial services, fintech, or consumer finance environments.

Industry Exposure

• Deep understanding of collections strategy, customer segmentation, decision engines, and portfolio analytics.
• Experience across credit cards, personal loans, auto finance, mortgages, SME lending, and Islamic finance products.
• Strong exposure to predictive modelling, machine learning, strategy testing, and treatment optimisation.
• Knowledge of consumer protection regulations, customer conduct requirements, and collections governance.

What’s In It For You:

• Competitive, performance-linked compensation.
• Medical coverage for you and your family.
• Comprehensive life insurance.
• Opportunity to lead one of the UAE's most significant collections transformation programmes.
• Ownership of strategy across a diverse retail, SME, and Islamic banking portfolio.
• Exposure to advanced analytics, AI, and decision science initiatives.
• Senior leadership visibility and direct impact on portfolio performance and profitability.
• A collaborative, innovation-focused environment committed to continuous improvement.

Skills:

• Collections Strategy: Deep expertise in collections lifecycle design, recoveries, and customer treatment strategies.
• Analytics & Decision Science: Advanced understanding of predictive analytics, machine learning, segmentation, and strategy optimization.
• Digital Transformation: Experience deploying AI-enabled collections and digital servicing solutions.
• Retail & SME Lending: Strong understanding of consumer and business lending portfolios.
• Risk Management: Ability to balance portfolio performance, customer outcomes, and regulatory requirements.
• Commercial Acumen: Experience improving recoveries, reducing losses, and optimizing cost-to-collect.
• Stakeholder Management: Proven ability to influence senior executives and lead cross-functional initiatives.
• Leadership: Strong capability to lead transformation programmes and deliver measurable business outcomes.