Head of Investor Services
Head of Investor Services MENA
Our client is a Global Asset Manager (~140bn AUM), expanding their Dubai team with a strategic hire designed to reinforce our client`s investment identity in the Middle East and Africa. It sits within the Investment Services division - bridging Wealth Management and Asset Management - and is pivotal to representing and localizing the client`s house views and investment philosophy across the MENA client base.
Role Summary
Title: Head of Investor Services
Location: Dubai
Reporting To: Regional CEO
Type: Full-time, leadership-level hire (possibly MD track)
Purpose of the Role
This individual will act as a local ambassador of the client`s investment identity, ensuring consistent representation of the bank’s house views and strategies to internal stakeholders (RMs, Investment Advisors) and external clients. They will serve as the bridge between the Switzerland-based investment engine and the client-facing teams in Dubai, providing authoritative guidance, credibility, and cohesion in all investment communications.
They are not expected to be a salesperson - rather, a credible investment voice and strategic thinker, who can operate with autonomy and influence across the region.
Key Responsibilities
1. Promote and Localize the client`s Investment Identity
- Translate the global house views into regional communication and implementation
- Act as the “identity carrier” — fully aligned with HQ teams and capable of articulating investment positioning precisely
2. Internal Stakeholder Alignment
- Act as a proxy for Investment Services in Dubai
- Work closely with:
- Investment Advisors (5 people)
- Relationship Managers (15 people)
- Market Heads (2), COO, and Head of Compliance
- Sit on the Regional Investment Committee (MENA & Africa), helping to ensure alignment between investment views and regional implementation
3. Investment Representation & Leadership
- Build buy-in and credibility internally and externally through thought leadership, not commercial push
- Maintain permanent interaction with Switzerland-based investment teams
- Help guide RMs and advisors to deliver client solutions consistent with the house view
- Bring leadership gravitas
Candidate Profile
Must-Have Attributes
- Investment background (not sales) - credible, thoughtful, strategic
- Experience as:
- Ex-PM
- Ex-CIO
- High-level Investment Specialist with real market views
- Cross-asset knowledge preferred (not product-specific)
- Comfortable interfacing with bankers, investment teams, and clients
- Proven ability to lead via influence (no direct reports, but must command respect)
Ideal Background:
- Investment professional with strong understanding of macro, multi-asset or fixed income
- Experience at institutions such as:
- Regional asset managers or investment companies (quasi-sovereign or sovereign)
- Investment arms of conglomerates
- Has worked in environments where bridging institutional investment insight and private client delivery was key
Seniority & Stage of Career
- An aspiring leader ready to step into a leadership/MD-level position
- Middle management experience, hungry for more scope and influence
- Comfortable in flat structures with high levels of autonomy