Demand rising for back office superstars in the Gulf
Middle Eastern banks still need to get their houses in order. Technology needs to be upgraded, operations need to be administered and risk needs to be more closely monitored. The result is that experienced back and middle office staff are the new hot property.
At the very senior end, more banks in the region are seeking to either take on new or upgrade existing chief operating officers, chief technology officers, chief financial officers, chief risk officers or chief administrative officers.
"Fundamentally, the argument is there for many financial services firms in the Gulf to upgrade people in their operational functions, and most are looking for experience in sophisticated Western markets to do this," says Barbara van Meir, director, head of MENA practice at search firm Pemberton Partners.
"In the current climate, a lot of firms are taking a cautious approach to recruitment, but many can see the long-term value of getting the right people on board," she adds.
Operational staff are generally viewed as a cost centre, so banks have been less willing to invest in recruiting for them than they have for revenue generating front office roles.
Even at the senior end, this has been under-represented. Research by headhunters Stanton Chase suggests that just 58% of Middle Eastern companies have COOs, although this represents an increase from 40% in 2005.
Lower down the ranks, it hasn't been all plain sailing for people working in back office roles in the Gulf. Shuaa Capital's decision to cull 11% of its headcount was believed to largely affect the back office, while Barclays Africa is in the process of transferring its 120-strong Dubai-based operational team to Johannesburg.
Generally, however, the appetite among regional financial services firms to bolster their operational functions is on the up, suggests James Sayer, associate director of Robert Half in Dubai.
"Ideally, most organisations want regional experience combined with a knowledge of sophisticated risk products or operational functions within large financial services firms," he says. "Increasingly, however, due to constraints in supply locally, candidates from Western markets are being sought after."
