Regional Regulatory Affairs, Policy & Process Manager

The Regional Regulatory Affairs Policy & Process Manager is responsible for leading the development, implementation, and oversight of the regulatory compliance framework across the Health Line of Business. The role serves as a subject matter expert on regulatory matters, ensuring adherence to applicable UAE and GCC healthcare, insurance, and financial regulations while providing strategic regulatory guidance to senior stakeholders.

The role is accountable for managing complex regulatory initiatives, overseeing regulatory reporting and regulator interactions, driving compliance excellence, identifying emerging regulatory risks, and ensuring effective governance controls across business operations.

Key Responsibilities:

• Regulatory Governance Leadership: Lead the design, implementation, and continuous enhancement of the regulatory compliance framework, policies, standards, and procedures, ensuring alignment with applicable local and regional regulatory requirements.
• Strategic Regulatory Advisory: Act as the primary regulatory advisor for complex regulatory matters, providing expert guidance and risk-based recommendations to senior management, business leaders, and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Regulatory Relationship Management: Develop and maintain strong working relationships with UAE regulatory authorities including DHA, DOH, MOHAP, CBUAE and other GCC regulators, serving as a key point of contact for regulatory engagements and correspondence.
• Regulatory Change Management: Lead the assessment, interpretation, and implementation of new and amended regulatory requirements, ensuring timely business readiness, impact assessments, and compliance implementation plans.
• Regulatory Risk Oversight: Proactively identify, assess, and monitor regulatory risks across the Health Line of Business and recommend appropriate mitigation strategies and control enhancements.
• Licensing, Registration & Regulatory Reporting: Oversee regulatory licensing, approvals, submissions, notifications, and periodic reporting requirements while ensuring compliance with applicable regulatory deadlines and obligations.
• Complex Escalation Management: Manage and oversee critical regulatory inquiries, escalations, investigations, and complaints, ensuring timely resolution and appropriate regulatory engagement where required.
• Governance and Control Enhancement: Drive continuous improvement initiatives to strengthen regulatory governance processes, controls, monitoring programs, and compliance reporting capabilities.
• Management Reporting: Prepare and present regulatory risk assessments, compliance status reports, regulatory developments, and key governance metrics to management committees and senior leadership.

Operational & Technical Responsibilities:

• Lead the end-to-end management of regulatory queries, investigations, complaints, and escalations, ensuring effective resolution within established timelines.
• Conduct detailed impact assessments for regulatory changes and manage implementation plans across affected business units.
• Oversee root cause analysis for regulatory breaches, non-compliance events, and regulatory findings, ensuring sustainable corrective and preventive actions are implemented.
• Establish and maintain monitoring programs to assess regulatory compliance and identify control gaps across operational processes.
• Review and approve regulatory submissions, notifications, responses, and correspondence before submission to regulators.
• Coordinate regulatory inspections, information requests, and examinations, ensuring complete and accurate responses.
• Monitor adherence to regulatory obligations, reporting deadlines, licensing requirements, and control frameworks.
• Support business initiatives, new products, and operational changes by performing regulatory impact assessments and providing compliance guidance.
• Ensure maintenance of comprehensive regulatory records, registers, and evidence repositories in accordance with regulatory and internal governance requirements.
• Drive closure of regulatory actions, audit findings, and remediation programs through effective stakeholder engagement and progress tracking.
• Serve as a subject matter expert on UAE healthcare and insurance regulations, including DHA, DOH, MOHAP, CBUAE, and applicable GCC regulatory frameworks.
• Interpret complex regulatory requirements and translate them into practical operational controls, policies, procedures, and business requirements.
• Conduct regulatory horizon scanning and analyze emerging regulatory developments, identifying potential business impacts and compliance obligations.
• Utilize regulatory compliance management systems, governance platforms, and reporting tools to monitor compliance activities and obligations.
• Design and execute risk-based regulatory monitoring, surveillance, and quality assurance programs.
• Lead regulatory reporting activities and ensure completeness, accuracy, and timeliness of submissions to regulatory authorities.
• Perform advanced data analysis and trend assessments to identify recurring regulatory issues, compliance risks, and opportunities for process improvement.
• Oversee maintenance of regulatory registers covering breaches, complaints, conflicts of interest, incidents, regulatory obligations, training records, and regulatory communications.
• Lead regulatory due diligence reviews, compliance assessments, and governance reviews for new initiatives, strategic partnerships, and business transformations.
• Support AML/KYC governance activities and ensure alignment with applicable regulatory requirements and organizational standards.
• Develop and deliver regulatory training programs, awareness campaigns, and guidance materials to strengthen compliance capabilities across the organization.
• Lead audit readiness initiatives, perform regulatory control testing, and verify the effectiveness of remediation actions arising from audits, inspections, and compliance reviews.
• Identify opportunities for automation and digitalization of regulatory processes to enhance efficiency, reporting accuracy, and governance effectiveness.
• Bachelor’s Degree Healthcare Administration, Risk Management, or a related discipline.
• Professional certifications such as ICA, CRCM, CAMS, Compliance, Risk Management, Internal Audit, or Governance-related qualifications are highly preferred.
• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in Regulatory Affairs, Compliance, Governance, Risk, or Audit functions within the UAE Health Insurance and Employee Benefits industry.
• Demonstrated experience managing regulatory relationships and interacting directly with UAE regulatory authorities.
• Strong working knowledge of UAE Health Insurance regulations including DHA, DOH, MOHAP, and CBUAE requirements.
• Knowledge of healthcare and insurance regulatory frameworks across Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, and wider GCC markets.
• Proven experience in regulatory reporting, compliance monitoring, regulatory audits, inspections, and regulatory change management.
• Strong understanding of governance frameworks, operational risk management, compliance controls, AML/KYC requirements, and regulatory best practices.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence and advise senior management and business leaders.
• Strong analytical, investigative, and problem-solving capabilities with the ability to assess complex regulatory matters and recommend appropriate solutions.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English; Arabic is highly preferred.
• Strong report-writing, presentation, and regulatory documentation skills.
• High attention to detail, organizational effectiveness, and commitment to quality standards.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities and operate effectively in a fast-paced, highly regulated environment.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office applications and regulatory/compliance management systems.
• Experience leading projects, change initiatives, and cross-functional regulatory programs is highly desirable.

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