Complaints & Escalations Manager

About the Role
We are looking for an experienced Complaints & Escalations Manager to lead the Complaints and Escalations function, initially within Customer Service and progressively across the wider Operations organization.
The role will own the end-to-end Complaints Management Framework across customer complaints, escalated and sensitive cases, social media escalations, and CBUAE/Sanadak matters.
Beyond case management, this role will drive regulatory adherence, root cause analysis (RCA), remediation, governance, and reporting. You will lead a team of approximately four specialists and work closely with Operations, Product, Technology, Legal, Risk, Compliance, and Operational Excellence. Additionally, this role will support the coordination and implementation of applicable CBUAE Consumer Protection requirements, collaborating with the relevant regulatory and business owners to help track actions, dependencies, and delivery across functions.

Responsibilities

1. Complaints & Escalations Management & Governance

   • Lead end-to-end management of complaints, escalations, social media, and regulatory/Sanadak cases, ensuring clear ownership, timely resolution, and fair, evidence-based outcomes.
   • Own and continuously improve the Complaints Management Framework, including standards for classification, investigation, SLAs, documentation, communication, escalation, and closure.
   • Maintain appropriate complaint policies, controls, and governance with Compliance, Risk, Legal, and Operational Excellence, building a scalable model for wider Operations.

2. Regulatory Complaints & CBUAE/Sanadak Management

   • Act as the operational owner for CBUAE, Sanadak, and other regulatory complaint cases.
   • Coordinate investigation, evidence, internal validation, and response preparation with relevant business and control functions.
   • Ensure regulatory timelines, documentation, approvals, and audit-ready records are maintained, escalating material risks where required.
   • Support the implementation of applicable CBUAE Consumer Protection requirements alongside the relevant regulatory and business owners.
   • Provide practical project-management and coordination support across relevant teams, helping track activities, owners, timelines, dependencies, and outstanding actions.
   • Maintain visibility of implementation progress and highlight delays, dependencies, or gaps requiring follow-up or escalation.

3. RCA, Remediation & Reporting

   • Own complaint RCA and remediation, identifying recurring issues and emerging risks and translating findings into clear corrective actions with accountable owners.
   • Track remediation through to effective closure and measure whether actions reduce repeat or recurring complaints.
   • Own complaints management information (MI) and provide clear, accurate reporting on volumes, trends, aging, SLA/TAT, regulatory cases, RCA, remediation, and emerging risks to senior leadership and governance forums.

4. Customer & Operational Improvement

   • Use complaint insights to identify customer pain points and drive improvements across processes, products, systems, and customer journeys with relevant teams.
   • Utilize technology, automation, and process simplification where appropriate to strengthen complaint management and reporting.
   • Lead and develop the complaints and escalations team and build strong cross-functional relationships to resolve complex or systemic issues.

Requirements

• 7–10 years' experience in complaints management, customer escalations, dispute resolution, or customer-facing operations within a regulated environment.
• At least 3–5 years in a complaints, escalations, customer service, or operations leadership role.
• Strong experience managing complex/regulatory complaints, RCA, remediation, and management reporting.
• Financial services, fintech, banking, payments, or lending experience strongly preferred.
• Strong knowledge of UAE financial-services complaint-management expectations; CBUAE Consumer Protection and CBUAE/Sanadak experience highly advantageous.
• Strong coordination and project-management capability, with experience supporting cross-functional regulatory, operational, or customer-related change.
• Strong analytical, investigative, people leadership, and stakeholder-management skills, with the ability to present insights to senior audiences.
• Comfortable with CRM, reporting, automation, and technology platforms in a tech-first environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills for sensitive customer and regulatory matters.