Vice President - Collections Strategy

About the Role / About the Job
This role is focused on developing and executing the comprehensive collections strategy for various portfolios including Retail, SME, Business Banking, and Islamic Banking. The Vice President of Collections Strategy will drive innovation and transformation in collections, utilizing advanced analytics, AI, and digital technologies to improve customer outcomes and optimize performance metrics.

Collections Strategy & Portfolio Performance

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

Advanced Analytics, AI & Decision Science

• Lead the creation and implementation of collections decision strategies using predictive analytics, machine learning, and AI-driven models.
• Leverage behavioral, transactional, demographic, and external data to enhance collections effectiveness.
• Manage collections decision trees, customer contact strategies, prioritization logic, and treatment design.
• Continuously refine and enhance models based on outcomes, testing, and overall portfolio performance.
• Develop data-driven strategies that enhance customer experiences 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.
• Collaborate with Technology and Data teams to maximize the value of the 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 needing enhanced controls.
• Utilize collections data to influence future lending strategies and improve portfolio quality.
• 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 assess vendor effectiveness and identify improvement opportunities for recovery outcomes.
• Ensure that 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.
• Collaborate with Compliance, Legal, and Islamic Banking governance teams to ensure suitable treatment strategies.
• Maintain robust controls around customer fairness, conduct risk, and complaint management.
• Support regulatory reviews, audits, and reporting requirements at the board level.

Executive Reporting & Stakeholder Management

• Present portfolio performance, strategic initiatives, and investment cases to senior management and executive committees.
• Provide portfolio insights, business cases, and recommendations to Executive Committees and Risk Committees.
• Work in close collaboration with Operations, Finance, Legal, Compliance, Technology, Data, and Customer Experience teams.
• Act as the strategic leader for collections optimization and transformation throughout the organization.

What We're Looking For:

Education

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

Experience

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

Industry Exposure

• In-depth understanding of collections strategy, customer segmentation, decision engines, and portfolio analytics.
• Experience with credit cards, personal loans, auto finance, mortgages, SME lending, and Islamic finance products.
• Strong exposure to predictive modeling, machine learning, strategy testing, and treatment optimization.
• Familiarity with consumer protection regulations, customer conduct standards, 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 programs.
• Ownership of strategy across a diverse retail, SME, and Islamic banking portfolio.
• Exposure to cutting-edge analytics, AI, and decision science initiatives.
• Senior leadership visibility and the ability to directly impact portfolio performance and profitability.
• A collaborative, innovation-focused environment dedicated to continuous improvement.

Skills:

• Collections Strategy: Expertise in collections lifecycle design, recoveries, and customer treatment strategies.
• Analytics & Decision Science: Proficient in predictive analytics, machine learning, segmentation, and strategy optimization.
• Digital Transformation: Experience in 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 with customer outcomes and regulatory requirements.
• Commercial Acumen: Experience in improving recoveries, reducing losses, and optimizing cost-to-collect.
• Stakeholder Management: Proven capability to influence senior executives and lead cross-functional initiatives.
• Leadership: Strong ability to lead transformation programs and achieve measurable business outcomes.