Finance Business Partner – Lending, FX and International Markets

Dubai or Abu Dhabi, UAE

About the Business

An innovative, rapidly growing digital bank is seeking an experienced Finance Business Partner – Lending to join its Dubai-based team. The organisation is building a new generation of ethical, Sharia-compliant financial products designed to serve Muslim and underserved communities globally.

About the Role

This newly created leadership role will act as the strategic finance partner to the bank's Lending division. You will help ensure its lending products are commercially sustainable, financially well-managed and fully aligned with Islamic finance principles.

Working closely with Product, Risk, Compliance and Operations, you will provide the financial insight required to launch new lending products, improve portfolio performance and support informed commercial decision-making.

This opportunity would suit someone who combines strong technical finance expertise with an entrepreneurial mindset. You should be comfortable operating in a fast-moving environment, building processes from the ground up and translating complex financial information into clear commercial actions.

Key Responsibilities

Act as the principal finance partner to the Lending leadership team.
Lead budgeting, forecasting and long-term financial planning for the lending portfolio.
Analyse lending performance, profitability, margins, customer behaviour and key commercial indicators.
Develop financial models and business cases for new lending products, markets, partnerships and strategic initiatives.
Evaluate product economics, pricing, credit performance and expected returns.
Provide clear financial insight and recommendations to senior management.
Support the development and launch of commercially viable, Sharia-compliant lending products.
Monitor financial performance against budgets, forecasts and strategic objectives.
Partner with Product, Risk, Compliance and Operations to improve performance and resource allocation.
Ensure financial practices comply with Sharia principles, internal controls and relevant regulatory requirements.
Develop scalable reporting, planning and performance-management processes as the business grows.

Essential Experience

Proven experience as a Finance Business Partner or in a comparable commercial finance or analytical leadership role.
Strong banking experience, ideally supporting retail lending, consumer finance or related credit products.
Excellent understanding of budgeting, forecasting, financial planning and management reporting.
Strong commercial judgement and the ability to translate complex financial data into practical recommendations.
Advanced financial modelling and Excel capabilities.
Experience preparing investment cases, scenario analyses and executive-level reports.
Knowledge of regulatory, governance and financial-control requirements within financial services.
Strong communication and stakeholder-management skills.
Confidence to challenge constructively and influence senior commercial decisions.
A genuine commitment to ethical finance and Sharia-compliant banking principles.

Preferred Experience

Experience within digital banking, fintech or a high-growth financial-services business.
Knowledge of Sharia-compliant lending or Islamic finance principles.
Experience supporting the development or launch of retail lending products.
Familiarity with business-intelligence platforms, financial technology and automation tools.
CFA qualification or progress towards the CFA designation.
Arabic or additional language capabilities.

The Opportunity

This is an opportunity to take ownership of a newly created role and help shape the financial direction of an ambitious lending business. You will join a mission-led organisation where your work will directly influence product strategy, commercial performance and the future of ethical digital banking.