Executive Director, API & Open Banking - Cash and Trade

Client of GulfBankers

The individual is responsible for defining, owning and scaling the bank s API-led propositions across Global Trade, Treasury Services and Tokenized / Digital Asset-enabled offerings. The role owns the strategic product vision, commercialization, monetization and enterprise-wide adoption of API-based capabilities, positioning APIs and Open Banking as a core distribution and engagement layer that embeds the bank into client ecosystems, enables real-time financial flows and supports emerging use cases across the current and future state of transaction banking. The role acts as a strategic bridge between business, technology, digital transformation and regulatory bodies, ensuring that all API-led products are client-centric, scalable, secure and fully compliant with UAE and international regulatory frameworks.

Key Accountabilities:

• Contribute to the development and execution of GTx and Wholesale Banking API and Open banking strategy across domestic and international locations.
• Define and own the API product vision and long-term roadmap aligned with Global Transaction Banking, Treasury and Tokenization strategy.
• Position API and Open Banking capabilities as core differentiator for payments, liquidity management, escrow services and Next Gen propositions
• Identify collaborate-to- create opportunities with Fintech partners for innovative use cases for Cash and Trade propositions.
• Drive harmonization and consistency across product lines to create a coherent, scalable API and Open Banking stack for all cash and Trade Product verticals.
• Drive collaboration across business, technology and control functions. Ensure alignment with FAB policies, frameworks and operating standards.
• Represent the function effectively to senior management, external and internal stakeholders

Job Context:

Product Vision & Strategic Ownership

• Define and own the API product vision and multi-year roadmap aligned to Global Trade, Treasury and Tokenization strategy.
• Position APIs as core channels for payments, liquidity, escrow, trade, and digital asset-enabled offerings.
• Identify and prioritize embedded finance, ecosystem-led growth and tokenization-driven opportunities through API and Open Banking infrastructure
• Drive consistency and scalability across product lines to deliver a cohesive enterprise API proposition.

End-to-End Product Lifecycle Management

• Own the full API product lifecycle from ideation and design through launch, scale and ongoing optimization.
• Ensure API products are commercially viable, reusable, secure and client-centric.
• Balance speed-to-market with long-term resilience, operational robustness and regulatory expectations.

Client, Platform & Ecosystem Enablement

• Enable and scale direct integration of bank capabilities into corporate ERP, TMS, digital platforms and partner ecosystems.
• Engage strategic clients and partners to co-create and scale API-led use cases
• Act as senior product representative in client, partnership and industry engagements.

Commercialization & Value Realization

• Define pricing, packaging and usage-based commercial models for API products.
• Track and demonstrate value across CASA growth, fee income, client acquisition and retention.
• Leverage adoption analytics and performance insights to refine investment priorities and product strategy.

Governance, Risk & Regulatory Alignment

• Ensure API products are compliant with client money, safeguarding, operational resilience and data requirements.
• Maintain alignment with Central Bank, FSRA / ADGM and other applicable regulatory frameworks for developing fit-for-purpose propositions in these jurisdictions
• Embed risk controls, transparency and reporting by design within all API solutions.

Leadership & Stakeholder Management

• Act as a trusted senior partner to GTB, Treasury, Digital Assets, Technology, Risk and Operations.
• Provide clear, commercially grounded updates to the Managing Director and senior management forums.

General Responsibilities

• Promote API reuse and standardization to reduce duplication and accelerate delivery.
• Lead cross-functional groups to align API strategy with enterprise goals.
• Maintain high standards of API documentation.
• Contribute to budget planning and resource allocation for API engineering.
• Provide training and enablement on API best practices.

Qualifications & Experience:

• 10+ years of experience in transaction banking, treasury, digital platforms or product-led financial services.
• Proven track record of building and scaling API-driven or platform-based products in regulated environments.
• Strong functional understanding of trade finance, cash management, treasury and settlement models.
• Deep expertise in API protocols (REST, GraphQL, gRPC), API gateways, and service mesh.
• Strong grasp of API lifecycle governance, versioning, and deprecation.
• Familiarity with regulatory frameworks (e.g., Open Banking, GDPR, PSD2).
• Exposure to tokenization, digital assets, programmable finance or embedded finance is strongly preferred.