Head of Data Science & Asset Risk | Financial Services - Transformation & Development

Overview of the role:

The Head of Data Science & Asset Risk owns the end-to-end analytics, forecasting and risk intelligence that protects and optimizes Al-Futtaim’s automotive and financial services portfolio.

This role is accountable for turning data, AI and market intelligence into financial outcomes, ensuring that pricing, leasing, provisioning, capital allocation and portfolio strategy are driven by forward-looking, explainable and regulator-ready models.

The position operates at the intersection of CFO-level financial control, CRO-level risk management and CDO-level analytics leadership, supporting executive and Board decision-making across the group.

What you will do:

The role is responsible for the full lifecycle of assets and market intelligence, from data to financial decision-making.

This includes:

• Owning all Residual Value, used-car pricing and market forecasting used across the business
• Maintaining authoritative market indices, price curves and forward-looking scenarios for all brands, powertrains and segments
• Defining and enforcing the Asset Risk Framework covering market risk, EV transition risk, concentration risk and volatility
• Providing risk-driven inputs to IFRS9, provisions, ECL and capital planning
• Ensuring all models are auditable, explainable and regulator-ready

The Head of Data Science & Asset Risk acts as the single source of truth for:

• Portfolio value
• Forward price risk
• Stress scenarios
• Financial impact of market movements

This role chairs the Residual Value & Risk Committees, translating complex analytics into clear financial actions for the CFO, CRO and Executive Management.

Strategic & Commercial Impact

The role directly influences:

• Vehicle pricing and lease structures
• Portfolio profitability and risk appetite
• Provisioning and capital allocation
• OEM negotiations and product launches
• Remarketing and stock strategy

Decisions supported by this function materially impact P&L, balance sheet and return on assets.

Technology, Data & AI Ownership

The role owns the group’s AI-driven asset intelligence platform, including:

• Data pipelines across Brands, dealers, auctions, web and internal systems
• Forecasting, valuation and risk models
• Executive dashboards and real-time reporting
• The mandate is to continuously replace external vendors and manual processes with in-house, scalable AI, delivering higher accuracy, faster decisions and material cost savings.

Leadership & Governance

The Head of Data Science & Asset Risk:

• Leads a senior team of Data Scientists and Analytics specialists
• Defines modelling standards, governance and validation
• Ensures outputs are trusted by Finance, Risk and Commercial tems
• Acts as the group’s technical authority on asset valuation and risk.