Associate Director, Registrar & Corporate Compliance

About the role

The Associate Director will lead the registrar function, overseeing company formation, registration and licensing in the UAE. This senior position combines strong legal expertise with regulatory judgement and offers a clear path to future head‑of‑function leadership.

Key responsibilities

• Assess and decide on company formation, registration and licensing applications.
• Provide legal and regulatory input across registrar matters and oversee ongoing corporate compliance of registered entities.
• Support AML/KYC and beneficial ownership requirements, and lead compliance inspections and regulatory reviews.
• Assess potential breaches, recommend enforcement actions, and interpret companies legislation and regulation.
• Collaborate with law firms, corporate service providers and other key stakeholders.

Required profile

• Law degree with strong legal background, preferably practising lawyer.
• Experience in a leading law firm, government entity, regulator, free‑zone authority or professional services firm.
• Knowledge of corporate, commercial and regulatory law, company formation, licensing, corporate governance and AML/KYC.
• Strong stakeholder management, communication skills and ambition to progress to a head‑of‑function role.

Required skills

• Regulatory reviews
• Corporate compliance
• Beneficial ownership
• Company formation
• Legal expertise
• Companies legislation
• KYC
• Registration
• Compliance inspections
• Corporate governance
• Regulatory judgement
• Licensing
• AML