Stuart Dale with search firm EM Finance outlines the hiring growth areas in Dubai, Qatar and Bahrain, what you stand to earn in the Middle East, and why such a move could be good for your career.

Sky high oil prices, massive privatisation programs, competing financial centres and an ever increasing presence of the major houses in the region, is it any surprise the job market in the Middle East is booming?

Until recently we have seen three countries competing to be the leading financial hub of the Gulf, and despite the recent slump in the Saudi and Dubai stock markets, the evidence is that optimism is riding high. What does this mean for the recruitment market? Certain boom times in the short term – after that its anybody’s guess.

The need for skilled financiers with specific experience is very high. Most of the major investment banks who are not already in the region are in the process of signing up office space and those that are there are trying to aggressively expand market share across the region.

Top players in the region include Deutsche Bank, Barclays Capital, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, BNP Paribas, and Investcorp. In addition there are a many local corporate finance and private equity firms with excellent regional presence.

Relationship-building

The common theme across the banking world is to establish and grow a local presence using relationship managers, marketers and originators to initially front the business.

So how does one go about recruiting such people? The simple answer is, ‘with difficulty’. Top-calibre individuals with both local knowledge plus a client book that will allow them to grab market share in the short term will either be very well looked after with their current employer or be in talks across the market to ensure they get the most comprehensive offer.

From the employer’s side, what can be done besides offering market leading packages? The priority for candidates is being able to see a thorough business plan for the long term and serious commitment to the region, allowing career aspirations to be fulfilled.

Salaries and bonuses on par with London

In terms of remuneration levels in the region, they are certainly competitive, even by London standards. It is not inconceivable for a relationship manager or originator with 4 – 5 years experience combined with local market knowledge to command a base salary of $120,000 plus.

In addition you can expect an annual housing allowance of $25,000 – $35,000 and a bonus of up to 250%, and for those with families, education allowances of $30,000+ per child are not uncommon. This combined with the lifestyle offered, all year sunshine an excellent work life balance, is proving tempting for many.

Corporate finance growth

One of the other big business areas in the limelight in the Middle East is corporate finance. As this has been a comparatively small area traditionally, there is a currently a shortage of good candidates and therefore most talent is recruited from outside the region.

The preference, but by no means the pre-requisite in terms of skills, is local knowledge. The key areas people are looking to recruit from are either a banking environment or a corporate finance or transaction area from one of the top flight consultancies or practice firms.

Those able to demonstrate strong modeling skills, transaction experience and excellent communication skills put themselves in a powerful position as the region’s deal value is soaring.

This merely covers a fraction of the market. There are a host of other areas experiencing similar levels of growth, including oil and gas, energy, Islamic finance, ECM and real estate.

Risk, compliance and accounting roles

Along with the creation and development of financial centres and financial institutions comes the need for regulation and risk management. As a result of this, experienced risk and compliance managers are in demand, those with experience from established financial centres being aggressively sought after.

In addition to the new players, we are seeing the more local firms taking the opportunity to shore up the same areas. Again base salaries are comparable to those of London and once you consider the full tax-free expat package you can expect to be 50% + better off.

To service such growth in the Gulf the need for qualified accountants within finance is vast, again with very competitive salaries and excellent expat packages, from financial accountant up to CFO.

Why make a Middle East move?

If you have any inclination to live and work in the Middle East then now could be the time to do it.

Not only will you benefit from a quality of life that only the Middle East can offer (if that’s what you’re after), you can also expect to have significant exposure to both clients and the business, something you wouldn’t ordinarily experience in more established centres.

As well as taking on significant responsibility and being given the opportunity to realise goals, rapid career progression comes to those who make the cut.

And when it is time to return from the Middle East (for those who want to), your experience will stand you in good stead as the international experience gained will be highly regarded by most institutions.