Generally speaking, the picture for financial sector recruitment in the Gulf is still relatively opaque.

With uncertainty reining both globally and regionally, hiring plans – usually formulated in Q4 – have been slow to come into fruition and recruiters we contacted spoke of a sense of frustration about the lack of clarity.

Nonetheless, it’s clear that some roles and sectors are already shaping up to be hot in the first quarter of 2012. Based on conversations with a number of regional financial recruiters, here’s where we believe you’re most likely to find a new role.

1) Risk and compliance

Globally, financial institutions are facing a glut of regulation, which is transferring across into a need to bolster their compliance teams, even in the Gulf where rules are less prescriptive. Risk management recruitment has also been on the up for some time now in the GCC, and it’s picking up again this year.

“We’re going to see the emergence of the middle office in 2012,” says Shane Phillips, regional MENA practice leader – financial services, at executive search firm Stanton Chase. “Banks are playing a defensive strategy, and protecting their reputation amid a surge of global regulation. Therefore, we’d anticipate a spike in demand for risk and compliance professionals.”

2) Private equity

Private equity recruitment in the Middle East has been in the doldrums for over two years, as fund managers sat on their ‘dry powder’ amid a lack of new investment opportunities and therefore had little appetite for raising new money.

This is starting to change. Globally, this year is unlikely to yield much in the way of investment opportunities, according to a new private equity survey by accounting and consulting firm, BDO. However, the Middle East was cited as an area of the world where new investments could pick up this year.

Private equity firms in the Gulf are certainly more optimistic.

“There’s been a dearth of private equity roles for two years now, but as large regional players view fund raising as a key priority this year, we’ve seen hiring activity again. We’d expect this to continue into 2012,” says Barney Mundell, managing director of headhunters Loxley Partners.

“The buy-side is definitely growing again,” confirms James Wakefield, director of headhunters Cobalt Abu Dhabi. “More private equity firms in the region are looking to recruit again, and the regional sovereign wealth funds are hiring for their direct investment divisions.”

3) (Less senior) wealth management roles

Wealth management has been touted as a growing sector in the GCC for some time now, with both regional and international banks taking on relationship managers to tap into the local ultra-high net worth population.

Much of the focus, however, has been on taking on senior people who could easily sway a large book of clients across to a potential new employer. Now, the demand is starting to seep down to the lower ranks.

“Last year, wealth management recruitment was focused on the very senior end, whereas so far in 2012 we’re seeing a willingness to hire for mid-level relationship managers, so we’re expecting some movement there,” says Richard Lett, regional director – Middle East, at recruiters Hudson.

4) Back to basics banking

Banks in the Gulf states are having to deal with the twin pressures of a shrinking loan book and muted fees from corporate banking, capital markets and M&A. The result is that they’re looking to bolster more traditional revenue generators.

“Trade and export finance and other more transactional areas are where many Gulf banks will be building their teams this year,” says Cobalt’s Wakefield.

There’s also something of a battle on the high street. A recent piece of research from consultants Accenture showed that around 85% of bank executives in the Gulf have plans to invest in their retail banking functions in the next three years. However, one of the potential stumbling blocks is a shortage of talent – 60% of respondents cited finding sufficient numbers of staff as a problem.

5) Restructuring

Most areas of investment banking have been struggling recently, but there’s one role that’s likely to see an inflow of work this year – restructuring.

Around $80bn of debt in the Gulf region is falling due this year, and – as HSBC’s head of advisory for the MENA region told Zawya Dow Jones – this is likely to necessitate more restructuring.

“I see more restructurings to come, because there weren’t enough in the first place. At a corporate level, at a government level, at the quasi-government level, I still think there is a lot more restructuring to be done,” he  said.

“Restructuring teams are generally quite small in the Gulf, so if the work picks up I’d expect to see either more recruitment or redeployment opportunities for bankers in the debt capital markets teams,” says one senior headhunter in Dubai.