Principal Analyst Full Time NEW

RFI Global is the world’s leading research and intelligence business dedicated to retail banking, business banking, and payments. We work with the senior executives who shape the future of financial services from strategy and product leaders at the world’s largest banks to the technology vendors building the next generation of financial infrastructure.

Our intelligence is built on the most comprehensive consumer and business banking datasets in the world, covering markets across the Middle East, APAC, and EMEA. In the UAE and wider region, we have an established and active client base. These are relationships built over years with some of the most important financial institutions in the Gulf. We are now looking to deepen those relationships, extend our reach across the broader region, and uncover the bespoke research opportunities that this market consistently generates.

This is an opportunity to drive the growth of a major market for RFI by deepening trusted partnerships with established clients, uncovering bespoke research opportunities across the Gulf, and helping shape our commercial growth across the wider Middle East region.

The Role

We are looking for an experienced research analyst to join our team in the UAE, based ideally in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. This is a senior role with a strong commercial dimension, built around three priorities: deepening RFI’s existing client relationships across the UAE and Gulf, identifying cross-sell and upsell opportunities within our established client base, and uncovering bespoke research commissions across the wider Middle East region.

RFI already has an extensive presence in this market. You will not be starting from scratch, rather stepping into a situation in which we have strong relationships and a reputation for quality. Your job is to make the most of both. That means knowing our clients’ agendas well enough to bring them ideas before they ask, spotting where additional products or custom research could add value, and building the kind of trust that opens doors to new institutions across the region.

The research side of the role is equally important. You will lead the production and delivery of RFI’s research programmes for the UAE. This means feeding into survey design, making use of our proprietary data, writing research, and presenting to senior audiences. You bring deep subject matter knowledge of retail banking, business banking, and payments, and you can translate complex findings into clear, commercially relevant narratives that resonate with executive audiences.

You will work closely with RFI’s global team, collaborating across time zones, contributing to the collective research agenda, and drawing on the full depth of our worldwide datasets to serve clients who increasingly want a regional view set in a global context.

What You’ll Do

RESEARCH & THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

• Lead the design and delivery of research programmes across retail banking, business banking, and payments, from survey design and hypothesis development through to analysis, interpretation, and final output
• Write high-quality, engaging research reports, white papers, and thought leadership that go beyond data description to deliver genuine insight and strategic implication for the UAE and wider Middle East market
• Present findings to senior audiences, including C-suite executives, strategy teams, and product leaders at major regional financial institutions. Through this, you will bring the clarity and conviction that drives action
• Monitor and interpret market developments across the UAE, Gulf, and broader Middle East, and translate these into timely, relevant intelligence for clients
• Design and refine survey instruments that generate data worth having, combining methodological rigour with commercial purpose and regional relevance

COMMERCIAL & CLIENT

• Drive the development of RFI’s existing client relationships in the UAE and Gulf, maintaining regular, high-quality engagement with senior stakeholders at major financial institutions and ensuring every client feels well-served and well-understood
• Identify and pursue cross-sell and upsell opportunities within the existing client base, understanding each client’s agenda well enough to bring them ideas that add genuine value before they think to ask. This includes supporting the sale of our iSKY UX benchmarking product
• Proactively uncover bespoke research opportunities across the wider Middle East region, by building new relationships with institutions beyond the current client base and developing commissioned research briefs that address their specific strategic needs
• Contribute to the renewal and growth of client relationships, working with RFI’s commercial team globally to develop proposals, respond to briefs, and secure renewals
• Represent RFI Global at regional industry events and conferences, contributing to our visibility and reputation across the Gulf and broader Middle East financial services community

COLLABORATION & WAYS OF WORKING

• Work effectively with colleagues across RFI’s global research, data, and client teams by sharing regional expertise, contributing to the collective research agenda, and drawing on global datasets to serve clients who want a regional view in a global context
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of RFI’s research methodologies, output formats, and client engagement approaches
• Manage your own workload and priorities effectively across a broad and varied regional remit, with the independence and judgement to know when to escalate and when to get on with it

Requirements

What We’re Looking For

Research Skills

• Research & analytical skills
• Survey design experience
• Strong written communication
• Confident presenter
• Data interpretation & storytelling
• Financial services subject expertise

Commercial & Personal Skills

• Client relationship management
• Cross-sell & upsell instinct
• Bespoke research / commissioned work
• Network across UAE & Gulf
• Independent & self-directed
• Strong global team collaborator

Your Background

The ideal candidate will have:

• Extensive experience in a research, analyst, or advisory role at a financial services research firm, management consultancy, or similar
• Deep knowledge of retail banking, business banking, and/or payments, with meaningful exposure to the UAE and/or broader Middle East market. You understand the region’s financial services landscape, its regulatory environment, and the strategic priorities of its leading institutions
• A demonstrable track record of producing research that is used in board papers, referenced in strategy documents, or acted on by senior decision-makers
• Experience designing quantitative research instruments (surveys) and working with large consumer or business datasets
• Excellent written English. You can write a crisp executive summary and a detailed analytical section with equal confidence
• A strong existing network of senior relationships within the UAE and Gulf financial services community: you know the market and the market knows you
• Proven commercial instincts in terms of experience of growing client accounts, identifying bespoke research opportunities, and translating a client’s strategic agenda into a research brief

Benefits

What We Offer

Work that matters

Your research reaches the senior executives shaping banking across the Gulf, and your relationships mean you see that impact directly.

A genuinely global platform

Drive development in one of RFI’s strongest regional markets with the backing of a world-class research team.

Real commercial exposure

This is a role where relationships and research are equally valued. You will have scope to be entrepreneurial in pursuing growth in our UAE business.

A collaborative, expert team

Join a team of specialists who take research seriously, support each other’s development, and enjoy the work they do.

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Great opportunity to work with a global team
• 25 days’ annual leave + public holidays + birthday leave + 2 charity days
• Wellness and education contribution fund
• Learning and development budget to help your professional growth
• Loyalty leave
• Perkbox