qfcra

All About Al Masar

Financial sector Master’s degree programme
Secondary schools partnership
Al Masar Scholarship
Internships for university and high school students
Secondment programme

Developing Human Capital

The finance sector is a key area of focus for Qatar, with the State’s regulators playing an important role in the industry’s development. The Second Strategic Plan for Financial Sector Regulation 2017-2022 is working hand in hand with this National Vision, a shared strategy developed by the Qatar Central Bank, the Qatar Financial Markets Authority and the Regulatory Authority. The Strategic Plan is a roadmap to navigate the opportunities and challenges ahead in 2022.

Regarding employment, our strategic direction is clear: the sustainable, long-term development of young Qataris into dedicated professionals and leaders for the Regulatory Authority is paramount.

Creating a Legacy of Financial Regulation for Qatar

Enrich Engage Envision

Say hello to our C.O.O.

“At the QFC Regulatory Authority, we are intent upon offering our employees a dynamic and professional work environment, one that attracts experienced professionals from Qatar and across the globe. We are equally committed to building a sustainable workforce through the employment and development of qualified Qataris who will shape the future of financial services in the country.”

Fatma Abdulrahman Al Meer, Chief Financial Officer and

Chief Operating Officer, Corporate Services

Follow Al Masar to your future

HR MENA Excellence Award Winner, 2017

In May 2017, Al Masar received the top “Best Nationalisation Initiative” award from the HR MENA Excellence Awards. This honour confirmed the leading-edge strategy and innovative, comprehensive approach to nationalisation, and quantifiable results of the programme on a regional basis.

Al Masar Secondment Programme

In 2016, the Regulatory Authority partnered with PricewaterhouseCoopers to help develop new leaders. As a result, Qatari employees at the Regulatory Authority have an unusual support mechanism in place by which to drive their career development – the opportunity for local, regional and international secondment during the third phase of Al Masar.

Master’s degree in Financial Regulation and Leadership

In 2016, to support and build future Qatari regulatory leaders, the Regulatory Authority partnered with the Qatar Central Bank and the Qatar Financial Markets Authority to construct a customised master’s degree programme to develop employees of the three organisations.

HEC Paris, ranked one of the world’s leading providers of Executive Education by the Financial Times, was selected from a pool of educational providers.

Programme development commenced in 2017, as well as a rigorous selection process. The second phase of interviews was conducted in June, with students presenting case studies to the HEC admissions panel, which then selected final candidates.

The first day of classes commenced on 5 November 2017. The inaugural class included three students employed by the Regulatory Authority in Insurance Supervision and Bank Supervision. All three graduated with specialised master’s degrees in January 2019.

The custom master’s degree programme for financial regulators is the first of its kind in the region, and one of only a handful worldwide

Promoting Careers in Financial Regulation in Secondary Schools

The Al Masar strategy calls for the Regulatory Authority to contact secondary school students in Qatar to acquaint them with career possibilities in Qatar’s financial sector. We signed a Memorandum of Understanding with two unique secondary schools on 23 March 2017.

The Qatar Banking Studies and Business Administration Independent Secondary School for Boys (QBSBAS) and the companion School for Girls are a joint initiative of the Qatar Central Bank and the Ministry of Education. The schools provide specialised education to prepare 80 students in grades 10-12 for careers in financial institutions, including banks, financial services companies, the stock exchange and financial regulation.

Under the agreement, we provide summer internships for select QBSBAS students; host seminars on Qatar’s financial policies and regulations at the schools; bring students to the Regulatory Authority regularly for informal familiarisation meetings with Qatari employees from the core business areas; and recruit qualified students for our Al Masar Scholarship programme. To create a talent pipeline of future financial regulators for the next decade, we worked with the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs to develop the Al Masar Scholarship for high school students interested in careers in the finance sector.

Al Masar Scholarship: Banking on the Future

To create a talent pipeline of future financial regulators for the next decade, we worked with the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs to develop the Al Masar Scholarship for high school students interested in careers in the finance sector.

The Al Masar Scholarship was announced in the fall of 2017 to students of the two secondary banking schools, with the official launch of the programme, and the first two scholarship recipients, in September 2018.

Internships for university and high school students

The Regulatory Authority offers internship opportunities to high-performing high school, university and post-graduate students to work in a professional environment while they are still working on their degrees.

We work closely with Qatar University’s Faculty of Law, Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), other Qatar Foundation universities, and Qatari high schools to recruit motivated young people interested in careers in the financial regulation sector.

If you’d like to be considered for a QFC Regulatory Authority internship, please send us your CV via nationalisation@qfcra.com

A Great Place to Work

On 1 May 2019, at a gala awards ceremony, the Regulatory Authority was certified by Great Place to Work® as one of the best workplaces in Qatar. The Regulatory Authority is Qatar’s first public sector organisation to receive the certification.

In 2019, the Regulatory Authority was Qatar’s first public sector organisation to receive the Great Place to Work® certification.

In accordance with the Regulatory Authority’s efforts to become an employer of choice in Qatar, in 2018, Corporate Services worked with Great Place to Work, a global employee engagement and research firm specialising in building organisational trust, in conducting a comprehensive employee engagement survey. The survey assessed employees’ opinions, attitudes and perceptions of the Regulatory Authority. The survey results revealed that 70% of the Regulatory Authority’s employees believe that the Regulatory Authority is a Great Place to Work.

IN 2019, an action plan based on survey results was implemented throughout the year to enhance the Regulatory Authority’s corporate culture. Improvements were made to the organisation’s performance management system, and employees were given a voice at four divisional off-site meetings. In November, all Regulatory Authority employees gathered for a day-long event and update on company goals, objectives and values, and a service awards ceremony recognising those with ten or more years of tenure.
A second Great Place to Work survey is scheduled in March 2020, with a long-term plan to survey employees every two years.

In 2019, the Regulatory Authority was Qatar’s first public sector organisation to receive the Great Place to Work® certification.

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