Head of Compliance, Risk and Regulatory Affairs (Fintech/Licensing)

• A Bachelors degree in Law, Finance, Compliance, or a related field is required.
• A Masters degree (LLM, MBA) or certification in financial regulatory compliance is highly advantageous.
• Professional certifications such as CAMS (Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist) or ICA Compliance Certification are preferred.
• 10+ years of compliance experience, ideally within financial services, payments, fintech, or banking.
• Strong background in financial compliance, regulatory risk management, and AML/KYC regulations.
• Proven experience in leading regulatory submissions, such as license applications, preferably at national and international levels
• Experience in managing confidential and high-stakes compliance projects.
• Demonstrated ability to engage with regulators, auditors, and legal teams.
• Strong communication skills to translate complex compliance issues into clear, actionable guidance.
• Must be highly adaptive to fast-changing compliance and regulatory landscapes.
• Ability to work flexibly (including outside standard hours where needed) while maintaining a strong work-life balance.
• Proactively identifies compliance risks and provides rapid regulatory guidance to enable quick decision-making.
• A driven and entrepreneurial mindset, capable of working at the cutting edge of fintech compliance.
• Passionate about helping scale a fast-growing business, providing strategic compliance leadership.
• Resilient under pressure, with the ability to manage multiple competing priorities without compromising quality.
• Strong commercial awareness, ensuring compliance strategy aligns with business objectives.
• Able to balance risk management with business appetite and enablement, ensuring clarity and compliance without unnecessary delays.
• An innovative problem-solver who thinks beyond traditional compliance constraints to drive business success.
• A clear and confident communicator, capable of distilling complex regulatory issues into practical, actionable advice.
• Strong ability to build relationships across departments, working closely with leadership, legal, and operations teams.
• Experience leading and mentoring compliance teams in a high-growth, fast-moving environment.
• A pragmatic, solutions-focused compliance mindset, balancing risk with business objectives.
• Committed to maintaining the highest ethical standards in all compliance and business dealings.
• A collaborative team player who leads by example to ensure compliance should enable, not obstruct, business growth.

• Lead the development, implementation, and management of our clients compliance and risk frameworks.
• Oversee all compliance operations across our clients global footprint, ensuring adherence to financial and regulatory obligations.
• Serve as the primary liaison with regulatory authorities and financial compliance bodies.
• Ensure compliance with AML, KYC, data privacy, consumer protection, and payments regulations.

• Oversee our clients compliance positioning as it expands into new markets and regulatory jurisdictions, playing a leading role in both national and international licensing applications/acquisitions.
• Ensuring full regulatory alignment across all business units and new product launches.

• Design and oversee our clients risk management processes, ensuring risks are identified, assessed, and mitigated effectively.
• Develop and maintain internal compliance reporting structures, ensuring early detection of potential risks.
• Ensure regulatory compliance frameworks remain up to date with changes in fintech, payments, and banking regulations.

• Develop and enforce compliance, governance and risk frameworks and policies across the organization.
• Implement internal controls, audit procedures, and compliance training programs for employees.
• Work closely with Legal, Commercial and Product teams to align compliance processes with business strategy.

• Ensure timely and accurate regulatory reporting, maintaining compliance with local and international requirements.
• Represent our client in regulatory discussions, audits, and industry forums.
• Have a good relationship with regulatory bodies, auditors, and industry groups and take a leading role in market developments to ensure that our client stays ahead of evolving compliance requirements.

• Lead, mentor, and develop the compliance team, ensuring they are well-equipped to handle regulatory challenges.
• Foster a strong culture of compliance across the organization, ensuring employees understand their regulatory responsibilities.

Black Pen Recruitment