Chief Compliance Officer

Job Description

Chief Compliance Officer (CCO)

We are seeking a highly experienced, proactive, and commercially astute Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) to lead the compliance, regulatory, and financial crime function for a fast-growing financial services organisation operating within the payments and e-money sector.

This is a senior leadership role with enterprise-wide accountability for regulatory compliance, financial crime prevention, and governance frameworks. The CCO will be responsible for designing, embedding, and continuously strengthening a robust compliance culture, while enabling sustainable growth across multiple jurisdictions.

• The role requires close collaboration with the Board, senior management, regulators, and internal stakeholders, and will act as a key advisor on regulatory strategy, licensing, and risk management. The CCO will also assume responsibility as the Board of Directors and Compliance committee, dotted line to CEO

Role Overview

The Chief Compliance Officer will provide strategic leadership and independent oversight of the organisations compliance and financial crime framework. You will be responsible for ensuring that regulatory obligations are met across all jurisdictions, regulatory applications are successfully executed, and compliance risks are proactively identified, managed, and mitigated - without compromising commercial objectives.

This role plays a critical part in supporting market entry, product expansion, and regulatory engagement, while ensuring the organisation maintains the highest standards of integrity, governance, and regulatory compliance.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and lead the organisation's global compliance and financial crime strategy.
• Act as a trusted advisor to the Board and senior management on regulatory, compliance, and financial crime matters.
• Establish and maintain a strong compliance culture across the organisation.
• Provide independent oversight and challenge to business activities to ensure regulatory alignment.
• Prepare and present compliance and financial crime updates, risk assessments, and MI to senior leadership and governance committees.

• Lead and drive regulatory and licensing applications across jurisdictions.
• Act as the primary senior point of contact for regulators and supervisory authorities.
• Manage regulatory relationships, inspections, audits, and ongoing supervisory engagements.
• Monitor regulatory developments and assess their impact on business strategy and operations.
• Ensure timely and effective responses to regulatory queries, findings, and remediation actions.

• Design, implement, and continuously enhance the enterprise-wide compliance framework.
• Own and oversee the company control framework, ensuring effectiveness and scalability.
• Develop, review, and maintain compliance policies, procedures, and internal controls.
• Ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations across payments, e-money, and financial services activities.
• Review marketing, advertising, and external communications for regulatory compliance.

• Act as the Group MLRO with responsibility for AML, CTF, fraud, sanctions, and ABC frameworks.
• Oversee financial crime risk assessments, monitoring, investigations, and reporting.
• Manage escalations relating to suspicious activity, fraud, complaints, and regulatory breaches.
• Ensure effective transaction monitoring, KYC, and sanctions screening frameworks are in place.
• Liaise with regulators and relevant authorities on financial crime matters.

• Conduct regular compliance and financial crime risk assessments.
• Design and deliver the annual compliance and financial crime plan.
• Oversee internal and external audits related to compliance and financial crime.
• Track, manage, and remediate identified compliance risks and issues.
• Ensure appropriate record-keeping, documentation, and audit trails.

• Build, lead, and scale a high-performing compliance function aligned with business growth.
• Ensure appropriate resourcing, capability, and succession planning within the compliance team.
• Design and deliver compliance and financial crime training across the organisation.
• Work closely with Legal, Product, Operations, Technology, and Commercial teams to embed compliance by design.
• Support business innovation while ensuring regulatory and risk considerations are addressed early.

• Bachelor's degree in Law, Economics, Business, or a related discipline.
• Master's degree or MBA in Law, Banking, Compliance, or Payments Regulation is a strong advantage.
• Extensive senior leadership experience in compliance within financial services, payments, fintech, or e-money institutions.
• Proven experience operating as a Chief Compliance Officer, Head of Compliance, or equivalent senior role.
• Demonstrated experience acting as an AML Compliance Officer and MLRO.
• Prior regulatory approval by a financial regulator (e.g., central bank or equivalent) is highly desirable.
• Strong knowledge of international regulatory frameworks, AML, KYC, sanctions, and financial crime regulations.
• Experience building and overseeing compliance frameworks within high-growth or scaling organisations.
• Proven ability to engage effectively with Boards, senior executives, and regulators.
• Professional certifications such as ACAMS, CRCM, ICA, or equivalent are advantageous.
• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to balance regulatory compliance and business objectives.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and decision-making skills.
• High integrity, sound judgement, and the ability to operate independently in a senior role.