Compliance Lead for MEA

We’re just at the beginning of our story and we’re growing at an incredible pace. We won’t stop until anyone, anywhere can send, spend and receive money wherever they are, whatever they’re doing. There’s still heaps to do and we can’t do it alone.

To help us achieve this, we are looking for an experienced Compliance Lead to act as the Compliance Director for the high-growth Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, providing the strategic leadership needed to protect our customers as we scale our products across diverse new jurisdictions.

What immediate impact you will have:

• Strategic Oversight: Provide strategic leadership and act as the Compliance Director for the high-growth MEA region, including Israel, UAE, South Africa. Later focus will be on markets like Nigeria, Turkey, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. 

• Licensing & Expansion: Oversee the launch of full capabilities in licensed markets (Israel, UAE, and South Africa) while managing and supporting licensing requirements in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria.

• Team Establishment: Take the lead in building and establishing the required second-line (2LOD) operational teams across the MEA region from the ground up.

• Governance & Reporting: Oversee the localisation of compliance frameworks and report to the Board of Directors on the health of financial crime and regulatory compliance across the MEA region.

• MEA Champion: Support regional Compliance Officers (COs) by establishing overarching trust and communication with regulators. You will act as the spokesperson for the MEA region, networking with local peers to find opportunities to expand Wise's reach. You will receive and translate information into strategic insight, action to decide how to manage regional risks, and support the communication of product changes primarily within the company.

This role will give you the opportunity to:

• Develop an in-depth knowledge of Wise’s business globally and get to know many teams across the company as you liaise with them to help them understand complex regional regulatory frameworks.

• Help keep compliance right at the heart of our product developments and new initiatives by horizon-scanning for new regulatory developments in the Middle East and Africa and sharing these with the teams.

• Ensure operational excellence by maintaining our regulatory licenses and applications across the region, and establishing scalable 2LOD operational teams to support these new markets.

Leading at Wise, like a lot of other things, is quite unique. Our teams and individuals have the autonomy to make impactful decisions for our customers. Our leads enable the team and people to deliver impact and champion our culture.

• Experience: You have a solid background and knowledge in regulatory frameworks, with a strong grasp of related financial crime and regulatory obligations. Demonstrable experience managing complex licensing entries and interacting with regulators in markets like the UAE, Israel, or South Africa is highly advantageous.

• Visionary Leadership (Mandatory): Set the strategic course and inspire your team to operate collaboratively toward shared objectives within a high-autonomy setting. You possess a proven track record of standing up operational departments and executing strategic roadmaps across diverse regions, with the expertise to provide seamless mentorship to senior regional Compliance Officers. Foster a workspace dedicated to professional growth via continuous feedback and knowledge exchange, cultivating a culture where team members are empowered to maximize their impact by being authentic and challenging the status quo.

• Strategic Communication: Make sure the team is data-driven to make the most impact for our customers. You have sufficient experience to communicate complex topics to senior management in a clear, concise way, including overseeing board packs. You are an excellent negotiator with the ability to bring teams and people with diverse ways of thinking together.

• Adaptability & Growth Mindset: You are passionate about expanding and growing Wise into new markets like Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, and Egypt in a compliant, solutions-driven manner. You have the ability to work in a fast-paced and time-sensitive environment, handling multiple tasks and complex geopolitical market nuances simultaneously.

• Language skills: You are fluent in English. Additionally, fluency or working proficiency in Arabic, Turkish and/or Hebrew is highly desirable to support our strategic focus in the Middle East.

Hybrid working - 3 days in the office and 2 from home

Working hours - 9am to 6pm 

Opportunities to travel to other operational hubs as required.

For everyone, everywhere. We're people building money without borders  — without judgement or prejudice, too. We believe teams are strongest when they are diverse, equitable and inclusive.

We're proud to have a truly international team, and we celebrate our differences.
Inclusive teams help us live our values and make sure every Wiser feels respected, empowered to contribute towards our mission and able to progress in their careers.

If you want to find out more about what it's like to work at Wise visit Wise.Jobs.

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