Head of Compliance SMF 16 (Deputy MLRO)

At Kroo Bank, we’re building a better bank from the ground up. One that puts customers first, treats money responsibly, and uses technology to make everyday banking simpler, fairer and more transparent. We’re a fully regulated UK bank, backed by long-term investors, with a growing customer base and big ambitions. We move fast, think carefully, and hold ourselves to the highest standards, whether that’s how we engage with our customers, build products, manage risk, or look after our people.

How you will contribute and key responsibilities:

This role is responsible for the day-to-day management of the bank’s regulatory compliance framework. You will ensure we meet our obligations across all current activities, including Retail Deposits, Retail Savings and Lending, while preparing the compliance function for upcoming strategic initiatives, including SME lending and loan book transactions. As the SMF16, you will provide high-level oversight of our policies, monitoring, and regulatory relationships. Other responsibilities include:

• Advising on the legal and regulatory requirements of new and existing business activities, including retail deposits, savings products, and consumer lending.
• Providing compliance oversight and challenge on lending strategy, including origination, underwriting, servicing, and arrears management, ensuring alignment with regulatory expectations and good customer outcomes.
• Establishing and maintaining an effective compliance framework, policies, and procedures to ensure adherence to all applicable regulatory obligations.
• Providing compliance input into loan portfolio transactions, including loan book sales, structured disposals, and forward flow arrangements, ensuring appropriate customer, conduct, and regulatory considerations are addressed.
• Advising on and overseeing compliance implications of commercial arrangements with third parties, including funding partners, servicers, and portfolio purchasers.
• Monitoring regulated activities to identify instances of non-compliance and ensuring appropriate remediation and escalation.
• Managing the compliance monitoring framework, including policies, procedures, and thematic reviews across deposits, savings, and lending activities.
• Overseeing compliance training programmes, including conduct rules and financial crime, ensuring they remain effective and up to date.
• Maintaining and updating compliance policies and procedures in line with evolving regulatory requirements, including the FCA Handbook and Consumer Duty expectations.
• Championing customer outcomes, including oversight of complaints.
• Supporting governance frameworks, including allocation of prescribed responsibilities and oversight of regulatory reporting obligations.
• Providing clear, effective reporting and challenge to senior management and Board-level committees on compliance risks and issues.
• Oversee bank’s obligations under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, including conduct rule training and Management Responsibility Map.

Requirements:

• Significant experience advising on legal and regulatory requirements within UK financial services, ideally within a bank or a fintech offering deposits, savings, and lending products.
• Previous experience operating at SMF16 (Compliance Oversight) level.
• In-depth knowledge of the FCA Handbook, including conduct, consumer credit, and prudential expectations relevant to a dual-regulated firm.
• Experience overseeing or advising on consumer lending frameworks, including customer lifecycle considerations (origination, servicing, arrears, and forbearance).
• Exposure to loan portfolio transactions, such as loan book sales, forward flow arrangements, or similar structured activities, from a compliance or risk perspective.
• Understanding of regulatory expectations relating to customer treatment and Consumer Duty, particularly in lending and savings products.
• Experience supporting scaling or evolving business models, including the introduction of new products or entry into adjacent markets (e.g. business/SME lending).
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to apply regulatory requirements in a commercial and pragmatic way.
• Proven people management and team leadership experience within a compliance function.
• Ability to engage and influence senior stakeholders, including Risk, Legal, Credit, and Product teams.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.

Benefits:

What we offer: At our cutting-edge fintech company, we know that attracting and retaining the best talent means offering top-notch benefits that help our employees thrive both in and outside of work. Check out what we currently offer:

• Generous holiday time: 25 days annual leave, 8 bank holidays, 1 Kroo bank holiday (June 24th), and 1 day off during the week of your birthday.
• Personal days: We know that life can be unpredictable, so we offer 3 personal days to use as needed.
• Employer-sponsored volunteer program: We're passionate about giving back to our community, and we support our employees in doing the same with up to 4 hours per month of employer-sponsored volunteer time.
• Mental health support: We care about the mental health of our team members and offer access to Spill, our mental health support partner.
• Workplace pension: We want you to feel secure about your future, so we offer a workplace pension with a 5% employee contribution and a 3% employer top-up.
• Top-notch equipment: We provide top-of-the-line equipment necessary for smooth hybrid work, including a MacBook laptop. Additionally, we also offer support in establishing your home office by contributing towards your setup if required.
• Modern office: When you're in the office, you'll enjoy access to our modern, bustling workspace in Farringdon (Central London).
• Cycle to Work scheme: We encourage sustainable transportation with our Cycle to Work scheme.
• Electric Car scheme: We're committed to reducing our carbon footprint, and our Electric Car scheme makes it easy for our employees to do the same.
• Enhanced parental leave: We know that family comes first, and we offer an enhanced parental leave policy to support our employees in starting and growing their families.
• Room for growth: As a fast-paced, high-growth start-up, we're dedicated to providing our employees with room to grow and excel.
• You get full healthcare for you and your nuclear family via Vitality.

Hybrid Working:

At Kroo Bank, we follow a hybrid working approach that balances flexibility with regular in office collaboration. Employees are expected to work from the office 1 or 2 days each week, using our London office as a valuable space to support productivity and teamwork. This role operates from Monday to Friday and includes a combination of remote and office based work, so you will not be required to be on site full time.

Diversity and Inclusion:

We wholeheartedly uphold our commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. Every employee is highly regarded, respected, and supported without any form of judgement or prejudice. We consider Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion as fundamental pillars guiding our path in all aspects of our bank. We also ensure that reasonable adjustments are made available to all candidates throughout the recruitment process.