Compliance Lead for MEA in London

Wise is a global technology company, building the best way to move and manage the world's money. Min fees. Max ease. Full speed. Whether people and businesses are sending money to another country, spending abroad, or making and receiving international payments, Wise is on a mission to make their lives easier and save them money.

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, 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.

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.

Qualifications:

• 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.
• Strategic Communication: Make sure the team is data-driven to make the most impact for our customers.
• 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.
• 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.

Additional Information:

• 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.

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