Head of Compliance & Financial Crimes

Project Description

The Financial Crimes, Compliance & Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Program Lead will serve as a senior compliance and risk professional responsible for overseeing Financial Crimes Compliance, regulatory reporting, risk governance, and enterprise risk management activities within Brazil. This individual will act as a key second-line-of-defense partner, providing independent oversight of AML, financial crimes, regulatory compliance, and risk management programs while collaborating closely with business stakeholders, operational teams, legal, and regulators.

The role requires a highly experienced compliance leader capable of managing regulatory obligations, producing executive-level risk reporting, overseeing financial crimes programs, conducting risk assessments, and ensuring effective governance and control environments. The successful candidate will serve as a trusted advisor to regional leadership and help maintain compliance with local regulatory expectations.

Duties/Day to Day Overview

Financial Crimes Oversight

• Oversee and support the Financial Crimes Compliance program, including AML, sanctions, fraud, anti-bribery, and related regulatory obligations.
• Review and challenge Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) and other financial crime escalations.
• Provide oversight of transaction monitoring, investigations, and suspicious activity management processes.
• Evaluate emerging financial crime risks and recommend enhancements to controls and monitoring activities.
• Partner with operational teams to ensure effective execution of AML and financial crime controls.

Regulatory Compliance

• Act as a senior compliance advisor regarding Brazilian regulatory requirements.
• Prepare, review, and submit regulatory reports and required compliance filings.
• Maintain relationships with regulators and support regulatory exams, inquiries, and audits.
• Interpret regulatory changes and assess their impact on business operations and control frameworks.
• Ensure regulatory obligations are documented, monitored, and reported appropriately.

Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)

• Lead implementation and execution of enterprise risk management activities.
• Conduct periodic risk assessments and control effectiveness reviews.
• Identify, assess, monitor, and escalate compliance and operational risks.
• Develop risk reporting and governance materials for senior leadership.
• Track remediation efforts and ensure timely closure of identified risk issues.

Governance & Reporting

• Produce executive-level risk and compliance reports, including:
  • Financial Crime Risk Reports
  • Risk Oversight Reports
  • Regulatory Compliance Reports
  • Control Health Reports
  • Enterprise Risk Assessments
• Translate complex risk and operational data into clear management reporting and recommendations.
• Present findings and risk trends to senior stakeholders and governance committees.

Stakeholder Management

• Partner with first-line business teams to strengthen risk ownership and control effectiveness.
• Provide guidance and challenge to business leaders regarding compliance and risk decisions.
• Coordinate across Compliance, Legal, Risk, Internal Audit, Operations, and Product organizations.
• Support program improvements and strategic compliance initiatives.

Top Requirements

Must Haves

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, Law, Risk Management, or related field.
• Advanced degree (MBA, JD, Master's) preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in Financial Crimes Compliance, Risk Management, Regulatory Compliance, or related fields.
• Significant experience within financial services, fintech, payments, banking, or highly regulated industries.
• Demonstrated experience serving in a senior compliance, AML, risk, or MLRO-type role.
• Hands-on experience managing regulatory examinations and interacting directly with regulators.
• Experience conducting enterprise risk assessments and developing governance frameworks.
• Strong reporting and executive presentation experience.
• Proven ability to operate independently in a highly regulated environment.

Financial Crimes Expertise

Deep expertise in:

• Anti-Money Laundering (AML)
• Know Your Customer (KYC)
• Sanctions Compliance
• Financial Crimes Investigations
• Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR)
• Financial Crime Risk Assessments
• Regulatory Reporting

Regulatory Knowledge

• Strong understanding of Brazilian financial regulations and compliance requirements.
• Experience working with local regulatory authorities.
• Knowledge of global compliance frameworks and industry best practices preferred.

Additional Qualifications

Nice to Haves

The ideal candidate is a seasoned Financial Crimes and Compliance leader who has served as a Head of Compliance, MLRO, Financial Crimes Director, Risk Director, or Senior Regulatory Compliance Lead within a financial services, fintech, payments, or banking organization. They possess deep AML and regulatory expertise, strong risk management capabilities, and the executive presence needed to represent the organization with regulators and senior leadership while ensuring a robust and effective compliance program.

This is roughly equivalent to aDirector/Senior Director-level consultant or interim Head of Compliance/MLRO rather than a traditional Program Manager role.