WP NA Risk Team Lead

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.

As part of our team, you will be helping us create an entirely new network for the world's money.
For everyone, everywhere.

More about our mission and what we offer.

Role & Job purpose

As a Risk Assessment Senior Specialist, you will play a critical role in ensuring Wise’s adherence to regulatory and compliance standards. You will be responsible for mitigating risks associated with high risk customers,  while maintaining compliance with AML/CFT regulations, and internal policies according to Wise’s risk appetite. The Risk Assessment Senior Specialist has an advanced understanding of inherent risks tied with complex business structures, various customer types and activities, country-specific risks and their appropriate mitigating strategies. This role is a great opportunity for people who are interested in deepening their expertise  in the KYC/AML domain.   

Job Responsibilities
 

• Act as a point of contact for all escalations from within Risk Assessment team, other Compliance Operations teams, Business departments and second line of defense;

• Mentor, collaborate and act as a subject matter expert for partner risk assessment and provide support to the team members with queries and escalations;

• Perform risk assessment on complex and high risk customers, document and provide thorough analysis on potential risks and apply appropriate mitigation measures by analyzing their business activities, compliance programs and controls;

• Conduct thorough and detailed due diligence on our enterprise business partners to assess their compliance with regulatory requirements, internal policies, and industry standards.

• Review and analyze documentation, such as AML, Sanctions, EDD, KYC, and Acceptable Use policies, comparing them against Wise’s policies and internal risk-based approach;

• Assess the customer’s potential reputational and financial crime risk to Wise from Sanctions, PEP, and adverse media perspective;

• Coming up with new and better risk mitigation methods and improving our compliance framework and controls while working closely with Product and Regulatory Compliance; 

• Support training of new joiners and upskilling existing members of the assessment team and wider compliance & business teams;

• Run process and approach improvement initiatives independently and see them through completion to achieve efficiencies;

• Escalate, report and resolve compliance concerns to Financial Crime Oversight and other compliance teams where necessary;

• Communicate with internal and external partners/stakeholders to facilitate scalable, compliant business onboarding growth;

• Work closely with other functions to on-board high risk companies, update on review statuses, communicate compliance concerns, and answer queries and concerns from relevant stakeholders;

• Work with product teams, operational leads, and compliance teams to manage operational impact of changes, increase operational efficiencies, and improve the customer experience;

• Be accountable for the quality assurance/control of the Risk Assessment team, taking decisions within our policy framework, and working with compliance to evolve processes;

• Distill concerns or issues identified from relevant operational incidents and report these findings to senior management with recommended actions to address deficiencies;

• Support team leads on implementation and delivery of ad-hoc project work, participate in enhancing the compliance management knowledge of colleagues;

• Represent the team at various risk committees and audits at regional level when required.

Requirements

• Excellent verbal and written English skills (additional language skills are a plus) with the ability to clearly articulate your thoughts;

• A minimum of 4+ years of relevant industry experience, ideally in financial services,  compliance roles or at a financial services regulator; 

• Work autonomously within a limited variety of well-defined procedures and practices (not necessarily standardized);

• Ability to take difficult decisions, work with uncertainty, deal with unknowns, and coordinate various sources of information within and outside the organization;

• Ability to take decisions and apply risk-based approach at your work

• Capable of identifying gaps in policies and processes and liaise as necessary with the team, other business units and stakeholders to resolve relevant issues;

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, strong organizational skills, attention to detail, analytical abilities, and ability to adhere to strict deadlines in a fast paced and high pressure environment;

• Punctual, resourceful, proactive, enthusiastic and willing to get things done;

• Ability to work in a diverse work environment which requires collaboration, partnership and transparency; 

• Understanding of regional and global regulatory requirements and essentials of risk based approach;

• Strong analytical and problem solving capabilities;

• Strong stakeholder management and interpersonal skills;

• analytical skills, with the ability to provide practical and realistic solutions for minimizing risk;

• Comfortable working in a rapidly changing and complex work environment.

Nice to have:

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business Administration, Law, or related field

• Certifications: ICA, CAMS, or equivalent certification (EDD/AML focused)

Values and behavioral expectations

This isn’t just a job, it’s a revolution. 

• Visionary Leadership: Helps the team create/align with the function & team vision and set goals that are aligned with Wise’s mission. Stays up to date and embraces and drives change.

• Mission-Oriented Problem Solving: Ensures teamwork is aligned with the company mission, identifies improvement opportunities, quantifies them and ensures ownership of the solution. Helps the team identify and solve impactful problems. 

• Empowers Team Members: Adapts leadership style to support team members through coaching, guiding, and recognizing achievements and supporting career growth.

• Champions Change: Approaches change with a positive and constructive attitude. Embraces experimentation, is open to new solutions, and proactively seeks opportunities to challenge the status quo and improve processes, doesn't settle for 'good enough'. 

We get it done.

• Data-Driven Decisions: Uses core data and key metrics confidently to coach team members effectively and guide the team based on data-driven insights. 

• Accountability and Impact: Holds team members accountable for delivering goals and monitors the impact of their work through key metrics. Regularly tracks and discusses team and individual impact through predetermined key metrics.

• Clear, Quantified Impact: Ensures team members have clarity on which KPIs they are responsible for influencing and how these KPIs link to the overall Servicing strategy.

Customer > team > ego. 

• Customer Focused: Provides clarity on customer needs and challenges, incorporates key customer-focused metrics into team goals, and tracks for continuous improvement. 

• Supportive Leadership: Hires, onboards, and supports team members to set them up for a successful and impactful career. Ensures that team decisions prioritise customer needs and impact. Encourages team members to always consider the broader team and customer perspective in their work. 

• Growth-Oriented: Conducts regular one-to-ones, and performance review sessions (e.g. Grow Wise), balancing both numerical and behavioural performance with development discussions. Invests in and drives their own growth as a leader. Embraces both successes and failures to support learning.  

• Knowledge Sharing: Shares area expertise and skills to help the team find the best solutions. Uses coaching to encourage team members to share their knowledge and be more involved in decisions affecting their work. 

No drama, good karma. 

• Inclusive Leadership: Creates an inclusive culture where everyone can do their best work while being fully themselves. Actively collaborates within their organisations and Wise to reach impact. ​

• Respectful and Open Communication: Stays respectful, embraces different perspectives, and positively contributes to discussions even in challenging situations. Demonstrates great listening skills, empathy, and patience, and communicates honestly and transparently, focusing on solutions

• Feedback and Growth: Gives timely and specific feedback to support the growth and impact of team members. Encourages a feedback-rich environment where constructive feedback is valued and used for continuous improvement.

• Caring Environment: Brings the team together regularly, shows empathy, and supports team members to overcome challenges. Supports team members’ mental and physical well-being, builds high levels of trust through open communication. 

• Mindful Management: Challenges arguments, not individuals, and ensures sustainable work practices. Manages energy levels sustainably, and knows when to ask for help or take time out.

• Excellent verbal and written English skills (additional language skills are a plus) with the ability to clearly articulate your thoughts.

• A minimum of 3+ years of experience in KYC/AML, financial crime, compliance, or a related field within the financial services industry.

• At least 1-2 years of leading small to medium sized teams. 

• Great understanding of the regulatory framework surrounding KYC/AML.

• You are familiar with money laundering methods and other financial crime trends

• You can build an environment where your team is incentivised to make decisions and apply risk-based approach to their work

• You are punctual, independent, proactive and willing to get things done.

• You have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, strong organisational skills, great time management, and ability to work in a fast paced and high pressure environment.

• Ability to multi-task and take responsibility in challenging situations;

• You are capable of identifying gaps in policies and processes and providing detailed feedback, including examples when possible, through the established communication channels.

• Proven track record of taking individual ownership and responsibilities as well as being a great team-player.

• Ability to analyze and move of team’s metrics

Nice to have:

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business Administration, Law, or related field

• Certifications: ICA, CAMS, or equivalent certification (EDD/AML focused)

• Experience with Correspondent Banking

• Ability to use analytics tools like, looker, superset, or other. 

Values and behavioural expectations

This isn’t just a job, it’s a revolution. 

• Visionary Leadership: Helps the team create/align with the function & team vision and set goals that are aligned with Wise’s mission. Stays up to date and embraces and drives change.

• Mission-Oriented Problem Solving: Ensures teamwork is aligned with the company mission, identifies improvement opportunities, quantifies them and ensures ownership of the solution. Helps the team identify and solve impactful problems. 

• Empowers Team Members: Adapts leadership style to support team members through coaching, guiding, and recognizing achievements and supporting career growth.

• Champions Change: Approaches change with a positive and constructive attitude. Embraces experimentation, is open to new solutions, and proactively seeks opportunities to challenge the status quo and improve processes, doesn't settle for 'good enough'. 

We get it done.

• Data-Driven Decisions: Uses core data and key metrics confidently to coach team members effectively and guide the team based on data-driven insights. 

• Accountability and Impact: Holds team members accountable for delivering goals and monitors the impact of their work through key metrics. Regularly tracks and discusses team and individual impact through predetermined key metrics.

• Clear, Quantified Impact: Ensures team members have clarity on which KPIs they are responsible for influencing and how these KPIs link to the overall Servicing strategy.

Customer > team > ego. 

• Customer Focused: Provides clarity on customer needs and challenges, incorporates key customer-focused metrics into team goals, and tracks for continuous improvement. 

• Supportive Leadership: Hires, onboards, and supports team members to set them up for a successful and impactful career. Ensures that team decisions prioritise customer needs and impact. Encourages team members to always consider the broader team and customer perspective in their work. 

• Growth-Oriented: Conducts regular one-to-ones, and performance review sessions (e.g. Grow Wise), balancing both numerical and behavioural performance with development discussions. Invests in and drives their own growth as a leader. Embraces both successes and failures to support learning.  

• Knowledge Sharing: Shares area expertise and skills to help the team find the best solutions. Uses coaching to encourage team members to share their knowledge and be more involved in decisions affecting their work. 

No drama, good karma. 

• Inclusive Leadership: Creates an inclusive culture where everyone can do their best work while being fully themselves. Actively collaborates within their organisations and Wise to reach impact. ​

• Respectful and Open Communication: Stays respectful, embraces different perspectives, and positively contributes to discussions even in challenging situations. Demonstrates great listening skills, empathy, and patience, and communicates honestly and transparently, focusing on solutions

• Feedback and Growth: Gives timely and specific feedback to support the growth and impact of team members. Encourages a feedback-rich environment where constructive feedback is valued and used for continuous improvement.

• Caring Environment: Brings the team together regularly, shows empathy, and supports team members to overcome challenges. Supports team members’ mental and physical well-being, builds high levels of trust through open communication. 

• Mindful Management: Challenges arguments, not individuals, and ensures sustainable work practices. Manages energy levels sustainably, and knows when to ask for help or take time out.

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.

Keep up to date with life at Wise by following us on LinkedIn and Instagram.

ApplyShortlist

Share

More about the team

Find out more about our team, how we work and other open roles.

View the team

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.

Keep up to date with life at Wise by following us on LinkedIn and Instagram.