Head of Compliance / MLRO - Dubai

About the Role
This position is a hybrid role that requires four days per week in our Dubai office (Dubai Internet City). You will serve as the Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) for our DFSA-regulated Dubai entity, acting as the primary contact for money-laundering escalations, suspicious activity reporting, policies, and governance. This is a crucial hire in our ongoing compliance investment strategy, where you will learn the business and its associated risks and controls, determining key areas for improvement. You will collaborate with compliance leaders in Hong Kong, Switzerland, Singapore, and the US to create a unified framework, guiding a workstream that aligns with your strengths. Compliance Operations will engage in case reviews and alerts, escalating broader issues to you initially, with no direct reports to manage. This role is ideal for someone who prefers to understand the business before influencing its shape rather than someone seeking to run an independent entity based on previous frameworks. You will report to the Group Chief Legal, Risk and Compliance Officer.

Day-to-Day Responsibilities

• Serve as the DFSA’s primary contact for questions, reviews, and inspections; manage DFSA and DIFC notifications and regulatory reporting; take ownership of money-laundering escalations and suspicious activity reporting.
• Define acceptable practices, translate them into actionable policy in collaboration with Compliance Operations, and effectively mitigate client, transaction, product, and business risks.
• Maintain Dubai’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Counter-Terrorism Financing (CTF), and sanctions policies, ensuring risk assessments and governance are updated, and oversee the monitoring plan to ensure close-out of actions.
• Provide advisory support regarding new products, outsourcing, and expansion, reporting to both local and group committees while leading a workstream within the group.

Success in the First 3 to 12 Months
First 3 Months

• Achieve a deep understanding of our operations, money-laundering risks, and existing controls, identifying areas for enhancement.
• Assume responsibility for escalations, suspicious activity reporting, and regulator communications that were previously handled by interim resources.
• Manage general DFSA and DIFC notifications and regulatory reporting effectively.

6 to 12 Months

• Clearly outline the entity’s standing against UAE regulatory expectations and implement the most impactful improvements without getting sidetracked by every issue.
• Establish clear boundaries regarding permissible actions, in agreement with Compliance Operations, ensuring consistent application of guidelines.
• Lead a group workstream, applying a cohesive group framework in Dubai.

Ideal Candidate
Must Haves

• 5+ years of experience in senior compliance roles, including time served as MLRO or as a substantive deputy MLRO at a regulated firm.
• Proven experience interacting directly with the DFSA or the Central Bank of the UAE.
• Strong understanding of money-laundering risks in payments, with the ability to make clear, risk-based decisions regarding AML/CTF, sanctions, and suspicious activities.
• Desire to influence compliance across all of our regulated entities.
  The most important factor is your practical experience in the MLRO role, ideally within a fintech, payments, or banking environment. Line management experience or a notable profile within the DFSA is not necessary. We value a calm and credible presence with regulators and leadership and an eagerness to build within a shared framework instead of autonomously managing Dubai.

Nice to Haves

• Experience in managing local compliance within a group setting and enhancing frameworks in a growing organization.
• Familiarity with both the DFSA and the Central Bank of the UAE, or across multiple jurisdictions.
• Relevant qualifications such as ICA, CAMS, or similar certifications.

How We Work (Attitudes & Behaviours)

• Conduct thorough research to understand the full context and root causes before involving others.
• Present solutions alongside problems; we appreciate proactive approaches.
• Build upon established practices at the company rather than reinstating external methods.
• Demonstrate comfort with autonomy and accountability without a predetermined agenda.
• Collaborate closely with peers and leadership while advocating for necessary escalations.
• Stay up to date with the evolving regulatory landscape and adjust strategies as needed.

Benefits

• Flexible vacation policy.
• Private Healthcare.
• Employee stock ownership plan (ESOP).
• Flexible working arrangements and autonomy.
• "Pay It Forward" days: two annual days to volunteer for a charity of your choice.
• Wellness days: three quarterly wellness days to recharge in recognition that high performance is linked to personal well-being.