Head of Financial Crime Control Governance
At a glance
Director-level Risk & Financial Compliance role at Wise. London · full-time · £89,000–£127,000 base.
financeroles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Run the first-line financial crime control model across Wise entities and keep it aligned with group standards
- Maintain the control library as the authoritative record, checking its quality and linking controls to risks, processes, products and obligations
- Improve how controls are checked and documented, including workflow changes and suitable automation
- Lead the control approval forum, record senior decisions and follow actions through to completion
- Prepare management dashboards and trend analysis, support audits and regulatory reviews, and lead the small team
What you bring
- Substantial controls governance and risk experience in a regulated financial institution or relevant banking consultancy
- Strong understanding of financial crime areas such as AML, sanctions or KYC, and how they become product or operational controls
- Hands-on ownership of control libraries or frameworks, including lifecycle management and mapping controls to obligations
- Experience running governance meetings, working with second-line compliance or risk, and supporting audits or regulatory reviews
Who this fits
This director-level role suits someone ready to lead financial crime control governance and manage a small team, currently with one direct report. The position is based in London with a hybrid arrangement. It also calls for strong prioritisation, attention to detail and confidence working with metrics.
From the employer
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.
We are looking for a Head of Financial Crime (FC) Control Governance to design, own and operate the 1LOD control governance framework across Wise entities. The role is accountable for the integrity and effectiveness of the FC control environment, ensuring 1LOD controls meet Group control standards. Working in close partnership with Product, Operations and 2LOD Compliance, the ideal candidate will provide the governance and support to enable rapid delivery while maintaining a robust, audit-ready control framework.
Your mission:
Manage and enhance the 1LOD FC control governance strategy and operating model across Wise entities.
Own and maintain the Financial Crime control library as the single source of truth and ensure ongoing library hygiene.
Lead control mapping across the end-to-end framework (risks, processes, product, and regulatory obligations).
Enforce control documentation quality check.
Drive continuous improvement of the control assurance framework and workflow design, with an appetite for automation (e.g. AI-enabled documentation where appropriate).
Run control approval governance forum including senior management sign-off and tracking of actions to completion.
Prepare high-quality materials, dashboards, and trend analysis for senior management and risk committees.
Act as a key 1LOD point of contact supporting regulatory exams, process walkthroughs and audit requests relating to FC controls.
Lead a small team (currently 1 direct report) and provide prioritisation and performance management; with potential to grow the team over time in line with programme needs.
Qualifications:
Significant experience in controls governance and risk within a regulated financial institution (bank, payments, fintech at scale, consultancy supporting banks).
Strong knowledge of financial crime risk domains (AML, sanctions, CDD/KYC, transaction monitoring, fraud) and how these translate into operational/product controls.
Proven ownership of control libraries /RCSA/ control frameworks, including control lifecycle management and mapping to obligations.
Demonstrated ability to run governance forums, manage senior stakeholders, and produce audit-ready decision records.
Experience partnering with 2LoD Compliance/Risk and supporting Internal Audit / regulatory reviews.
Strong capacity to prioritize tasks, maintain a problem-solving mindset, and take ownership to drive and deliver projects from inception to completion with high attention to detail
Strong data literacy with the ability to scrutinize metrics.
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.
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