Surveillance Team Lead

Company Description

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.

Job Description

We’re looking for an energetic and experienced Team Lead to join the Surveillance team in Austin, Texas. This role is a unique opportunity to develop a high performing team, while leveraging your knowledge and experience to help millions more potential customers save money by using Wise!

The Surveillance team has a working understanding of inherent risks associated with high risk activities, customer types, country risks and their respective mitigation measures.  The investigation accommodates any legal, regulatory and operating requirements unique to specific business sectors or jurisdictions to make sure the customer’s activities fall within the Wise Acceptable Use Policy.

The Surveillance Team Lead is a people lead with a mindset that allows them to build processes that put our customers first while being aware of the risks surrounding the industry, specific products, and requirements set to us by regulations and partners.

The primary purpose of this position is to lead a team of specialists who evaluate and assess customers, mitigate risks associated with them,  while ensuring compliance with the established AML/CFT regulations, policies and Wise’s risk appetite.

People leading

• Hire, lead, develop and manage the Surveillance team, including amongst others administrative tasks such as scheduling, interviewing, hiring etc;

• Organise team activities and maintain a high team morale and a strong sense of community.;

• Measure team performance, KPIs, plan capacity and maintain focus on the customer experience as well as regulatory/ audit requirements;

• Foster the learning, development, and career trajectory of analysts on your team and perform regular talent mapping review sessions;

Processes / Project management

• AUP Expertise: Ensure compliance with our Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) by regularly reviewing, applying, and mitigating risks related to the policy. Maintain a deep understanding of its scope, requirements, and impact across the organization.

• Risk Evaluation: Analyze and assess the potential risks associated with control changes within systems, processes, or projects. Provide recommendations to mitigate risks and ensure that changes align with internal policies and external regulations.

• Develop clear, concise, and well-supported proposals to present to 2LOD/Compliance Oversight for approval. Proposals should outline the risks, benefits, and impact of proposed changes or adjustments to control mechanisms.

• Develop effective operational processes, task allocation, training and performance management to deliver regulatory obligations, risk management, quality assurance and great customer experience with a tightly managed cost base.

• Understand and manage training the team on our regulatory obligations, how our policies fulfil them and our risk-based approach to deterring and preventing money laundering and financial crime;

• Ensure appropriate documentation of new processes, procedures, and methodologies;

• Measure and work towards improving team KPIs and meeting SLA-s;

• Work with product, compliance, and other financial crime operational  teams to manage operational impact of changes and identify opportunities to improve the customer experience, increase automation or improve operational efficiencies.

• Develop client risk-mitigation strategies and solutions by having an in-depth understanding of their risks, drafting risk-based proposals, overseeing the implementation of said strategies, and tracking efficacy/performance

• Tackle other ad hoc duties. 

Domain expertise

• Be able to represent policies, processes and auditable investigation work to regulators and auditors;

• Communicate with customers as required to handle escalated or complicated cases with strong customer empathy as well as clear communication of decisions and policies; 

• Stay up to date on new regulations and ensure continual best practices across the transaction monitoring investigative process are effective

• Be able to “roll up the sleeves” and perform basic aspects of your team’s work

Qualifications

• You have very good verbal and written English, any other languages are a plus;

• You have excellent analytical, communication, and writing skills as well as the ability to move team’s metrics/KPIs;

• You have a good understanding of the regulatory framework as well as KYC/AML procedures surrounding financial products and services;

• You have at least Bachelor’s degree or higher, preferably Law;

• You have a minimum of 3 years experience working in the financial sector; preferably experience in a risk or compliance-focused role within the FinTech industry;

• You have previous experience leading a team internationally and remotely; strong ownership over operational management and people leading;

• You are self-driven and motivated; proven track record of taking ownership and responsibilities as well as being a great team-player

• You have previous experience in service delivery topics, as well as experience working with Product, Compliance and Engineering teams;

• You have strong project management skills in the Risk and Compliance domain; Familiarity with regulatory requirements, internal policies, and industry standards;

• You have great communication and presentations skills to assist on internal and external projects and audits;

• Strong experience in the application and risk mitigation of Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) within operational and technical environments;

• Strong understanding of the AUP, capable of evaluating and understanding risks associated with control changes; able to independently write proposals to 2LOD;

• You have the ability to multitask, take responsibility in challenging situations and work well in uncertainty;

Additional Information

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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