UK EMI MLRO

About Us:

BVNK is a next-generation payments platform for global businesses. We bridge traditional and digital finance to make payments borderless, fast, and secure. With our modern payments platform, BVNK unifies banks and blockchains so businesses can send and receive payments in any currency, digital or fiat, anywhere in the world. 

We are a diverse team with a shared belief that distributed ledger technology (DLT) is the future of payments, and that we are well-positioned to be the global leader in this space. We're looking for smart, ambitious people to help us build the next generation of payments.

BVNK is a great place to work, and here are a few reasons why:

• In 2022 BVNK was featured on Otta’s Rocket List, recognised as one of the top “100 fastest-growing companies to accelerate your career”.
• In 2023 and 2024, BVNK was certified as a “Most Loved Workplace”; you can read why here.

BVNK By The Numbers:

• Founded in 2021.
• 270+ employees spread across 29 countries.
• $40M raised in Series A funding.  
• Achieved profitability in Y1. 
• $4B+ annualised volume. 

About this role in the team:

As the UK MLRO, you’ll be reporting to the Chief Risk and Compliance Officer (CRCO). You’ll be responsible for:

• providing leadership and support to the CRCO on all financial crime compliance matters.
• designing and maintaining BVNK’s UK financial crime compliance operating model, ensuring adequate and effective systems and controls are in place, in compliance with local legislative and regulatory requirements.
• advising the business and senior management on the financial crime risk exposure for new products, services and features.
• advising on escalations by the Financial Crime Operations team (FCC Ops), including prospective and existing customer portfolio risks, sanctions, adverse media, politically exposed persons, and transaction monitoring.
• ensuring fulfilment of money laundering reporting and law enforcement agency liaison requirements.

We are looking for a team player; someone who is adaptable and enjoys solving complex problems in a constantly changing environment. You must be able to think strategically, prioritise appropriately, manage numerous concurring priorities, and work well under stress. You will be comfortable managing senior stakeholders and drafting papers for senior audiences, namely senior management and regulators. You are passionate about building a team who share our values, and perform to our high standards.

Your key stakeholders are the Chief Legal Officer, the VP of FCC Operations, the other MLROs, the General Counsel and the Head of Risk.

Key Areas of Responsibilities:

As the UK MLRO your key accountabilities include but are not limited to;

• Designing and maintaining BVNK’s UK financial crime compliance operating model, ensuring adequate and effective systems and controls are in place, in compliance with local legislative and regulatory requirements.
• Creating and overseeing the implementation of the financial crime compliance plan to meet BVNK’s growth strategy.
• Developing industry leading financial crime policies and procedures, ensuring the implementation of adequate and effective systems and controls, in compliance with UK legislative and regulatory requirements. 
• Overseeing financial crime risks associated with products, projects, change and growth initiatives.
• Responsible for the design and regular review of BVNK’s financial crime risk methodologies, including Financial Crime Risk Assessment (FCRA), country risk, industry risk and customer risk.
• Leading the regular FCRA exercise, including methodology enhancements, completion of the exercise and issuance of governance papers.
• Advising on escalations by the FCC Ops team, including prospective and existing customer portfolio risks, sanctions, adverse media, politically exposed persons, and transaction monitoring.
• Approving higher risk customers escalated by FC Ops.
• Determining whether or not suspicious activity reports have substance and require disclosure to the relevant authorities.
• Building strong relationships with relevant intelligence authorities, ensuring BVNK is up to date with new financial crime intelligence, and regulatory changes.
• Conducting regular monitoring, testing and reporting on the effectiveness of the financial crime compliance programme, including system and tools, and the day to day operation.
• Carrying out root cause analysis of identified issues or breaches of financial crime policies, procedures or regulations, to ensure that the cause is identified, understood, escalated and remediated.
• Working closely with the VP of FCC Ops, ensuring feedback loops are established when weaknesses are detected, and bespoke awareness sessions, or any other appropriate action, are quickly completed.
• Responsible for centralising financial crime responses to banking partners’ due diligence requests (ie. AML Questionnaires), and periodic reviews. 
• As and when required, supporting external independent reviews of the financial crime compliance areas.
• Working closely with senior management and Board to establish and maintain the financial crime risk appetite.
• Accountable for providing senior management and Board with timely updates on the financial crime compliance activities.
• Ensuring fulfilment of Money Laundering reporting and Law Enforcement Agency liaison requirements.
• Developing and embedding a culture of compliance through building strong relationships with relevant stakeholders.

What we need from you:

Must have proven experience working in a Deputy MLRO/MLRO position, with vast exposure to correspondent banking risks.Must have extensive knowledge of the regulatory and legislative requirements for the relevant financial crime disciplines including AML/CTF, Sanctions, ABC and Tax Evasion, and the UK SARs regime.

• Excellent knowledge of legal, regulatory, and industry requirements, and business processes, standards, policies and procedures relating to financial crime, preferable with a payments background across multiple currencies. In-depth knowledge of Fund Transfer Regulation.
• Extensive experience performing risk assessments and drafting policies from scratch.
• Ability to translate regulatory requirements for senior and junior audiences.
• Comfortable working with a high degree of autonomy and managing evolving priorities to deliver against the team's strategy.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, evolving and demanding environment, often with competing priorities.
• Demonstrate risk-based decisioning and strategic thinking.
• Proactive, time-sensitive, results driven approach in carrying out responsibilities.
• Practical and solutions-focused approach to problem solving.
• Able to work effectively within a team, cross functionally, as well as independently.
• Experience managing very senior stakeholders.

We Offer:

• A fair and competitive salary at every stage of your career.
• Meaningful ownership in the business through our employee option scheme.
• Flexible working hours, with remote working at its heart.
• A flexible approach to holidays. 
• Opportunities to travel to our offices around the world.
• A culture built on passionate growth-minded people.