← All roles

Senior Director, AML & Sanctions, Governance & Policy

Airwallex· Regulatory & Compliance
Apply on company site
UK - LondonFull-timePosted 5mo ago

About the role

Senior leadership role responsible for shaping and scaling Airwallex’s global financial crime policy, risk framework, governance, and controls across the organization, with a focus on AML/CTF and sanctions, reporting to executive leadership and defending the program before regulators and partners.

Responsibilities

  • Lead the evolution and maintenance of Airwallex's Global Core FCC Policy Framework, ensuring the compliance baseline meets the expectations of global regulators while supporting business growth and regional scalability.
  • Lead the definition and oversight of the FCC governance model and risk management framework, including establishment of risk appetite incorporating business strategy, establishing the risk management framework, including risk acceptance & governance structure, and overseeing design and execution of the enterprise risk assessment
  • Define the methodology, thresholds, and data-scoring models used to identify and mitigate financial crime risks globally, partnering with Product, Data Science, and Engineering executives to embed automated compliance controls into the proprietary platform.
  • Translate complex compliance data, issues, and audit findings into clear, decision-useful reporting for executive leadership and the Board’s Audit and Risk Committee, establishing clear protocols for material risk escalations.
  • Oversee the strategy for regulatory examination defense and disclosure governance, ensuring the team delivers uniform, legally defensible evidence portfolios to global regulators and external clearing partners.
  • Drive a unified, risk-aware compliance culture across the organization by establishing the strategic vision for global financial crime training and capability building from engineering to sales teams.
  • Support the Global Head of FCC and Chief Regulatory and Compliance Officer in setting and overseeing strategic FCC program priorities and continuous improvement initiatives
  • Build and lead a high-performing global second line team of compliance attorneys, quantitative risk modelers, policy writers, and governance managers, supporting Airwallex’s growth with technology-enabled compliance oversight.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in Law, Criminology, Public Policy, Finance, Business Administration, International Relations, or a related analytical field.
  • CAMS certification or an equivalent globally recognized compliance credential (e.g., ICA International Diploma in AML).
  • 12 to 15+ years of experience in AML, Sanctions, and Financial Crime Compliance within financial services, fintech, payments, or banking.
  • At least 5+ years leading a global or multi-jurisdictional compliance policy, governance, or risk methodology function at a senior level.
  • Proven experience designing enterprise-wide risk assessment frameworks and maintaining highly centralized global policies with localized regional addenda.
  • Demonstrated experience preparing risk papers and leading the defense during high-stakes regulatory examinations and internal or external audits.
  • A high-ownership, pragmatic approach, with excellent written communication and stakeholder management skills to influence cross-functional executives and board audiences.

Skills

Required:Global financial crime policyRegulatory governance

Benefits

  • Not specified in the description
Last updated Oct 7, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.
Airwallex logo

About Airwallex

Trusted Global Payments & Financial Platform

Grow your business faster with Airwallex - global business accounts, high speed transfers, multi-currency cards, online payments, embedded finance, and more.

PaymentsBankingFinancialGlobal
Company profileWebsite

More open roles at Airwallex