Compliance Manager, Money Laundering Reporting Officer

Summary

Join Strike, a global Bitcoin app company, as their UK Compliance Manager/Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO). Based in the UK, you will be responsible for designing and implementing a robust UK compliance program, acting as the primary interface with the UK's FCA, and leading compliance efforts for future UK entities. This crucial role involves overseeing AML/KYC operations, managing regulatory reporting, and providing compliance advice to various teams. You will also contribute to global compliance initiatives. The ideal candidate possesses extensive experience in UK financial services compliance, a strong understanding of relevant regulations, and the ability to navigate the complexities of the crypto industry. This position requires a self-starter with excellent analytical and communication skills, comfortable working in a remote environment and committed to Strike's mission.

Requirements

• Minimum 5 years of experience within regulated financial services or crypto firms in senior compliance roles with robust knowledge on key topics (KYB / KYC, AML/CFT, Sanctions etc.) and money laundering regulations (e.g., the Money Laundering Regulations, Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, Terrorism Act 2000, UK Sanctions Law)
• Located in the UK, with right-to-work in the UK
• Experience interfacing directly with UK FCA
• Practical experience in FCA reporting, and other regulatory reporting or filings such as suspicious activity reports
• Fluent in English (verbal and written) is required
• Good organisational, partner management skills and willingness to expand technical knowledge in a broad range of projects
• Excellent analytical, critical thinking, and writing skills, and strong interpersonal and organisational skills
• Well organised self-starter, able to prioritise quickly, think from first principles, and meet deadlines under pressure, whilst retaining good judgement and risk management
• Ability to take ownership of work products and consistently deliver results in a high growth and high-quality-bar environment
• You must be comfortable with a team-first approach in a remote work environment, and excited about Strike’s mission and potential

Responsibilities

• Design and implementation of a robust compliance program to support Strike’s business in the UK, including financial crime/AML, sanctions, financial promotions, reporting, and risk management
• Maintaining a robust governance and control environment to support Strike’s future business in the UK in line with regulatory requirements, and with group expectations and enterprise standards
• Interface with the FCA including any regulatory enquiries, examinations, licence maintenance, reporting, and day-to-day communications
• Serving as the Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) for and UK operating entities in the future as needed, which may include internal committee roles
• Providing focused day-to-day compliance advice to senior management, business teams, product teams, and other support functions
• Work closely with business, product, and operations teams when designing new products to ensure that all compliance objectives are met
• Monitoring regulatory developments, assessing impacts, amending policies and ultimately working with key internal stakeholders on any required changes.  Where needed, draft and manage and regulatory applications to the FCA
• Ultimate oversight responsibility over the day-to-day compliance operations conducted by our AML and KYC teams for any UK matters. This includes but is not limited to the handling of monitoring and sanctions alerts, EDD reviews, and SARs. Furthermore, you will act as the primary escalation point for any issues raised by our internal onboarding and monitoring teams for UK customers
• Day to day risk-management for the UK business, including drafting and monitoring risk policies, risk assessments, updating risk metrics, and compiling qualitative and quantitative data to measure risks and controls
• Reporting on compliance risks to one or more boards or committees
• Supporting global initiatives and the global compliance function with the overall goal of building and maintaining a harmonised global compliance program
• Work on multiple priorities simultaneously, demonstrating strong organizational and time management skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of the Bitcoin industry and willingness to gain expertise of the financial crime typologies in the Bitcoin space
• Experience building and managing compliance teams
• Experience in operationalising compliance functions
• Experience drafting, and managing, regulatory licence applications in the UK or Europe
• Experience with investment firms, and operating under FSMA or MiFID II
• Direct compliance or MLRO experience in the bitcoin, crypto, or payments area
• Experience using blockchain analytics software
• Start-up experience