As a High Risk Assessment Specialist, you will play a critical role in ensuring Wise’s adherence to regulatory and compliance standards. You will be responsible for mitigating risks associated with high risk customers, while maintaining compliance with AML/CTF regulations and internal policies according to Wise’s risk appetite.

You’ll have an advanced understanding of inherent risks tied with complex business structures, various customer types and activities, country-specific risks and their appropriate mitigating strategies. This role is a great opportunity for people who are interested in deepening their expertise in the KYC/AML domain.

What you’ll do:

• Be the expert others turn to – act as the escalation point for all complex compliance cases, assessing high-risk customers and applying sophisticated risk-based methodologies

• Conduct deep-dive investigations – perform Enhanced Due Diligence on complex business structures and high-risk customers, analyzing their business activities, compliance programs and controls to document thorough risk assessments

• Share your expertise – mentor and consult other compliance operations teams, acting as a subject matter expert on complex cases

• Make critical assessments – review and analyze AML, Sanctions, EDD, KYC, and Acceptable Use Policy documentation, comparing against Wise’s policies and risk-based approach

• Protect Wise’s reputation – assess customers’ potential reputational and financial crime risk from Sanctions, PEP, and adverse media perspectives

• Drive innovation – develop new risk mitigation methods and improve our compliance framework and controls, working closely with Product and FinCrime teams

• Enable growth – communicate with internal and external stakeholders to facilitate scalable, compliant business onboarding

• Own quality – be accountable for quality assurance of the High Risk Assessment team, making decisions within our policy framework and evolving processes with compliance

• Influence leadership – report compliance concerns, operational incidents, and recommended actions to Financial Crime Oversight and senior management

• Build capability – support team leads on ad-hoc project work and participate in enhancing compliance management knowledge across the team

• Provide oversight – assist with deep dives and audits at regional level when required

• 3+ years of hands-on experience conducting complex, holistic investigations within a Financial Crime team (AML, Sanctions, or Fraud) or equivalent

• Understanding of regional and global regulatory requirements and risk-based approaches

• Excellent verbal and written English skills with the ability to clearly articulate your thoughts (additional languages are a plus)

• Ability to work autonomously within well-defined procedures and practices

• Capable of consolidating disparate information across and outside the organization to apply risk-based approaches and make firm, defensible calls on complex cases

• Identify underlying risk drivers and materiality in every review, delivering decisive, rock-solid written arguments grounded in risk appetite and mitigation

• Spot gaps in policies and processes and work with teams and stakeholders to resolve issues

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, strong organizational abilities, attention to detail, and analytical capabilities

• Strong stakeholder management and problem-solving skills

• Ability to meet strict deadlines in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment

• Proactive, resourceful, enthusiastic and willing to get things done

• Thrive in diverse work environments that require collaboration, partnership and transparency