Regional Risk Lead - EMEA - 12 months maternity cover

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

The Regional Risk Lead for EMEA serves as a senior leader within the Partner Risk Management team as part of Wise Platform, with responsibility for Partner Risk Assessment and Monitoring. 

This role is responsible for setting the regional approach for risk reviews and assessment standards, maintaining end-to-end procedural ownership across regional operations, and establishing data-driven governance frameworks aligned with business risk tolerance.

The Regional Risk Lead oversees complex risk decision-making at point of onboard and throughout the partner lifecycle, mentors team leads and risk analysts, and directly unblocks partnership challenges.

Domain Expertise & Core Responsibilities

Correspondent Banking & Financial Crime Leadership

• Set Strategic Standards: Apply expert-level industry knowledge and financial crime proficiency to establish the risk management approach for regional risk reviews and assessment criteria.

• Complex Partnership Leadership: Take a hands-on, active role in evaluating the most complex, newest, or unique partnership agreements. Lead by example and coach team leads and analysts on risk evaluation in high-complexity scenarios.

Data-Driven Governance & Oversight

• Governance Frameworks: Establish high-level standards for partner risk reviews to ensure risk assessment and ongoing monitoring remain objective, data-backed, and aligned with organizational risk tolerance.

• Executive Oversight: Implement robust oversight systems utilizing operational data to track partner activities and deliver strategic insights for executive decision-making.

Defensible Risk-Taking & Decision Support

• Calculated Decision Making: Execute calculated risk decisions supported by defensible logic and structured risk analysis.

• Team Unblocking & Escalations: Serve as the senior escalation point to assist and unblock team leads and analysts in resolving complex, edge-case risk evaluations.

Stakeholder Engagement & Compliance Education

• Stakeholder Advisory: Educate internal business partners and external partners on intricate compliance and financial crime concerns using logical, evidence-based solutions.

• Regulatory Alignment: Translate evolving regional regulatory requirements into clear, actionable governance guidelines.

Operational Excellence & Procedural Ownership

• Procedural Ownership: Act as the primary owner for regional risk procedures, processes, and operational standards.

• Continuous Optimization: Evaluate and refine regional risk assessment procedures to ensure consistency, scalability, and adherence to global risk standards.

Qualifications

Requirements

• Experienced in compliance risk management within Financial Services; a plus if you have previous experience in Correspondent Banking

• Proven leader with a track record of building and scaling high-performing compliance or risk teams in fast-paced environments

• Demonstrated capability in strong stakeholder management and resilience, with the ability to effectively navigate complex organizational dynamics

• Experienced in financial compliance consulting with a knack for presentation and persuasion to align teams and drive decisions

• Proficiency with data, able to set KPIs and SLAs for teams and keep them accountable for meeting these goals consistently

• Passionate about customer and partner success, with a proactive approach to managing compliance and risk

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.

Keep up to date with life at Wise by following us on LinkedIn and Instagram.