Director, Financial Crime Risk Ops

1w1 week ago

Airwallex

London, GB · Full-time · £180,000 – £250,000

About this role

Airwallex is the unified payments and financial platform for global businesses, empowering over 200,000 worldwide with integrated solutions for accounts, payments, spend management, and treasury. As Director, Financial Crime Risk Operations, own and scale first-line financial crime risk operations globally. Lead the largest pillar in Global FCC and Risk Operations.

Oversee alert handling, investigations, escalations, and account actions across products, ensuring timely, high-quality decisions that balance risk, customer experience, and commercial impact. Ensure accurate documentation, clear audit trails, and strong evidencing for all casework and decisions. Manage robust, scalable day-to-day operations effectively.

Global FCC and Risk Operations functions as first-line-of-defence, spanning Financial Crime Risk Ops, Risk Operations (Payments), Cards, Card Credit Risk Ops, and Risk Strategy & AI Enablement. Partner closely with 2LOD Financial Crime Compliance, Regulatory & Compliance, Legal, Risk Product, Engineering, and Commercial leaders. Sit as peer to other pillar leads across key markets.

Build, lead, and develop high-performing teams across locations, setting clear OKRs and operating rhythms. Design and improve SOPs, playbooks, and control frameworks aligned to financial crime policies. Bring founder-like energy, first-principles thinking, and use AI to solve problems faster.

Join over 2,000 innovative people across 26 offices to tackle complex, high-visibility problems. Experience real impact, accelerated learning, true ownership, and career growth. Build the future of global banking with exceptional teammates.

Requirements

Strong expertise in financial crime risk operations including transaction monitoring and sanctions screening
Experience leading and scaling global financial crime operations teams
Proven track record building high-performing operations teams with OKRs
Deep knowledge of first-line financial crime controls, SOPs and audit requirements
Ability to balance financial risk, customer experience and commercial priorities
Familiarity with 2LOD compliance functions including MLRO
Skills in fraud investigations, FIU processes and alert management
Founder-like energy with first-principles decision-making and AI utilization

Responsibilities

Lead the Financial Crime Risk Operations organisation
Own vision, strategy and execution across transaction monitoring, investigations/FIU, name and sanctions screening, and fraud risk operations
Build, lead and develop high-performing teams across locations, setting clear OKRs and operating rhythms
Oversee alert handling, investigations, escalations and account actions ensuring timely, high-quality decisions
Ensure accurate documentation, clear audit trails and strong evidencing for all casework and decisions
Design and continuously improve SOPs, playbooks and control frameworks aligned to policies
Partner with 2LOD Financial Crime Compliance, Regulatory & Compliance, Legal, and Commercial leaders