KYC Operations Senior Lead - SMA at Wise

The KYC Operations Senior Lead - SMA (Senior Management Approval) is responsible for overseeing multiple KYC Team Leads and their respective analyst teams. Your focus will be on driving team performance, streamlining processes, and being an advocate of the Wise values. You will need to ensure that your team is consistently delivering high-quality customer due diligence reviews as well as meeting the operational metrics according to the organisation’s wider objectives.

Responsibilities

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

• A minimum of 3+ years of experience in Operations (preferably in CDD/EDD/AML or Risk Assessment domain).

• A minimum of 1 year of experience in KYC/AML, Financial Compliance field and having great understanding of the regulatory framework surrounding KYC/AML

• At least 2+ years of leading medium to large sized teams (20 to 60 employees).

• You are punctual, independent, proactive and willing to get things done.

• You have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, strong organisational skills, great time management, and ability to work in a fast paced and high pressure environment.

• Ability to multi-task and take responsibility in challenging situations;

• You are capable of identifying gaps in policies and processes and providing detailed feedback, including examples when possible, through the established communication channels.

• Proven track record of taking individual ownership and responsibilities as well as being a great team-player

• Ability to analyze and move the team's metrics.
  

Nice to have:

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business Administration, Law, or related field.

• Certifications: ICA, CAMS, or equivalent certification (EDD/AML focused).

• 2-3 years experience in KYC/AML, financial crime, compliance, or a related field within the financial services industry.

• Ability to use analytics tools like, looker, superset, or other.

Requirements

• Group Leadership
  Lead by example and drive a customer focused mindset across your team as well as the wider organisation. Promote a culture of ownership and accountability. Build high-performing teams that value knowledge sharing and continuous learning.

• People management
  Coach and develop a strong team of KYC Team Leads. Come up with initiatives to help your team to grow their skills, behaviours, and competencies. Design and manage development plans on identified opportunities. Conducts career map check-ins and makes recommendations for promotions, salary raises, and other decisions.

• Operational management
  Identify and propose opportunities for process improvements. Collaborate with central functions and other operational teams as needed to increase automation and operational efficiency. Monitor team resource allocation and refine standard operating procedures to improve the ways we work.

• Performance management
  Measure group wide KPIs and ensure that your team leads as well as their direct reports meet performance targets and quality standards. Conduct regular one on one coaching sessions, usually on a weekly or biweekly basis. Act as a key escalation point for issues that cannot be resolved by team leads. Generate reports based on teams performance and propose corrective actions on identified opportunities.

• Expertise Sharing
  Be a subject matter expert in your area with the ability to train and coach your team on operational topics. Maintain a great understanding of our regulatory obligations, internal policies, and applying a risk-based approach to deterring and preventing money laundering and financial crime. Able to assist senior leadership with audits and developing our policies and processes.

• Planning and execution
  Ensure operational team plans are set in place and provide insights to other stakeholders. Take full accountability in delivering your own initiatives and making sure your group is making progress on their goals. Effectively executing and supporting department goals through delegation and empowerment of team leads. There are clear initiatives within your group that are used as a basis of larger team plans.

• Stakeholder management and communication
  Collaborate closely with your stakeholders ensuring clear communication and coordination of actions. Your initiatives and reports are well documented and you choose the right platforms to communicate to a wider audience in a timely manner. The documentation has a clear scope and includes potential impact in different areas. You can communicate confidently with difficult stakeholders. Proactively work on improving cross-team communication, acting as the liaison between different layers of the organization and your own team leads.