Regional Head of AML Investigations - Americas

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The Regional Lead of AML Investigations is a leadership role responsible for the strategic direction and operational excellence of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) investigations. Beyond functional oversight, this role serves as a critical strategic partner to regional executives responsible for operations and service delivery.

The role is responsible for driving focused results that meet the rigorous expectations of the Regional Business/Operations Leads, defining the regional investigative strategy and governing the standards that ensure sustainable growth. By bridging the gap between complex regulatory requirements and operational efficiency, the appointed Regional Lead of AML Investigations provides the leadership team with the transparency and execution certainty needed to deliver exceptional service to Wise customers while maintaining the highest standards of financial integrity.

 

Job Responsibilities:

• Executive Partnership & Reporting: Act as a trusted advisor to the Regional Product teams, Regional Compliance officers and Business Operations, providing data-driven insights into regional risk profiles, investigative performance, and emerging threats.
• Strategic Oversight & Risk Mitigation: Lead a multi-layered AML organization function of approximately 170 people. Drive high-performance through leadership of 3 Senior Team Leads (direct reports) and 13 Team Leads, ensuring workflows are optimized for both high-volume efficiency and deep-dive quality. Proactively identify emerging financial crime trends and implement investigative strategies to protect the platform.
• Results-Oriented Execution: Drive the delivery of KPIs that align with regional business objectives, ensuring that AML operations support seamless service delivery and customer experience, aligning with the Global AML operation plans and objectives.
• Operational Excellence: Build and maintain scalable high performance teams, uplifting skills level, demonstrating proactiveness, ensuring the timely, high-quality filing of SARs/STRs.
• Team Leadership & Culture: Foster a high-performing, mission-driven culture of curiosity and integrity, building the technical expertise required to handle complex cases while continuously evolving the team structure to stay ahead of rapid regional growth. You will mentor Senior Team Leads, investigative leads and specialists, building the technical expertise required to handle complex cross-border cases.
• Stakeholder & Product Collaboration: Accountable for the regional roadmap of risk tooling, partnering with Product, Engineering and Global Compliance teams to architect automated investigative solutions. 
• Operational Resilience & Scalability: Align investigative capacity with the regional growth roadmap, identifying resource gaps and implementing technological solutions to meet executive-level execution goals.
• Regulatory Liaison & Governance: Act as the primary regional lead for all internal audits and regulatory exams, ensuring our governance framework is always transparent and review-ready.
• Global & Matrix Alignment: Provide dedicated support to the Global Head of AML Operations and to the Head of AML Investigations Service Delivery by ensuring regional initiatives remain synchronized with the global AML strategy. You will act as a key conduit for information, escalating regional insights and implementing global best practices to maintain a consistent and unified approach to financial crime across Wise.

• Seasoned Compliance Leader: 

  • Minimum of 5+ years in a leadership role within AML, Financial Crime, or Risk Operations, preferably in a fast-growing fintech or global financial institution. 

  • Extensive experience, typically 10+ years, in Operations (preferably KYC/AML, financial crime, compliance, or related fields within the financial services industry).

• Strategic Partner & Influencer: Proven ability to spot improvement opportunities, drive them through to delivery, and provide data-backed evidence of successful deployments. 
• Outcome-focused Owner: Operates beyond a compliance checklist by deeply understanding the intent behind regulations. This leader takes full ownership of building a regional investigative function that effectively mitigates risk while enabling Wise to scale safely and sustainably.
• Product Centricity: Passionate about leveraging technology and automation to solve compliance challenges; you view manual processes as a problem to be engineered away rather than a status quo to be managed.
• Data-Fluent Decision Maker: Exceptional ability to use data to drive investigations, set regional KPIs, and identify emerging financial crime patterns before they become systemic risks.
• Master of Ambiguity: Thrives in a fast-paced, ever-changing regulatory landscape; you are comfortable making high-stakes decisions with incomplete information and pivoting strategies as regional requirements evolve.
• Matrix Leadership Excellence: Highly skilled at navigating a matrix organization, successfully balancing the needs of Head of Operations in the Region with the global standards set by the Global Head of AML Operations.
• Inclusive Team Builder: A hands-on leader dedicated to mentoring high-performing investigators and fostering a culture of intellectual honesty, curiosity, and integrity. 
• Exceptional Communicator: Capable of distilling complex regulatory nuances into clear communication for stakeholders across different cultures, time zones, and technical backgrounds.
• Accountable & Reliable: A track record of managing high-pressure projects and regulatory exams with transparency, ensuring Wise remains "audit-ready" at all times.

Nice to have:

• Experience with US regulations is a significant plus, though not a mandatory requirement.

• The ability to pull your own data using SQL to identify trends or bottlenecks.

• Previous experience directly liaising with regulators during audits or license applications.

• A background in Product-led companies, where you’ve influenced technical roadmaps to improve compliance outcomes.

• Professional certifications like CAMS, ICA or equivalent regional AML qualifications.

• ​​​​This is a hybrid position located in São Paulo, Brazil, and not fully remote (minimum 3 days at office). You must be able to commute to the office or open to relocation.
• You’re eligible to work in Brazil, we cannot sponsor Visas for this role.
• Please submit your Resume in English. 

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.

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