Middle East and Africa (MEA) Compliance Officer

Who are we?

WorldRemit is changing the way people send money abroad. We’ve taken something complicated and made it simple, so that sending money is as easy as sending a text message  Tap the WorldRemit app or head to  on our website, and your international transfer is made – to a bank account, cash pickup, Mobile Money, or airtime top-up. Founded in 2010, we send international remittances from 50 countries to more than 150 countries and we continue to expand our footprint.

Using WorldRemit is easy because we do the hard part, connecting hundreds of banks, money agents, mobile operators and payment systems around the world. These were never designed to work together, but WorldRemit makes it happen.

WorldRemit has grown - on average - by 50% year on year and is now processing over £3.1bn of remittances on an annualised basis.  WorldRemit’s success, and the size of the market it is operating in, means it has attracted investment from the world’s leading technology and impact investors, Accel, Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV) and Leapfrog with $370m invested to date. We currently employ close to 1,000 employees and have offices in London, USA, Philippines, Poland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong and other locations.

The journey is just beginning. We believe in faster, simpler, more accessible money transfers. That means building better products and services for our customers. 

Changing the world isn’t easy – so we only hire the most talented people. You need to think differently, believe in new solutions to old problems, and have the drive to make them happen. We aim to attract, retain and develop people that can bring to life our values: 

• Aim high - We dream big, think bold and go the extra mile
• Embrace challenge - We ask questions, start conversations, and always love to learn
• Do what’s right - We act with integrity, building trust in ourselves and in our business

You can learn more about our culture and how we work by watching this video on our Careers page: https://www.worldremit.com/en/careers

 About the Role

The Middle East and Africa (MEA) Compliance Officer will be the dedicated senior Compliance resource for WorldRemit across the region.  The role will be based in WorldRemit’s Johannesburg office from where they will oversee all aspects of compliance for the Middle East and Africa, including anti-money laundering controls, customer due diligence and suspicious activity reporting. 

The MEA Compliance officer will also take the lead for engagement with all regulatory bodies, central banks and financial intelligent units across the MEA region, including all regulatory examinations and audits.  This will entail providing proactive and ongoing engagement to support both existing markets and expansion into new markets, together with supporting the development of new products and commercial opportunities in the region.

The MEA Compliance Officer will report functionally into the Chief Compliance and Risk Officer for WorldRemit, and regionally into the Managing Director: Middle East and Africa.

Responsibilities

• Oversee all aspects of regional compliance, anti-money laundering controls, due diligence and suspicious activity monitoring for the Middle East and Africa, including those activities performed by the central Compliance team in London
• Ensure compliance with all local country / jurisdictional laws and regulations, including all requirements for regulatory reporting and on-site examinations
• Directly manage all local Compliance resource in the region, currently the South Africa AML Compliance Officer
• Facilitate the application and maintenance of local licenses through active management of all regulatory relationships across the region
• Directly support new country launches across MEA and management of local Compliance resources where required
• Influence the design of individual product initiatives to ensure they operate within the regulatory requirements of the region without compromising their commercial effectiveness
• Embed a strong culture of anti-money laundering and regulatory compliance and controls across the MEA region
• Operate as part of the senior leadership of the Global Compliance function for WorldRemit, bringing best practices from the Middle East and Africa to share with global colleagues

Summary of required experience & attributes

• Deep understanding of regulatory compliance requirements in individual locations across the Middle East and Africa
• Significant knowledge of industry regulations and best practice in anti-money laundering programmes and due diligence procedures
• Extensive experience of representing organisations with national regulators, central banks and governmental bodies, directly engaging with and managing senior stakeholder relationships through both supervisory meetings and on-site examinations
• Experience of preparing and managing the process for regulatory licence applications, from initial application through to successful granting of licence
• Proven ability to partner on both a cross-functional and cross-geographical basis with other departments in WorldRemit to support growth in the region, to include Product, Commercial, Marketing and Technology
• Understanding of how to apply horizon scanning on a cross-jurisdictional basis to identify, respond to and influence future regulatory policy developments that may impact an organisation
• Knowledge of process improvement techniques to develop and refine compliance processes for improved efficiency and effectiveness
• Strong people manager with experience of managing dispersed team members on a remote basis