Airwallex

Director, Regulatory Compliance UK

UK - London. Posted 5 days ago

The role

You will lead the UK compliance framework and a team of regulatory compliance professionals. You will act as the primary interface with the FCA and partner with product and commercial teams to design compliant payment architectures.

What you will do

  • Lead a UK-based team of regulatory compliance professionals
  • Own and evolve the UK compliance management system, policies, registers, and operational controls
  • Act as the principal point of contact for the FCA
  • Partner with Product, Commercial, and International Expansion teams to design compliant architectures
  • Oversee compliance aspects of safeguarding and Consumer Duty
  • Monitor domestic and international regulatory developments
  • Build, coach, and scale a UK compliance advisory and operations team
  • Prepare and deliver regulatory compliance reporting to executive leadership and boards

Required qualifications

  • 10+ years of regulatory compliance experience within UK fintech, payment services (EMIs/APIs), neo-banking, or modern global financial institutions
  • At least 4+ years managing and developing high-performing compliance teams in high-growth environments
  • Expert grasp of UK financial regulations, including the Payment Services Regulations (PSRs), Electronic Money Regulations (EMRs), FCA Principles for Businesses, and Consumer Duty standards
  • Direct track record of managing formal regulator relationships, supervisory inspections, or key authorization filings with the FCA
  • Ability to interpret complex regulatory requirements through a first-principles lens
  • Strong communication, negotiation, and written advocacy skills

Nice to have

  • Prior experience holding an approved person / Senior Management Function (SMF) role under the FCA regime
  • Background handling regulatory aspects of cross-border multi-currency schemes, merchant acquiring, or credit/lending adjacencies
  • Relevant legal qualification or industry certifications (e.g., ICA Diploma in Governance, Risk & Compliance)

Benefits

  • Competitive base salary
  • Performance incentives
  • Meaningful equity
  • Comprehensive health coverage
  • Wellness coverage
  • Pension coverage
  • Parental leave coverage

About the company

Airwallex is the AI-native financial operating system for a real-time, intelligent economy. It provides financial infrastructure for over 675,000 businesses globally.