Senior Director, AML & Sanctions, Governance & Policy

Airwallex is the only unified payments and financial platform for global businesses. Powered by proprietary infrastructure and software, we empower over 250,000 businesses worldwide with fully integrated solutions to manage business accounts, payments, spend management, treasury, and embedded finance at a global scale. Founded in Melbourne, we have a team of over 2,300 innovators across 27 offices globally. Valued at US$11 billion and backed by leading investors, Airwallex is building the global payments and financial platform of the future.

About the role

As Senior Director, AML & Sanctions, Governance & Policy, you will shape and scale Airwallex’s global financial crime policy and risk-based program, establish risk appetite, design global risk assessment processes, and define governance frameworks. You will ensure compliance is a strategic enabler of growth, working closely with the Chief Regulatory and Compliance Officer, Global Head of FCC, and senior leaders to turn complex compliance trends into clear action. This role is based in the US or EMEA.

Responsibilities

• Lead the evolution and maintenance of Airwallex's Global Core FCC Policy Framework, ensuring compliance meets global regulatory expectations while supporting business growth and regional scalability.
• Define and oversee the FCC governance model and risk management framework, including risk appetite, risk acceptance, governance structure, and enterprise risk assessment.
• Design the methodology, thresholds, and data-scoring models to identify and mitigate financial crime risks globally, partnering with Product, Data Science, and Engineering to embed automated compliance controls.
• Translate complex compliance data, issues, and audit findings into clear, decision-useful reporting for executive leadership and the Board’s Audit and Risk Committee.
• Oversee regulatory examination defense and disclosure governance, ensuring uniform, legally defensible evidence portfolios for global regulators and external partners.
• Drive a unified, risk-aware compliance culture by establishing strategic vision for global financial crime training and capability building.
• Support the Global Head of FCC and Chief Regulatory and Compliance Officer in setting and overseeing strategic FCC program priorities and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Build and lead a high-performing global second-line team of compliance attorneys, quantitative risk modelers, policy writers, and governance managers.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Law, Criminology, Public Policy, Finance, Business Administration, International Relations, or a related analytical field.
• CAMS certification or an equivalent globally recognized compliance credential (e.g., ICA International Diploma in AML).
• 12 to 15+ years of experience in AML, Sanctions, and Financial Crime Compliance within financial services, fintech, payments, or banking.
• At least 5+ years leading a global or multi-jurisdictional compliance policy, governance, or risk methodology function at a senior level.
• Proven experience designing enterprise-wide risk assessment frameworks and maintaining centralized global policies with localized regional addenda.
• Demonstrated experience preparing risk papers and leading defense during high-stakes regulatory examinations and audits.
• High-ownership, pragmatic approach with excellent written communication and stakeholder management skills to influence executives and board audiences.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree such as a Juris Doctor (JD), Master of Laws (LLM), or a Master’s in Regulatory Compliance or Financial Crime.
• Advanced professional designations such as CAMS-Audit, CGSS (Certified Global Sanctions Specialist), or CAMS-RM (Risk Management).
• Deep fintech and payments experience, including understanding of cross-border payment mechanisms, virtual accounts, multi-currency wallets, or multi-entity regulated groups.
• Experience partnering with Product, Data Science, and Engineering teams to hardcode policy thresholds into automated transaction monitoring, screening, and onboarding workflows.
• Strong data literacy and a bias toward digital modernization, including use of automated GRC systems, dashboards, and technology-enabled tools.

Pay

$220K - $300K