Head of Compliance- Crypto

CFI Financial Group; Dubai; On-site; AED 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salaries and benefits

Fast-growing multinational environment

Growth and development opportunities

Work with industry professionals

Job summary

CFI Financial Group is seeking a Compliance Director to lead the firm's compliance functions, regulatory reporting, and governance. The role acts as the primary liaison with regulators and the Board, guiding risk and policy oversight across the organization.

The candidate will drive a strong compliance culture, with responsibility for audits, breaches, and remediation, and ensure timely regulatory change management in a fast-growing financial services environment.

Qualifications

• Five+ years of compliance experience in financial services or virtual assets.
• Experience dealing directly with regulators and licensing processes.
• Strong knowledge of AML/CFT frameworks and FATF standards.

Responsibilities

• Lead the compliance function and budget, reporting to the Board.
• Oversee regulatory reporting, risk management and governance.
• Ensure policies align with licensing framework and regulatory rules.
• Manage training and culture around compliance across the firm.

Skills

Compliance expertise

AML/CFT knowledge

Regulatory reporting

Board liaison

Regulatory relationship

Diligence & governance

Education

Bachelor's degree in law/finance/business

Master's or compliance credential

Tools

Blockchain analytics

KYC/CDD tools

Transaction monitoring

Job description

CFI Financial Group is an award-winning trading provider, possessing more than 25 years of experience with multiple offices around the world including London, Larnaca, Beirut, Amman, Dubai, Kuwait, Port Louis, and others.

Check out more about CFI here.

CFI is hiring! Make your mark in the online trading industry.

Are you looking to pursue a career in finance? Do you want to work with a dynamic and growing team in the exciting world of online trading and investing? If you answered yes, then we have some amazing opportunities for you!

Description:

The Compliance Director leads the firm's compliance function, ensuring adherence to regulatory requirements, governance standards, and industry best practices while serving as the primary liaison with regulators and the Board. The role drives compliance risk management, policy oversight, regulatory reporting, and compliance culture across the organization, supporting the firm's strategic and operational objectives.

Key Responsibilities

Compliance leadership and governance

• Establish, administer and continuously improve the firm's CMS, keeping it independent of all business functions and adequately resourced; lead and develop the compliance team and manage its budget.
• Report directly to the Board on compliance activities, audits, breaches and remediation; act as principal advisor to the Compliance Committee and chair internal compliance forums.

Regulatory relationship and reporting

• Act as the firm's primary point of contact with its regulator), managing notifications, information requests, inspections and licensing matters, and notifying material events within prescribed timeframes.
• Run regulatory horizon-scanning and change management, embedding new regulatory and FATF obligations into policies within defined turnaround times; maintain the compliance risk, breach, notification and change registers.
• Coordinate periodic fit-and-proper reassessments of Board members, senior management and control-function staff with HR, and monitor ongoing conformity with all licence conditions.

Policies, monitoring and testing

• Develop and maintain the full suite of compliance policies and procedures required under the applicable regulatory framework, and review all firm-wide policies for regulatory alignment.
• Operate a risk-based compliance monitoring and testing programme with a rolling testing calendar; produce regular compliance management information; investigate breaches and track remediation to validated closure.
• Oversee broker-dealer conduct obligations – best execution and order handling, client asset access and withdrawal, market abuse prevention, conflicts of interest, personal account dealing and complaints handling.
• Provide compliance sign-off for new products, services and asset listings, and approve all marketing materials prior to publication in line with applicable marketing regulations.

Financial crime, training and culture

• Partner closely with the MLRO, ensuring the CMS fully supports the AML/CFT framework and that KYC/CDD, sanctions screening and transaction monitoring controls, and vendor and listing decisions, are coherent with the MLRO's mandate.
• Own the annual compliance training program (induction, role-based modules, training needs analysis and Board refreshers), advise the business on emerging compliance risks, and champion a strong compliance culture across the firm.

Requirements for Appointment

The appointment is subject to the conditions typically imposed on the designated compliance officer of a licensed virtual asset firm. The successful candidate must:

• possess at least five (5) years of relevant compliance experience
• be approved by the relevant regulator as a fit and proper person – meeting standards of qualification, honesty, integrity, reputation and financial soundness – and remain so on periodic review;
• be a full-time employee reporting directly to the Board, holding no Board seat and no client-facing or otherwise conflicting role, and satisfy any residency requirements of the licensing jurisdiction; and
• successfully complete the firm's pre-employment due diligence, including credential verification, reference checks and screening for adverse legal, financial, disciplinary or regulatory history.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in law, finance, business administration or a related discipline.
• Five or more years' relevant compliance experience (eight or more preferred) in financial services – ideally virtual assets, brokerage, securities or capital markets – including senior experience in a regulated compliance function.
• Strong knowledge of virtual asset regulatory frameworks, AML/CFT laws and FATF standards for virtual assets, including the Travel Rule.
• Demonstrated experience designing and administering compliance management systems, monitoring and testing programmes, breach and incident management, and Board-level reporting.
• Experience dealing directly with regulators, including notifications, inspections, examinations or licensing.
• Master's degree and/or a recognised compliance credential (e.g., ICA, CISI, ACAMS or equivalent).
• Prior experience with a virtual asset regulator (e.g., VARA, ADGM) or another leading financial services regulator.
• Hands-on experience in a virtual asset broker-dealer, exchange or custodian – including blockchain analytics, transaction monitoring and screening tools – and experience building a compliance function in a scale-up regulated business.

Personal Attributes

• Unimpeachable integrity and independence of mind, with the confidence to challenge senior stakeholders constructively.
• Sound, decisive judgement on materiality, escalation and regulatory notification questions, including under time pressure.
• Excellent drafting and communication skills, a pragmatic hands-on style suited to a lean team, and rigorous attention to documentation and record-keeping.

• We’re a fast-growing, multinational company
• Competitive salaries and benefits
• Work and learn with industry professions
• Supportive and collaborative environment
• Unlimited opportunities for growth and development