Team Leader & Global KYC & Client Onboarding

ThinkMarkets; Dubai; On-site; AED 250,000 - 350,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial technology firm is seeking a Team Leader for Global KYC & Client Onboarding in Dubai. You will be responsible for managing the KYC onboarding process, ensuring compliance with global regulations, and developing a strong global KYC team. Ideal candidates will have a strong KYC background in financial services, excellent team management skills, and experience with digital onboarding processes. This role offers an opportunity to lead a critical function in a dynamic environment.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of hands-on KYC experience within a financial services institution.
• Strong understanding of AML, KYC, and Financial Crime frameworks.
• Proven experience managing and developing teams.

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary global point of contact for KYC and Client Onboarding.
• Manage the onboarding process in line with regulatory requirements.
• Lead, train, and develop the global onboarding and KYC teams.
• Ensure onboarding cases are tracked and completed efficiently.
• Review and implement new regulatory and KYC requirements.

Skills

KYC experience

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Team management

AML knowledge

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Law, or related field

Tools

Digital AML tools

Job description

Team Leader – Global KYC & Client Onboarding

ThinkMarkets is a global financial technology company, specializing in providing multi-asset trading solutions to thousands of clients around the world. With our flagship ThinkTrader platform, we make it available for our clients to trade the world 24-hours a day. Our mission is to bridge the gap between traders, investors, and platforms by allowing access to global markets and thousands of products, thus providing our clients the ability to trade the world in the palm of their hand. We use the latest technologies to give traders seamless access to our proprietary trading platforms.

We are seeking a Team Leader to join our rapidly growing global workforce. In this role, you will be responsible for analysing, building, implementing, and monitoring the client onboarding framework at ThinkMarkets.

This position focuses on delivering compliant, scalable KYC onboarding services across the business. As the Client Onboarding Lead, you will be responsible for the management and development of the global KYC team, ensuring onboarding cases are completed efficiently, consistently, and in line with global regulatory requirements applicable to a Forex and CFD brokerage.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the primary global point of contact for the KYC and Client Onboarding function
• Manage the onboarding process in line with internal policies, regulatory requirements, and global best practices
• Lead, train, and develop the global onboarding and KYC teams, including performance management and project delivery
• Ensure onboarding cases are prioritised, tracked, and completed in line with agreed SLAs
• Clearly articulate why client files do or do not meet KYC and regulatory requirements
• Review, interpret, and implement new and evolving regulatory and KYC requirements across jurisdictions
• Escalate and oversee complex or high-risk cases, including coordination with Compliance where required
• Ensure robust end-to-end quality assurance across onboarding, remediation, and KYC maintenance
• Identify and elevate Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) and higher-risk client profiles
• Oversee the full client lifecycle, including onboarding, remediation, periodic reviews, and offboarding
• Drive the integration and optimisation of digital AML / e-KYC workflows and tools
• Identify and implement process improvements to enhance client experience while maintaining compliance
• Develop and maintain global operational policies, procedures, and controls
• Ensure clear and effective communication across Compliance, Sales, Operations, and regional offices
• Liaise with KYC vendors and technology providers to drive onboarding efficiencies
• Produce regular KPI reporting and management dashboards for senior leadership
• Ensure 24/7 onboarding coverage and operational excellence across regions

Requirements

• Minimum 5 years of hands‑on KYC experience within a financial services institution (Forex / CFD brokerage strongly preferred)
• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Law, Business Administration, Risk Management, or a related field
• Strong understanding of AML, KYC, and Financial Crime frameworks
• Experience across end‑to‑end AML/KYC processes, including onboarding, screening, transaction monitoring, and remediation
• Understanding of multi‑jurisdictional regulatory environments
• Experience leveraging digital tools and technologies to manage financial crime risk
• Proven experience managing and developing teams
• Excellent analytical, written, and verbal communication skills
• Experience leading projects or implementing new e‑KYC providers is a strong advantage