Senior Compliance Manager Assurance

Compliance & Risk Management Recruitment; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Compliance & Risk Management Recruitment is seeking a Senior Assurance Manager to lead the design, build and delivery of a risk-based compliance assurance program across the APAC business. The role is build-and-own, reviewing the current approach and delivering assurance activity across AU/NZ, SG, JP and Bermuda.

You will report to the Head of APAC Compliance and collaborate with regional leaders and senior stakeholders to prioritize regulatory risks, uplift controls and drive timely

Qualifications

• Strong experience in compliance assurance, second-line monitoring or internal audit.
• Ability to design or uplift an assurance framework.
• Excellent report writing and stakeholder communication.
• Ability to translate regulatory requirements into practical actions.
• Experience engaging senior stakeholders across Compliance, Risk, Legal, Operations and Product.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement a refreshed, risk-based compliance assurance framework across the APAC business.
• Develop the assurance universe, annual/periodic assurance plan, methodology, testing approach, reporting standards and issue follow-up processes.
• Engage with regional compliance leaders and business stakeholders to identify key regulatory risks and determine assurance priorities.
• Plan and execute thematic and targeted second-line assurance reviews across higher-risk products, processes and regulatory obligations.
• Assess the design and operating effectiveness of controls and identify gaps, weaknesses and opportunities for uplift.
• Produce clear, evidence-based written reports that articulate findings, root causes, risk implications and practical recommendations.
• Present assurance outcomes and emerging themes to senior stakeholders and constructively challenge the business where required.
• Track remediation actions through to closure and assess whether agreed actions appropriately address identified risks.
• Identify cross-jurisdictional themes, emerging regulatory risks and opportunities to improve the consistency and maturity of compliance controls.
• Continuously improve the assurance framework as the business, product set and regulatory environment evolve.

Skills

Compliance assurance

Second-line monitoring

Stakeholder engagement

Report writing

Autonomy

Job description

The Senior Assurance Manager will lead the design, build and ongoing delivery of a risk-based compliance assurance program across the APAC business. This is a build-and-own mandate: the successful candidate will review the existing approach, establish a fit-for-purpose framework and deliver targeted assurance activity across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan and Bermuda. The role reports directly to the Head of APAC Compliance and will work closely with regional compliance leaders and senior business stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and implement a refreshed, risk-based compliance assurance framework across the APAC business.
• Develop the assurance universe, annual/periodic assurance plan, methodology, testing approach, reporting standards and issue follow-up processes.
• Engage with regional compliance leaders and business stakeholders to identify key regulatory risks and determine assurance priorities.
• Plan and execute thematic and targeted second-line assurance reviews across higher-risk products, processes and regulatory obligations.
• Assess the design and operating effectiveness of controls and identify gaps, weaknesses and opportunities for uplift.
• Produce clear, evidence-based written reports that articulate findings, root causes, risk implications and practical recommendations.
• Present assurance outcomes and emerging themes to senior stakeholders and constructively challenge the business where required.
• Track remediation actions through to closure and assess whether agreed actions appropriately address identified risks.
• Identify cross-jurisdictional themes, emerging regulatory risks and opportunities to improve the consistency and maturity of compliance controls.
• Continuously improve the assurance framework as the business, product set and regulatory environment evolve.

Experience & Capability

• Strong experience in compliance assurance, second-line monitoring/testing, internal audit or a closely related assurance discipline within financial services.
• Demonstrated experience developing or materially uplifting an assurance framework or program, rather than solely executing an established testing plan.
• Strong understanding of risk-based assurance methodologies, control design/effectiveness and regulatory risk assessment.
• Excellent report writing, analytical and stakeholder engagement skills, with the confidence to present findings and challenge constructively.
• Ability to absorb complex business and regulatory information quickly and translate it into a practical assurance approach.
• Comfort operating autonomously in a lean, fast-paced environment with fewer layers than a large bank.
• Experience engaging senior stakeholders and building effective relationships across Compliance, Risk, Legal, Operations, Product and other business functions.

Highly Regarded

• Experience across multiple jurisdictions or regional/APAC responsibilities would be advantageous.
• Financial markets, trading, investment products, broking, payments, fintech or other regulated financial services experience.
• Previous experience in a medium-sized or agile financial services organisation.
• Big Four or professional services experience combined with meaningful in-house financial services experience.
• Relevant tertiary or professional qualifications in risk, compliance, audit, law, finance or a related discipline.

What Success Looks Like

You will be a credible, pragmatic and proactive compliance professional who can combine strong technical judgement with commercial awareness. You will be comfortable operating with autonomy, engaging senior stakeholders and translating complex regulatory requirements into practical actions for the business.

About the Environment

This is an established global financial markets business operating in a highly regulated, technology-led environment. The Australian business provides access to a broad range of trading and investment products. The culture is fast-moving and relatively lean, requiring people who can take ownership, work across functions and adapt quickly as products, regulation and business priorities evolve.