Lead Compliance Analyst

Wave HQ; Toronto; On-site; CAD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Wave is seeking a Chief Compliance Officer’s primary partner to scale our compliance program in a fast-growing fintech. You’ll design policy frameworks and run the program across payments, payroll, invoicing, and partnerships, while partnering with product, engineering, and legal. This role requires 6+ years of regulatory experience, sharp writing, and comfort with ambiguity in a dynamic environment. You will help Drive regulatory excellence and growth.

Qualifications

• 6+ years in regulatory or product compliance at a fintech company
• Hands-on experience building a compliance program component from scratch
• Working knowledge of payments regulation and card network rules in US and Canada
• Experience embedded with product and engineering teams before launch
• Clear, concise writing: translate regulation into actionable requirements
• Ability to handle ambiguity and shifting priorities in an integration environment

Responsibilities

• Build the program foundations: regulatory inventory, policy framework, risk assessments, issue tracking
• Run product compliance: tiered reviews, design with product/engineering/legal/risk, audit-ready trails
• Oversee third parties and partners: governance, data-sharing registers, audits and inquiries
• Report and lead: program metrics, KPIs, open issues, emerging risks and automation opportunities

Skills

Regulatory compliance

Product compliance

Policy design

Risk assessment

Stakeholder collaboration

Technical writing

Job description

At Wave, we help small businesses to thrive so the heart of our communities beats stronger. We work in an environment buzzing with creative energy and inspiration. No matter where you are or how you get the job done, you have what you need to be successful and connected. The mark of true success at Wave is the ability to be bold, learn quickly and share your knowledge generously.

You’ll be the CCO’s main partner in scaling our compliance program. Half the job is design: turning regulatory obligations into frameworks, policies and controls that product teams/engineering teams/etc can build against. The other half is running it: reviewing launches, tracking conditions, and keeping commitments to partners and regulators on time.

Here’s how you will make an impact:

Build the program foundations

• Build and maintain the regulatory inventory: which rules apply to which products and jurisdictions, who owns each obligation, and how we evidence compliance
• Design the policy framework (taxonomy, ownership, approval authority, review cadence) and write or refresh core policies and procedures
• Run the compliance risk assessment for regulatory and product risk across Payments, Payroll, Invoicing, Accounting, Advisors and Partnerships
• Support Issue Management and remediation tracking so open findings have an owner, a date and visible progress
• Own the regulatory change process: track changes in the USA and Canada, assess impact, route actions to the right team
• Maintain the registration and license calendar so renewals and fillings never lapse

Run Product Compliance

• Operate the tiered review process: triage intake, set conditions, give clear approve/approve-with-conditions/decline decisions
• Partner with Product, Engineering, Legal and Risk early in design
• Review high-risk launches: new payment flows, onboarding changes, data sharing, new jurisdictions
• Apply the Product Compliance Evidence Standard and make sure launches leave an audit-ready trail
• Review marketing claims and customer communications against the Marketing Content Guidelines

Oversee third parties and partners

• Build compliance oversight of key processors and partners: obligations mapping, contract review input, monitoring, escalation
• Oversee partner due diligence and maintain the data-sharing register
• Coordinate card network, processor, and partner audits, attestations and inquiries

Report and Lead

• Produce program reporting for leadership: scorecard, KPIs, open issues, emerging risks
• Find the manual work worth automating and building lightweight tooling (ex. AI assistance) to remove it

You Thrive Here By Possessing the Following:

Required

• 6+ years in regulatory or product compliance at a fintech, payments company, PSP, bank or other regulated financial services firm
• Hands‑on experience building a compliance program component from scratch: policies, risk assessment, regulatory inventory, issue management or similar
• Working knowledge of payments regulation and card network rules, with experience in at least one of: US money movement (NACHA/ACH, Reg E, UDAAP) or Canadian payments (RPAA, FINTRAC, PIPEDA)
• Experience embedded with product and engineering teams, reviewing features before launch
• Clear, concise writing: you can turn a regulation into a requirement as engineer can build to
• Comfort with ambiguity and shifting priorities in an integration environment

Nice to have

• Both US and Canadian regulatory experience
• Privacy program experience (PIPEDA, Quebec Law 25, CCPA) or exposure to PCI DSS, SOX or HIPAA controls
• Payroll, tax or small‑business fintech background
• Experience with partner or processor oversight, network attestations, or regulatory exams
• People leadership or formal mentoring
• CRCM, CAMS, CAMLO training or similar

$84,000 - $126,000 a year

At Wave, we value diversity of perspective. Your unique experience enriches our organization. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds. Let’s talk about how you can thrive here!

Wave is committed to providing an inclusive and accessible candidate experience. If you require accommodations during the recruitment process, please let us know by emailing [e-mail]. We will work with you to meet your needs.

We use Google Gemini, a secure AI assistant, during interviews for note-taking purposes only. Notes are kept confidential and are not shared outside the hiring process. This allows our interviewers to stay fully focused on you during the conversation.

This advertised posting is a current vacancy.