Senior Compliance Specialist

Leadingnation; Hong Kong; On-site; HKD 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Job summary

Leadingnation in Hong Kong is seeking a Compliance Manager with hands-on AML, client due diligence and trade-surveillance experience. You will oversee client onboarding, deposits, withdrawals and trading activity, investigate suspicious cases, and support regulatory audits while strengthening people and process across the compliance team.

You will work directly with live platform activity, turning regulatory requirements into executable controls for Business, Operations and Technology, and you

Qualifications

• 5+ years in compliance, AML, or trade surveillance within a regulated financial institution.
• Experience in client onboarding, KYB/EDD, sanctions screening and ongoing monitoring.
• Ability to translate regulatory findings into actionable controls for business teams.

Responsibilities

• Own ongoing AML and trade-surveillance activities; investigate alerts and determine risk.
• Lead KYC/CDD reviews for clients, including complex ownership structures.
• Support regulatory reviews, audits and remediation programmes with clear evidence trails.
• Develop and refine compliance policies, SOPs and monitoring rules.
• Collaborate with operations, product, tech and risk to implement controls.

Skills

English & Chinese fluency

AML compliance

Investigation & case management

Regulatory interpretation

Data-driven decisions

Excel / data analysis

Tools

SQL

BI

Case-management tools

Job description

• Compliance - AML & Trade Surveillance
• Strong written and spoken English and Chinese
• Ongoing AML and Trade Surveillance

Compliance - AML & Trade Surveillance

Own ongoing VATP monitoring and turn regulatory requirements into daily controls

We are looking for a Compliance Manager with strong hands-on experience in AML, client due diligence or trade surveillance to join the compliance team of a Hong Kong-licensed virtual asset trading platform. You will support the platform's ongoing compliance across client onboarding, deposits, withdrawals and trading activity, suspicious transaction investigations, regulatory and audit matters, employee dealing and third-party oversight. You will also help the Head of Compliance strengthen the team's operating model, policies, procedures and monitoring framework.

About the Role

This is not a policy-maintenance or document-checking role. You will work directly with live operating activity: understanding why alerts are triggered, assessing whether risk is substantiated, driving cases to closure and translating regulatory requirements into controls that Business, Operations and Technology teams can execute and evidence.

Why Join Us

• Own business-critical ongoing compliance work: your judgement will directly influence client acceptance, unusual-activity handling, platform risk controls and regulatory engagement.
• Help shape practice in an evolving market: improve AML, trade surveillance and client-protection controls through the real operation of a licensed platform.
• Build as well as execute: investigate daily cases while improving rules, parameters, workflows, SOPs and management reporting.
• Work with high-quality institutional use cases: support banks, securities brokers, funds and family offices with more complex ownership structures and transaction patterns.

What You Will Own

1. Ongoing AML and Trade Surveillance

• Monitor client deposits, withdrawals and trading activity; investigate unusual or high-risk behaviour and produce clear, auditable conclusions.
• Own or support trade surveillance, identifying potential market manipulation, unusual trading patterns and other misconduct and escalating matters through defined governance.
• Review the effectiveness of AML, KYT and trade-surveillance rules. Calibrate parameters, thresholds and data indicators based on alert quality, risk typologies and business changes to reduce false positives without creating control gaps.
• Progress suspicious transaction investigations, prepare internal analysis, escalation recommendations and materials supporting suspicious transaction reporting, and maintain complete case records, evidence and approvals.

2. Client Onboarding and Ongoing Due Diligence

• Perform or review KYC/KYB and onboarding for individual and institutional clients, verifying directors, authorised persons, ultimate beneficial owners and controllers.
• Conduct CDD and EDD, sanctions and PEP screening, source-of-funds and source-of-wealth reviews, client risk rating and periodic reviews.
• Assess complex ownership structures, high-risk jurisdictions, unusual funding arrangements and other risk factors, working with Business and Operations to complete further investigation or risk treatment.

3. Regulatory Reviews External Audit and Remediation

• Support routine SFC engagement, regulatory enquiries and on-site or off-site reviews, coordinating senior management, internal owners and external advisers to prepare responses and supporting evidence.
• Support external audits, independent assessments and other compliance reviews by preparing policies, records, data and control evidence.
• Translate regulatory or audit findings into gap assessments, accountable owners, deadlines and validation criteria, and drive remediation through closure.

4. Employee Dealing and Third Party Oversight

• Administer senior management and employee personal-account dealing, conflicts, declarations, approvals and ongoing monitoring; investigate potential breaches and strengthen related controls.
• Conduct onboarding due diligence, ongoing assessment and issue management for third parties supporting KYC, AML, sanctions screening, blockchain analytics or trade surveillance.
• Review vendor data quality, system performance, service levels and control effectiveness, coordinating internal teams and providers on improvements.

5. Compliance Framework and Team Build Out

• Help the Head of Compliance strengthen role clarity, operating rhythms and key-person coverage so that the function operates reliably and efficiently.
• Build or improve policies, procedures, SOPs, investigation runbooks, escalation paths and management reporting, turning regulatory requirements into controls that are executable, evidenced and testable.
• Partner with Operations, Product, Technology, Risk, Legal and senior management on compliance assessment and implementation for new products, workflows and system changes.
• Deliver internal training and case reviews to improve the organisation's ability to identify and respond to AML, client and trading-conduct risks.

What We Are Looking For

• At least 5 years of experience in compliance, AML, financial crime compliance, client due diligence or trade surveillance within a Hong Kong-licensed brokerage, bank, trading platform, payment institution or other regulated financial institution.
• Sound knowledge of Hong Kong's AML/CFT and SFC regulatory framework, together with strong hands-on experience in one or more of KYC/KYB, CDD/EDD, ongoing monitoring, suspicious transaction investigations or trade surveillance.
• The ability to explain the risk indicators, investigation steps, personal judgement and final treatment in specific cases, rather than relying only on established checklists.
• A rules-and data-oriented mindset, with the ability to review monitoring parameters against alert performance, risk trends and business changes. Strong Excel skills are expected; SQL, BI or case-management tools would be an advantage.
• Experience supporting regulatory reviews, external audits, independent assessments or remediation programmes, with the ability to organise evidence, coordinate owners and drive timely closure.
• A hands-on approach and willingness to manage daily cases and foundational work while turning experience into scalable processes and controls; strong initiative, execution and accountability in a growth-stage environment.
• Strong written and spoken English and Chinese. Cantonese and/or Mandarin capability is required for effective collaboration across Hong Kong and Mainland China.

Experience That Would Be an Advantage

• Experience with a Hong Kong VATP, virtual asset trading, custody, blockchain monitoring or a related regulatory project.
• Direct ownership of trade-surveillance rules, AML or KYT parameter calibration, complex investigations or suspicious transaction reporting.
• Institutional-client KYB experience involving complex ownership structures, cross-border funds or high-risk clients.
• A track record of building or redesigning compliance policies, monitoring frameworks, investigation workflows, management reporting or third-party governance from the ground up.
• CAMS, ICA, CPA, legal or another relevant professional qualification.

What You Will Gain

• Core ongoing-compliance ownership on a live Hong Kong-licensed platform, with end-to-end exposure across clients, funds, trading activity and regulatory matters.
• Real influence over the design of AML, trade-surveillance and internal-control capabilities, not simply responsibility for executing an established process.
• Direct collaboration with the Head of Compliance, senior management and Operations, Product and Technology teams, with visible impact on business decisions and operating outcomes.
• A path to own core compliance domains, strategic remediation programmes or team responsibilities as the business and function grow.

What We Aim to Achieve Together in Your First 6 to 12 Months

• Develop a strong command of the platform's client onboarding, ongoing AML and trade-surveillance framework and independently manage priority cases and cross-functional escalations.
• Complete effectiveness reviews of key monitoring rules and parameters and close high-priority process or control gaps.
• Establish clear investigation records, management reporting and regulatory or audit evidence trails so that key compliance matters are traceable and testable.
• Become a trusted compliance partner to management and business teams, proposing practical solutions while protecting regulatory standards.

If you want to do more than interpret regulation and are ready to turn it into monitoring and controls that work every day, we would welcome the opportunity to build that capability with you.