Head of Risk & Compliance Operations

Monee; Kuala Lumpur; On-site; MYR 180,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

A fintech company in Kuala Lumpur is seeking a Head of Risk & Compliance Operations to lead the development of controls for customer and merchant risk management. The ideal candidate will have over 10 years of experience in fintech compliance and a strong grasp of regulatory standards. Responsibilities include enhancing operational workflows, defining KPIs, and ensuring alignment with compliance requirements.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in risk or compliance operations within fintech or digital banking.
• Deep familiarity with regulatory frameworks under BNM AML/CFT, CCOB, and KPKT.
• Strong design and implementation of operational controls.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain operational controls aligned with regulatory standards.
• Enhance legacy workflows across onboarding and fraud.
• Define KPIs and operational success metrics.

Skills

Risk operations management

Regulatory compliance

Data-driven decision making

Leadership coaching

Process design

Job description

Overview

We are hiring a Head of Risk & Compliance Operations to lead and uplift our control frameworks across Onboarding (KYC/KYB), Anti-Fraud, and Transaction Monitoring (TM).

This role is responsible for ensuring that all customer and merchant risk operations are compliant, defensible, and built to scale. You’ll be expected to engage deeply with both internal and external stakeholders to mature processes, drive system-level enhancements, and develop meaningful metrics to track operational health and risk outcomes. The right candidate will bring a structured, data-driven approach and the leadership presence to guide both teams and peers, particularly in areas where decision-making maturity or execution frameworks are still developing.

Job Description

• Regulatory Control Design and Execution
  • Build and maintain operational controls aligned with standards set by BNM, CCOB, KPKT, and other relevant regulatory or enforcement bodies.
  • Translate policy and audit expectations into scalable SOPs, workflows, and monitoring structures.
  • Ensure audit readiness and defensibility across all handling touchpoints.
• Process Enhancement and System Improvements
  • Evaluate and uplift legacy workflows across onboarding, fraud, and transaction monitoring.
  • Navigate internal systems and partner with Product and Tech teams to recommend system-level improvements, including handling logic, automation, and tooling gaps.
  • Support the gradual shift from manual and subjective processes toward structured, rules-based, and data-informed operational design.
• Metrics Design and Operational Reporting
  • Define KPIs and operational success metrics for each vertical (e.g., SLA, false positive rate, FCR, risk closure time).
  • Work with BI and Product teams to build dashboards and tracking tools that support visibility and accountability.
  • Help other function leads adopt data-backed approaches to decision-making, escalation analysis, and process iteration.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration and Governance
  • Act as the key contact point for Compliance, Legal, Product, Risk, and Customer Experience in matters relating to customer and merchant risk.
  • Represent Ops in governance reviews and regulatory submissions, ensuring alignment between business operations and policy standards.
  • Collaborate with peers to embed first-line accountability and improve team-level execution quality.
• Leadership Coaching and Capability Support
  • Guide team leads and functional peers in strengthening their operational thinking, handling frameworks, and leadership maturity.
  • Step in where needed to support strategic planning, incident management, or operational reviews when gaps in ownership or clarity arise.
  • Foster a culture of structured thinking, data-driven decision-making, and continuous improvement across all layers of operations.
• Team and Vendor Oversight
  • Lead internal teams and BPO vendors handling KYC/KYB, fraud, and TM.
  • Set clear expectations for quality, turnaround time, escalation response, and vendor calibration.
  • Continuously review team structure, workload distribution, and performance tracking to ensure risk coverage and cost efficiency.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in risk or compliance operations within fintech, digital banking, payments, or lending environments.
• Deep familiarity with regulatory and operational requirements under BNM AML/CFT, CCOB, and KPKT frameworks.
• Strong ability to design and implement operational controls that are scalable, compliant, and easy to audit.
• Experience working within internal systems and collaborating with Product and Tech teams to close control gaps.
• Brings structured thinking and a data-driven approach to operational design, process triage, and performance tracking.
• Comfortable providing guidance to less experienced leaders or peers in areas such as operational planning, case handling logic, and team management.
• Clear and confident communicator who can write structured SOPs, review documents, and participate in governance-level discussions.

KPIs / Success Metrics

• SLA and QA improvements across onboarding, fraud, and TM case queues
• Reduction in manual escalations, false positives, and incident severity
• System enhancements implemented based on ops feedback
• Strengthened capability and structure among team leads and functional partners
• Regulatory feedback and audit performance outcomes
• Effective vendor delivery and performance alignment