Risk & Compliance Lead

Icehouseventures; Auckland; On-site; NZD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Ownership role

Senior leadership team

Fintech exposure

Cross-functional collaboration

Impactful compliance work

Job summary

Emerge is seeking a senior Risk and Compliance Lead to own the function and sit on the senior leadership team. You will inherit an established programme, lead regulator engagement, and partner with product and engineering as the business scales into more complex financial products.

You bring 7+ years in risk and compliance, strong AML/CFT expertise, and a track record of building or scaling compliant programs in fintech or financial services.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in risk and compliance, fintech or financial services preferred.
• Strong AML/CFT knowledge and regulatory exposure.
• Ability to lead a small team and interact with regulators and board.

Responsibilities

• Own and evolve risk and compliance frameworks across products.
• Oversee AML/CFT, CDD/EDD, transaction monitoring, SARs and PTRs.
• Lead regulator relationships (DIA, FMA, other bodies).
• Develop the compliance team and leverage external advisors.
• Partner with product and engineering to embed compliance from the start.
• Maintain operational risk controls, testing, third-party risk, and BC/outsourcing.
• Present risk posture and incidents to the risk committee and board.

Skills

AML/CFT knowledge

Regulator relationships

Leadership

Strategic risk frameworks

Regulatory communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Executive presence

Job description

DescriptionOwn risk and compliance in a fast-growing New Zealand fintech scale-up.

• Join a fast-growing fintech scale-up
• Step into the senior leadership team
• Take AML expertise beyond big banking

About Emerge

Emerge is a fast-growing New Zealand fintech reshaping what modern financial services can look like. Built at the intersection of technology, product, engineering and regulated financial services, the business is creating smart, scalable financial products for people, families and businesses.

The business already has strong foundations in place across transactional accounts, payments and expense management, and is now moving into a wider product suite. That growth creates a rare opportunity for an experienced risk and compliance leader to shape how the business scales safely, commercially and well.

About the role

As Risk and Compliance Lead, you will take ownership of Emerge’s risk and compliance function and join the senior leadership team at a key point in the company’s scale-up journey.

You will not be starting from scratch. You will inherit an established programme, a small team, and retained support from external compliance and AML consultants. What Emerge needs now is a senior, credible voice to own the function end-to-end, lead regulator relationships, and partner closely with product and engineering as the business expands into more complex financial products.

This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who can set direction, hold the line where it matters, and still stay close enough to the detail to make the work practical, useful and embedded.

You will:

• Own and evolve the risk and compliance frameworks across Emerge’s current and future products.
• Act as AML/CFT Compliance Officer and oversee the risk assessment, programme, CDD, EDD, transaction monitoring, SAR and PTR reporting, and audit activity.
• Lead relationships with regulators including the DIA, FMA and other relevant bodies.
• Lead and develop the compliance team, while making smart use of external AML and compliance advisors.
• Partner with product and engineering so compliance is designed into new features and products from the start.
• Maintain operational risk settings across incidents, control testing, third-party risk, business continuity and outsourcing.
• Be a part of the risk committee, reporting to the board on key risks, incidents, regulatory developments and overall risk posture.

About you

You are a senior risk and compliance professional who understands that good compliance should help a business grow safely, not slow it down. You bring strong AML/CFT knowledge, sound judgement and the confidence to be the senior compliance voice in the room. You are tech-forward, kind and collaborative in how you work, but firm when the principles of the law matter. You can make clear decisions, explain your reasoning, and hold the line in a way that brings people with you.

Where you might be right now

You may be in a bank and ready to get closer to the action in a faster-paced tech business. Or you may come from fintech, non-bank lending, payments, remittance or international money transfer, and be ready for a broader leadership role with more ownership and influence.

You will bring

• Meaningful senior experience (7+ years) across risk and compliance, ideally in fintech, banking, payments, non-bank lending or financial services.
• Strong working knowledge of AML/CFT (a must), with exposure to wider New Zealand regulatory settings such as FMCA, CoFI, CCCFA, privacy and payments helpful.
• Foreign exchange experience gained in New Zealand (due to the legislative knowledge required), although Australia, the UK or Singapore may also be considered.
• Experience engaging with regulators such as the DIA, FMA or other relevant bodies.
• A track record of building, improving or scaling a compliance programme in a business that is moving quickly.
• Confidence leading a small team, developing analysts and getting the best value from external advisors.
• Excellent written communication, with the ability to write board papers, policies and regulator responses that are clear, human and commercially useful.

Why join Emerge?

• Take true ownership of the risk and compliance function in a fintech with foundations in place and a clear growth runway ahead.
• Join the senior leadership team and have a genuine voice in how the business scales.
• Apply AML and regulatory expertise in a scale-up environment where the work is close to product, customers and commercial decision-making.
• Work alongside talented product, engineering, operations and leadership teams in a business building modern financial products.
• Make a visible impact as Emerge moves beyond payments into a broader financial services platform.