Head of Compliance & Risk - Fintech - GetGround


About GetGround

Hello, we are GetGround. We are a well-funded series A Tech scaleup in Europe and Asia with a mission to make the world fairer and more productive. We are doing this by making assets more transparent, trustworthy and accessible - starting with real estate. Incomes have stagnated, so more access to wealth generating things like real estate = less wealth inequality. We are disruptors building a global network for trading illiquid assets - and we have first mover advantage!

Our Co-Founder and CEO Moubin qualified as a Doctor and went on to have a successful career at McKinsey and private equity house, APAX. Moubin started GetGround with his brother and our CTO, Misrab. Misrab is a Stanford Computer Scientist that led the scaling of the Gojek Data Science team in Asia.

We are proud of how far we have come since 2018, but humbled and excited at what there is still to achieve. Our values sit at the core of everything we do - pursuit of excellence, feedback obsessed, No BS and healthy egos.

We have a flexible working policy that allows hybrid working. Please ask your Recruiter for more details.

GetGround's growth since 2021:

  • 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 20 -> 100 people (ex Google, Facebook, Monzo, McKinsey, Talkdesk...)

  • 📈 Captured 7%+ of the UK market already

  • 🏘 Adding $1Bn of property onto our platform annually in a $Trillion market

  • 🌎 5 locations (UK, Portugal, Germany, HK, Singapore)

  • 💯 One of Europe’s 2022 Rising 100 Future Unicorns

Head of Compliance & Risk | London

(hybrid working with 2-3 days per week in our West London office)

 

We're looking for a detail-oriented and empathetic leader to head up Compliance and Risk. You will coach the team to achieve their personal, professional and performance goals and help to build their knowledge around complex issues. You will stay close to your team to deeply understand their roadblocks and are respected as a coach and mentor.

Core role responsibilities

  • You will coach the team to achieve their personal, professional and performance goals

  • Ensure that Customer Due Diligence (CDD), Know Your Customer (KYC), Know Your Business (KYB), source of funds, client information, client profiling and suitability is in line with regulatory requirements and GetGround risk appetite

  • Review as appropriate all compliance policies annually and develop any new policies required to meet new business needs. Create and keep up to date a compliance manual for GG staff.

  • Conduct and oversee internal reviews or audits periodically to ensure that compliance procedures are followed. Work cooperatively with external partners and auditors as and when needed.

  • Regularly review the compliance & risk team’s performance - use data to drive team performance improvements and identify ways to improve key metrics and deliverables.

  • Provide clear and actionable data and reporting to the wider business.  

Requirements - your skills and experience:

  • You will have 5+ years Compliance experience on both Regulatory Compliance and the Financial Crime side

  • You've held senior Compliance Manager or MLRO responsibilities previously (SMF16 or SMF17 preferable)

  • Experience and familiarity with industry system providers and how to integrate providers into new and existing product and operational processes.

  • In-depth and practical working knowledge of the FCA Handbook

  • Experience working with the following: Money Laundering Regulations 2017, proceeds of Crime Act 2002, Bribery ACT 2010, Terrorism ACT 2010, Fraud ACT 2006, JMLGS guidance and EU MLDs.

  • Ideally you have successfully built teams and processes from scratch before

  • Strong data, analytical and problem-solving skills - can deal with problems in a practical and common-sense way, consistently demonstrating sound judgement

  • Ideally (not essential) you hold professional certifications for ICA or CAMS 

Role details in-depth:

Risk

  • Collaborate with and guide the Risk Committee to set a clear risk appetite. Lead the compliance team and collaborate with the legal team to embed the risk management framework across the business, and then monitor and report on risk. 

  • Ensure the senior leadership team (outside of the Risk Committee) has a clear understanding of the risk profile. Prepare appropriate reports for the senior leadership team or the board as required demonstrating the effectiveness of the risk management and regulatory compliance framework.

  • Conduct risk and control assessments, ensuring risk incidents are recorded, investigated and dealt with accordingly, championing risk across the business to support a risk-aware culture and drive ownership of risks with business owners. 

AML

  • Work with the business to ensure that GetGround establishes and maintains appropriate policies, procedures, systems and controls. Review and assess all internal processes to identify actual or potential weaknesses of internal controls and take or recommend all appropriate actions to strengthen culture, procedures and processes. Ensure AML is considered and informs the structure of any new process where applicable.

  • Consider all reports and evaluate whether there is - or seems to be - any evidence of money laundering or terrorist financing. Provide evidence and recommendations to any appropriate committee including Risk Committee. 

  • Provide other senior leaders as well as the senior leadership team with advice and guidance on all relevant AML and related financial crime obligations and requirements. 

  • Act as the subject matter expert to product and engineering in the development of automated processes for financial crime compliance including wallet monitoring systems. 

  • Inform, educate, and train employees on matters that are associated with regulations and industry practices to promote best practice and ensure a good understanding of Financial Crime requirements.

Regulated Business 

  • Assess the firms' regulatory exposure and work closely with the business to enable it to ensure compliance. Act as the liaison with the FCA in respect of the direct authorisation application and liaise with the FCA and any other regulators to build strong relationships and resolve any issues.

  • Liaise with the FCA throughout the direct authorisation process (application has been submitted) and once authorised, hold SMF 16 & 17 and act as MRLO. The role holder must meet the requirements of the “Senior Management & Certification regime”). 

  • ​​Ensure and verify that all regulatory policies and procedures have been documented, implemented, and communicated and work with the Directors of GetGround FS Limited and the wider Risk Committee to ensure appropriate governance is in place.

  • Provide support to the senior leadership team in its liaison with regulators, auditors (internal & external) other group companies and external organisations where appropriate.

  • Ensure that training provided to staff is in line with regulatory requirements and updated accordingly - where required source and implement appropriate external training.

  • Prepare appropriate compliance reports and work with finance and legal with the preparation of management information required by regulatory agencies. Make sure all reports are provided to regulators in line with reporting obligations.

Our benefits

  • 💰 Competitive salary + stock options

  • 🏥 Private health + dental benefits

  • 🏡 Flexible/hybrid working (check details with your recruiter)

  • 🏖 1 day off per month as a mental health day (12 days annually) PLUS holidays and public days off

  • 🧠 Mental health support - 24/7 access to mental health support, counselling, therapy & coaching through Spectrum.Life for all employees and their immediate family

  • 🎳 Team and company-wide events

  • 📈 360° performance reviews to promote a culture of growth and development

  • 🎤 Support for conferences and professional learning & development

[+ other localised benefits depending on your office location]

What we do - in more detail

GetGround is developing the infrastructure for a global digital marketplace for assets enveloped in companies. Trillions of dollars of assets are tied in inefficient illiquid markets - think property, ships, factory machinery & infrastructure to name a few.

Enveloping an asset in a company unlocks liquidity by enabling the right legal basis for asset ownership, governance and exchange. However companies, one of humanity's greatest inventions, are stuck in the past. We are digitising and automating the company - starting by tackling UK private residential investment property, with £1.3 trillion of stock and £30-50 billion in transactions a year.

Diversity & inclusion at GetGround

GetGround encourages applications from all sections of society and we believe in the criticality of an inclusive culture. We are focussed on and committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, religion or belief, ethnic or national origin, disability, age, citizenship, marital, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other basis as protected by law.