Compliance Assurance Director

Opportunity Overview

An international fintech company is hiring a seasoned Compliance Assurance Director to create and run its assurance capability. The role sits in Abu Dhabi and carries significant influence over governance quality, review standards, and the overall strength of compliance operations in a regulated, fast-moving setting.

The ideal candidate will bring practical experience in assurance and quality reviews, along with the ability to build governance structures, question existing ways of working, and partner with senior leaders to raise operational standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Take full ownership of the compliance assurance function within the Legal & Compliance team.
• Act as the main custodian of assurance standards, review approaches, and governance practices.
• Carry out assurance checks on compliance work, including case assessments, decision reviews, and process quality analysis.
• Guide, supervise, and calibrate existing QA support to keep review outcomes aligned and consistent.
• Create and roll out assurance frameworks, scoring models, review rules, escalation paths, and reporting structures.
• Develop the assurance capability beyond the current QA setup and help it mature into a broader function.
• Spot repeat quality issues, control gaps, process breakdowns, and operational risk through thematic analysis.
• Work closely with Compliance, AML, KYC/KYB, Operations, and Control teams to strengthen execution quality.
• Prepare regular management updates covering findings, trends, repeat issues, and results.
• Suggest improvements to processes, controls, and training based on what is uncovered in reviews.
• Provide an independent perspective and push for ongoing improvement across compliance operations.

Experience and Skills

• 8–12 years of background in Compliance, Compliance Assurance, Quality Assurance, Audit, AML Controls, Operational Risk, or a similar field in financial services, fintech, payments, digital assets, or another regulated sector.
• Hands-on experience with assurance reviews, QA reviews, control testing, or quality checks on cases.
• Strong working knowledge of compliance operations and control environments, especially around AML, KYC/KYB, onboarding, and transaction monitoring.
• Experience creating, refining, or implementing compliance assurance or QA frameworks.
• Proven ability to detect risks, challenge judgments, and support remediation efforts through to completion.
• Comfort working autonomously while also building something new from the ground up.
• Strong analytical ability, clear reporting style, confident communication, and effective stakeholder management.
• Well organised, attentive to detail, and able to deliver practical outcomes in a busy environment.

What’s on Offer

• The chance to build and define an important compliance assurance function in a growing organisation.
• A cooperative workplace with international exposure.
• Opportunities for professional growth and ongoing learning.
• Access to global stakeholders and cross-functional initiatives.
• Room for career progression in an innovative and expanding business.
• A working culture centred on ownership, teamwork, and continuous improvement.