Compliance Officer - Financial Crimes

Careers at KKR•Boston, MA

5h•$180,000 - $220,000•Hybrid

About The Position

KKR is seeking an experienced Financial Crime Compliance Officer to lead management and oversight of the Americas anti-money laundering (AML), know-your-customer (KYC), anti-bribery and corruption, economic sanctions, and terrorist financing programs. The role combines strategic program leadership with hands-on execution across governance, risk assessment, control design, monitoring and testing, investigations, regulatory change, management information, training, and technology enablement. Based in Boston, the position works closely with Compliance colleagues across the Americas, Europe, Asia, Australia, and India, and oversees internal and external resources, including compliance professionals, external counsel, service providers, and other AML officers. The successful candidate will transition to become the Anti-Money Laundering Reporting Officer for KKR’s regulated business in the United States.

Requirements

At least 10 years of relevant work experience, including substantial responsibility for AML/KYC and anti-corruption programs within a large investment management firm, broker-dealer, or similarly complex financial institution.
Deep expertise in U.S., U.K., and European Union AML/KYC, sanctions, and anti-corruption requirements, with familiarity with other relevant jurisdictions, including the Cayman Islands.
Demonstrated experience designing or enhancing a risk-based financial crime framework, including governance, risk assessments, policies and procedures, control inventories, monitoring, testing, quality assurance, issue management, and management reporting.
Practical experience with investor onboarding, transactional due diligence, beneficial ownership, enhanced due diligence, sanctions screening, investigations, suspicious activity reporting, and transaction or counterparty due diligence.
Strong understanding of financial crime technology and data, including the ability to contribute to system design, workflow improvement, testing, implementation, and controls over data quality and access.
Proven ability to lead complex initiatives, manage multiple stakeholders, and deliver results in a dynamic, global, collaborative environment.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the judgment and presence to express clear opinions to cross-divisional teams and senior management.
Strong interpersonal and stakeholder relationship skills with internal and external parties at all levels.
High standards of professionalism, integrity, accountability, organization, and execution, including the ability to work independently and meet tight deadlines.
Undergraduate degree with strong academic credentials.

Responsibilities

Lead the Americas Financial Crime Compliance Program, setting its direction and operating rhythm in alignment with KKR’s global framework and risk profile.
Maintain and enhance the financial crime framework, including policies, standards, procedures, governance forums, escalation protocols, decision rights, responsibilities, control ownership, and documentation requirements.
Develop management information, key risk and performance indicators, issue reporting, and trend analysis for senior management and governance committees, escalating material risks and control weaknesses.
Oversee external counsel, service providers, placement agents, and Transfer Agents through documented responsibilities, service standards, quality assurance, performance monitoring, and escalation mechanisms.
Lead and improve risk assessments covering customers and investors, products, transactions, geographies, delivery channels, third parties, and legal entities.
Define and maintain a control inventory covering preventive, detective, and responsive controls, including customer due diligence, beneficial ownership, PEP and adverse media review, sanctions screening, enhanced due diligence, transaction diligence, anti-corruption controls, and suspicious activity escalation.
Establish measurable control standards, identify control gaps, and implement proportionate remediation plans with accountable owners and target dates.
Direct risk-based compliance monitoring, quality assurance, and periodic testing; assess control design and effectiveness, perform root-cause analysis, track issues to closure, and support audits and independent reviews.
Use incidents, investigations, testing, regulatory developments, and business changes to refresh risk assessments and improve controls.
Advise global businesses and external vendors on AML/KYC, anti-bribery and corruption, sanctions, terrorist financing, and related financial crime risks in consultation with KKR’s money laundering officers and Compliance team.
Partner with the KKR Client Service Team and investment professionals to manage AML/KYC and due diligence requirements for limited partners investing in KKR funds across relevant jurisdictions.
Lead and support financial crime due diligence for investments, counterparties, transactions, and portfolio companies, including screening, enhanced due diligence, approvals, conditions, documentation, and ongoing monitoring.
Coordinate enhanced due diligence and escalation for complex ownership structures, higher-risk jurisdictions, politically exposed persons, adverse media, sanctions exposure, intermediaries, and other elevated-risk scenarios.
Oversee sanctions and screening controls, including coverage, frequency, data quality, alert handling, disposition standards, escalation, and recordkeeping.
Oversee assessment, investigation, documentation, and escalation of potentially suspicious activity, including coordination of reports with appropriate AML government agencies where required.
Ensure decisions, approvals, exceptions, investigations, and regulatory reports have complete, accurate, retrievable documentation and appropriate confidentiality and retention controls.
Partner with Technology, Operations, Data, and business teams to enhance KYC, screening, case management, workflow, and reporting solutions, including requirements definition, testing, implementation, and change management.
Identify opportunities to standardize and automate processes, reduce manual handoffs, and create consistent workflows while preserving risk-based review.
Assess emerging regulatory requirements and translate developments into updates to policies, procedures, controls, systems, training, and business practices.
Assist with regulatory inquiries, examinations, and other requests, and coordinate on testing and audits.
Design and deliver practical, role-based financial crime training using scenarios and lessons learned.
Build trusted relationships across investment teams, Client Service, Legal, Compliance, Operations, Technology, Internal Audit, and senior management, communicating clear and well-supported risk views.