Head of Compliance

Finalsite•Glastonbury, CT

3d•Remote

About The Position

The Head of Compliance is responsible for leading and overseeing the organization’s global compliance, ethics, regulatory, and risk management programs across all business operations. This executive role reports to the Chief Executive Officer and ensures the company maintains compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, industry standards, and internal policies while supporting strategic growth and operational excellence. The ideal candidate will bring significant leadership experience within payments, fintech, banking, or regulated financial transaction environments and possess deep expertise in payment compliance, financial regulations, transaction risk, and operational governance.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Legal Studies, Accounting, or related field.
Minimum 10+ years of progressive compliance, legal, risk management, or regulatory leadership experience.
Minimum 5+ years in a senior leadership role overseeing enterprise compliance programs.
Extensive and demonstrated experience designing, building, and operating a compliance program from the ground up.
Extensive experience within payments, fintech, merchant acquiring, banking, payment processing, or other highly regulated financial transaction environments.
Deep expertise in payment operations, payment network rules, transaction risk management, and financial regulatory compliance.
Strong working knowledge of PCI-DSS, NACHA, AML/KYC, OFAC, money transmission regulations, card network compliance, fraud prevention, and financial controls.
Experience partnering directly with payment processors, acquiring banks, card networks, and financial institutions.
Proven experience managing audits, regulatory examinations, compliance investigations, and remediation efforts within payment or financial services environments.
Demonstrated ability to build and scale enterprise compliance programs in high-growth organizations.
Strong executive communication, leadership, and cross-functional partnership skills.
Exceptional analytical, strategic thinking, and decision-making capabilities.
Current residency, as well as continued residency, within the United States is required to obtain (and retain) employment with Finalsite.

Nice To Haves

Juris Doctor (JD), MBA, or other advanced degree.
Professional certifications such as CRCM, CAMS, CIPP, CIA, or equivalent.
Experience leading compliance within a SaaS, fintech, or payment-enabled technology organization.
Experience supporting global payment operations and international regulatory frameworks.

Responsibilities

Develops, implements, and oversees the enterprise-wide compliance and ethics program across all business operations and corporate functions.
Establishes and maintains policies, procedures, governance frameworks, and internal controls to ensure regulatory and operational compliance.
Oversees compliance related to payments, financial transactions, AML/KYC, and applicable financial regulations.
Ensures compliance with applicable regulatory requirements including PCI-DSS, NACHA, BSA/AML, OFAC, GDPR, SOC controls, card network rules, and other relevant industry standards.
Serves as the primary compliance liaison with banking partners, payment processors, card networks, regulatory agencies, auditors, and external legal counsel.
Partners with executive leadership to identify, assess, and mitigate legal, operational, financial, and reputational risks.
Leads enterprise compliance audits, regulatory examinations, investigations, monitoring activities, and remediation initiatives.
Oversees AML, sanctions screening, fraud prevention, transaction monitoring, and financial compliance controls.
Oversees compliance training and awareness programs to promote a culture of integrity, accountability, and ethical conduct.
Advises leadership on emerging regulatory requirements, payment industry developments, and enterprise risk trends that may impact the business.
Collaborates cross-functionally with Legal, Finance, HR, Product, Security, Technology, and Operations teams to ensure compliant business practices and scalable operational processes.
Oversees third-party risk management and vendor compliance programs, particularly related to financial systems, payment providers, and technology platforms.
Provides regular reporting and strategic recommendations to the executive team and Board of Directors regarding compliance program effectiveness, audit findings, and organizational risk exposure.
Supports strategic initiatives, acquisitions, partnerships, and expansion efforts from a regulatory and compliance perspective.
Participates in enterprise risk management and business continuity planning initiatives.
Represents the organization in industry groups, regulatory discussions, and compliance-related forums.
Assists with corporate governance initiatives and policy development as needed.