Head of Financial Crimes Compliance

Dakota
United States
Remote

Who this role is best for

A natural match if you have 7+ years in Financial Crime Compliance and experience with digital assets.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with 7+ years in FCC and hands-on digital asset risk control experience
    — “7+ years in Financial Crime Compliance, Compliance, Legal, Risk, Internal Audit or a related control function”
  • Individuals who have led FCC technology implementations and vendor management
    — “Lead implementation of FCC technology solutions, including onboarding blockchain analytics and digital asset intelligence vendors and managing vendor relationships.”
  • Professionals with a track record of building AML programs and conducting risk assessments
    — “Track record building controls for digital assets risk, including work with blockchain analytics vendors.”

Things to consider

  • The role demands leadership and management of teams in a remote-first setup
    — “Manage teams, delegating effectively to managers and mentoring junior and mid-level staff, while still being hands-on.”
  • Strong cross-functional and cross-regional collaboration is a core expectation
    — “Assess cross-business and cross-regional impacts, promoting consistent minimum standards and documented treatment of regional variances.”

How to stand out

  • Highlight experience with digital asset risk frameworks and AML model validation
    — “Deep knowledge of AML, CTF, sanctions and fraud risk frameworks, including CDD, transaction monitoring, investigations, regulatory reporting and common typologies.”
  • Emphasize your ability to translate regulatory changes into actionable compliance strategies
    — “Monitor new laws, regulations, guidance, enforcement actions and industry practice, and translate them into practical requirements and action plans.”
  • Showcase your track record in designing and optimizing transaction monitoring systems
    — “Develop transaction monitoring scenarios aligned to products, services and risk appetite.”
Pace · SteadyCollaboration · HighAutonomy · HighDecision Impact · Company

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • implementation of FCC technology solutions
  • development of transaction monitoring scenarios
  • identification and escalation of material risks
Typical background
financial crimes complianceAML compliance

Skills & requirements

Required

Financial Crimes ComplianceAML ComplianceRegulatory EngagementRisk AssessmentControls Oversight

Preferred

Technology ImplementationData Quality Improvement

Stack & domain

Financial Crimes ComplianceAMLKYCSanctions ScreeningBlockchain AnalyticsTransaction MonitoringRegulatory EngagementLeadershipCollaborativeOwnershipCommunicationFinanceRegulatory

About the role

Original posting from Dakota via Ashby

ABOUT DAKOTA

Dakota is a stablecoin infrastructure platform powering modern financial products through regulated money movement, stablecoin orchestration, and cross-border settlement. We serve institutional clients — fintechs, payment service providers, marketplaces, and enterprises — through an API-first platform that abstracts the complexity of custody, compliance, settlement, and banking partnerships.

We are a remote first team across North America and Europe. We value high quality work, clear thinking and ownership.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Financial risk and advisory

  • Serve as senior FCC point of contact and SME on fiat and digital assets; contribute to the FCC framework.
  • Identify and assess money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions, fraud and other illicit finance risks across digital asset products, clients, counterparties and transaction flows, including blockchain, wallets, custody models, and stablecoins.
  • Provide risk-based advice and effective challenge across the product and client lifecycle: new initiatives, product approvals, onboarding and material changes.
  • Assess cross-business and cross-regional impacts, promoting consistent minimum standards and documented treatment of regional variances.

Controls and program oversight

  • Partner with first-line and other teams to design, enhance and oversee controls for CDD/EDD and KYC, sanctions screening, blockchain analytics, transaction monitoring, case management, investigations, suspicious activity escalation and recordkeeping.
  • Review AML programs and internal control structures, including automated solutions, through policy and procedure reviews, gap analyses, risk assessments and regulatory compliance assessments.
  • Identify and escalate material risks and control weaknesses, and oversee agreed remediation.

FCC technology, models and data

  • Lead implementation of FCC technology solutions, including onboarding blockchain analytics and digital asset intelligence vendors and managing vendor relationships.
  • Develop transaction monitoring scenarios aligned to products, services and risk appetite.
  • Lead testing, tuning and optimization of transaction monitoring, sanctions screening, customer risk rating and detection, before production and on an ongoing basis.
  • Validate AML models across those same areas.
  • Perform and oversee data reconciliation, lineage and quality testing; interpret complex analyses to identify patterns, risks and conclusions.
  • Improve data quality, system capabilities and automation to strengthen preventive and detective controls.

Regulatory engagement and governance

  • Monitor new laws, regulations, guidance, enforcement actions and industry practice, and translate them into practical requirements and action plans.
  • Support engagement with regulators, auditors and independent reviewers, including exam preparation, information requests and remediation of findings, as necessary.
  • Develop policies, procedures, training, metrics, and governance materials for senior stakeholders and committees.

Leadership and relationships

  • Lead multiple complex FCC initiatives from initiation to completion, on time, within budget and to stakeholder expectations.
  • Manage teams, delegating effectively to managers and mentoring junior and mid-level staff, while still being hands-on.
  • Build strong relationships with executives, business, technology, Risk and Audit partners, and industry forums or trade associations.
  • Lead stakeholder discussions, identify new opportunities to add value, and deliver special projects as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

  • 7+ years in Financial Crime Compliance, Compliance, Legal, Risk, Internal Audit or a related control function, preferably at a financial institution or regulated digital assets business.
  • Practical experience in legal, financial, technical, risk or compliance background is preferred.
  • Deep knowledge of AML, CTF, sanctions and fraud risk frameworks, including CDD, transaction monitoring, investigations, regulatory reporting and common typologies.
  • Working knowledge of blockchain and digital assets, or experience assessing financial crime risk in new products, technologies or payment models.
  • Track record building controls for digital assets risk, including work with blockchain analytics vendors.
  • Experience conducting risk assessments and designing, implementing or overseeing financial crime controls.
  • Hands-on design and implementation of FCC technology, including transaction monitoring rule development, tuning and CIP systems, and TM systems.

SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES

  • Analytical: understands complex product structures, workflows, transaction flows and data dependencies; analyzes issues independently and turns conclusions into actionable recommendations.
  • Regulatory interpretation: translates complex, evolving expectations into practical guidance, control requirements and executable plans.
  • Communication: excellent written, verbal and presentation skills; explains complex issues, risk decisions and metrics clearly to all levels, including senior management.
  • Collaboration and influence: works across functions and regions with positive intent, influences stakeholders and provides constructive, independent challenge.
  • Delivery: strong project, time and change management; prioritizes multiple initiatives under time constraints in a dynamic environment.
  • Mindset: strategic, inquisitive, proactive and solutions-oriented; anticipates emerging trends and favors sustainable control enhancement and appropriate automation.
  • Discretion: handles sensitive and confidential information and treats colleagues with compassion and respect.

HOW WE WORK

At Dakota, we value people who:

  • Strive for excellence
  • Practice extreme ownership.
  • Experiment fearlessly and learn quickly.
  • Stay close to customers.
  • Communicate clearly and directly.

WHAT WE OFFER

  • Engaging problems that increase economic freedom globally
  • Competitive salary and equity
  • Remote work, no commuting to the office
  • Health, dental, and vision insurance
  • Regular team events and off-sites

Source: Dakota careers (Ashby)

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