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Head of Compliance

Hudson RPOSingapore, Pedra Branca, Singapore

4 days ago

Job description

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Handling in-house legal and compliance recruitment for Asia

Type : Full-Time | Hybrid

The Company

A newly launched digital brokerage platform is seeking a seasoned compliance professional to spearhead regulatory efforts and licensing activity across Southeast Asia. The platform is part of a fast-growing regional fintech group headquartered in Singapore, which operates across various verticals including digital lending, identity verification, and buy-now-pay-later solutions.

This investment and trading venture will first launch in Singapore before expanding across key Southeast Asian markets. With operational autonomy and a consumer-centric mandate, this initiative benefits from being embedded within a well-resourced ecosystem while maintaining startup agility.

Reporting to both the platform’s CEO and the Group Compliance Head, the Head of Compliance will play a foundational role in shaping and embedding regulatory infrastructure, starting as an individual contributor with a view to building a regional team as the business scales.

Responsibilities

Licensing & Regulatory Approvals : Lead the full cycle of licensing efforts for Singapore’s capital markets regulatory framework, ensuring timely submission and follow-ups with the relevant financial authority.
Establish Compliance Programs : Create and implement comprehensive compliance, risk, and internal governance policies aligned with local laws and broader industry practices.
Risk Oversight : Design procedures for risk detection and escalation, conduct regular risk assessments, and oversee internal risk reporting and threshold-setting.
Policy Development : Draft core policies covering AML, KYC, trade monitoring, and margin financing risk oversight in coordination with internal stakeholders.
Board and Management Reporting : Deliver periodic compliance reports to senior leadership and board members, highlighting key developments, breaches, or escalations.
Stakeholder Engagement : Serve as the key liaison for external stakeholders, including regulators, auditors, and external counsel, particularly throughout the licensing and launch phases.
Regulatory Insight & Advisory : Act as a trusted advisor to the leadership team, interpreting evolving regulatory changes and advising on their commercial implications.
Training & Culture : Build awareness and understanding of compliance obligations across teams through internal training and practical guidance.
Product Collaboration : Partner with product and engineering teams to embed compliance into platform design, onboarding journeys, and user experience.
Regional Expansion : Oversee regulatory applications and ongoing compliance management in Malaysia and other Southeast Asian jurisdictions as part of the expansion roadmap.
Incident Management : Develop processes for breach reporting, issue remediation, and incident tracking in line with statutory and internal requirements.
Group Alignment : Operate in a matrix reporting environment, ensuring compliance priorities are aligned across business and group levels while maintaining independent oversight.

Requirements

Educational Background : A degree in Law, Business, Finance or equivalent is essential. Certifications such as ICA or CAMS will be considered advantageous.

Industry Experience : 10+ years of relevant experience in compliance, preferably within a retail brokerage, securities trading or investment platform. Prior work on capital markets licensing in Singapore is critical.

Regulatory Acumen : Thorough knowledge of Singapore’s capital markets regulatory regime, particularly MAS regulations related to retail trading. Familiarity with regulatory requirements in Malaysia or other regional markets is beneficial.

Startup Experience : Comfortable working in early-stage, build-from-scratch environments. Demonstrated ability to independently set up compliance operations and regulatory frameworks.

Strategic and Operational Balance : Capable of executing tactical responsibilities while contributing to longer-term compliance strategy and team development.

Team Leadership : Ability to scale compliance operations post-licensing and provide leadership across emerging markets.

Stakeholder Skills : Proven ability to engage confidently with C-level stakeholders, regulators, and cross-functional partners.

Mindset & Attributes :

Commercial and solution-driven in approach

Analytical with a strong grasp of risk management principles

Practical, diplomatic, and resilient when navigating complex or high-pressure discussions

A collaborative team player with the maturity to influence without authority

Adaptable, hands-on, and energized by a high-growth, high-accountability environment

Functional Expertise Across :

Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) for retail investing platforms

Regulatory submissions and periodic reporting

Credit and margin finance risk (desirable but not mandatory)

Trade monitoring and surveillance

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Head Of Compliance • Singapore, Pedra Branca, Singapore