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Wave is a fintech company on a mission to make Africa the first cashless continent by building accessible financial services across Sub-Saharan Africa. The company operates in 9 countries with millions of users and is backed by top-tier investors including Sequoia, Stripe, and Y Combinator.
You will serve as the Head of Compliance and Risk for Wave's Democratic Republic of the Congo market, reporting to the Global Head of Risk & Compliance. This is a hands-on, senior leadership role where you will be the most senior compliance and risk leader on the ground, responsible for building and maintaining a best-in-class compliance framework, protecting Wave from regulatory risk, and championing a strong culture of integrity and accountability.
Key Responsibilities:
Compliance: Define and drive the strategic direction of the compliance program in the DRC. Serve as the senior compliance advisor to leadership and the board, including country board-level reporting. Own and maintain all compliance-related policies, procedures, and risk controls. Monitor evolving regulatory frameworks (BCC, AML/CFT regulations) and ensure internal alignment. Support AML and CFT investigations, including submission of Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) to CENAREF. Monitor implementation of KYC, agent and merchant onboarding controls. Manage relationships with the Central Bank (BCC), CENAREF, local regulators, and banking partners. Coordinate and respond to regulatory audits, inquiries, and filings. Develop crisis management and response plans for non-compliance incidents. Drive compliance training and education programs across teams.
Risk: Identify and evaluate operational risks across all domains (product, operations, compliance, finance). Own Wave's local risk mapping and ensure mitigation strategies are in place. Collaborate with function leads on new or evolving risks. Partner on strategic risk reviews for new product launches and regulatory changes. Design and implement second-level internal controls. Support and mentor team members on control execution. Continuously improve controls based on incidents and audits. Own follow-up on gaps identified during reviews.
Fraud Support: Coordinate local aspects of fraud investigations and awareness efforts. Escalate fraud signals and trends to regional and global teams.
You will work cross-functionally with operations, legal, product, and engineering teams, and partner closely with banking partners and regulators.
Requirements:
- Professional or native fluency in French and English
- Minimum 7–10 years of experience in Compliance, Risk Management, or Regulatory Affairs, with at least 3 years in a senior leadership role
- Bachelor's degree in Finance, Law, Economics, Risk, or a related field (advanced degrees or certifications such as CAMS or ICA are a plus)
- Proven success leading compliance for a regulated financial services company or fintech in the DRC, including extensive experience engaging with the BCC
- Strong knowledge of mobile money, e-money, and digital financial services regulatory frameworks
Desirable traits: hands-on and analytical approach, ability to work collaboratively with cross-functional and multicultural teams, strong commitment to integrity and accountability, intellectual curiosity, creative problem-solving, and embrace of learning from failure.
