About us

Aave Labs builds innovative products leveraging blockchain technologies. Aave Labs' suite includes the Aave app, unleashing the Aave Protocol and its native stablecoin GHO, and Family, a design-first mobile crypto wallet. Push by Aave Labs is our crypto on- and off-ramp product, regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Our vision is to build a people-powered internet that benefits all.

Our culture

Having cultivated a thriving, collaborative culture, our team is kind, welcoming and passionate about what we are building. We celebrate differences and seek to develop and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool from all over the world. No matter where you are based, no ghost will be left behind and we appreciate every moment we get to work and have fun together.

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced and commercially minded Head of Compliance and Financial Crime to lead our second line of defence across the Group. Under the Central Bank of Ireland’s Fitness & Probity Regime the role is designated as PCF-12 (Head of Compliance) and PCF-52 (Head of AML and CTF) and is subject to prior regulatory approval. While these PCF responsibilities apply to the Irish regulated entity, the successful candidate will operate at a Group level, providing oversight, leadership, and coordination of compliance and financial crime frameworks across all regulated entities, including Ireland, the UK, and the US. The individual will act as a key control function holder, providing independent oversight, constructive challenge, and expert guidance to the Boards and senior management teams across the Group.

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How you can make an impact in respect of the Irish regulated entity:

Serve as the approved PCF-12 (Head of Compliance) and PCF-52 (Head of AML/CTF).
Maintain overall responsibility for the firm’s compliance and AML/CTF frameworks.
Ensure the firm complies with all applicable Irish and EU regulatory obligations.
Provide formal Compliance and Financial Crime reporting to the Irish Board.
Act as primary regulatory liaison with the Central Bank of Ireland in respect of compliance and financial crime matters.
Ensure robust implementation of AML/CTF controls, including business-wide and customer risk assessments; CDD/EDD frameworks; ongoing monitoring and transaction monitoring; suspicious activity reporting; and sanctions compliance.

How you can make an impact across all regulated Group entities:

Contribute towards the design, implementation, and continuous enhancement of a Group-wide compliance and financial crime framework, ensuring alignment with applicable regulatory requirements in Ireland, the UK, and the US.
Promote consistent standards, governance principles, and control frameworks across jurisdictions, while accommodating local legal and regulatory nuances.
Oversee the Group Compliance Plan, including regulatory reporting obligations, monitoring and testing programmes, and remediation tracking.
Provide consolidated management information and thematic reporting to Group leadership and relevant Boards.
Act as an escalation point for first line teams across jurisdictions, including the Financial Crime and Support teams.
Support regulatory engagement and examinations across all jurisdictions, including coordination of responses and remediation activities.
Partner with Product, Operations, Engineering, and Legal teams to ensure regulatory requirements are embedded into new products, market expansion initiatives, and operational processes.
Support global expansion efforts by assessing regulatory implications and building scalable control frameworks.
Monitor and assess global regulatory developments ensuring proactive implementation of new requirements.
Foster a strong culture of compliance, integrity, and financial crime awareness across the organisation.
Lead Compliance and Financial Crime training programmes across jurisdictions.
Maintain strong working relationships with regulators, law enforcement, auditors, and external advisors across Ireland, the UK, and the US.
Mentor and develop members of the Compliance and Financial Crime teams.

Let's connect if you have:

Bachelor’s degree in law, finance, business, or related field (professional certifications such as ACAMS, ICA, or equivalent highly desirable).
Minimum 10 years’ experience in senior compliance and/or financial crime roles within regulated financial services.
Demonstrable experience in payments and/or cryptoasset businesses across multiple jurisdictions.
Experience interacting directly with regulators and Boards.
Strong knowledge of Irish, EU, UK, and US regulatory frameworks applicable to payments and/or cryptoasset service providers.
Experience performing a PCF or equivalent senior regulatory control function is highly desirable.
Strong leadership capability, with the ability to operate both strategically and hands-on.
Excellent analytical, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
A pragmatic, commercially aware problem-solver with a builder mindset.

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Haven’t quite met all the criteria? Let’s not miss out on the chance to speak. Whilst you might not meet every single requirement, you might bring other, more exciting skills to the companies!

Equal opportunities statement

Aave Labs celebrates diversity and views each and every team member as a separate individual with their own unique identity. No matter your race, religion, gender, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation or even the wallet you use, we welcome you at Aave Labs. As an equal opportunities employer, we take accountability and believe in everyone's potential to build, create and inspire changes. With a mission to build a diverse workforce, we are proud to foster a working environment in which everyone can feel safe and valued for who they are.

Head of Compliance and Financial Crime

Job Description