Director, Compliance

Kiavi is one of the nation’s largest private lenders to residential real estate investors (REIs). We harness the power of data & technology to offer our customers a simpler, more reliable, and faster way to access the capital they need to scale their businesses. 

Formerly known as LendingHome, we’re committed to helping REIs revitalize the approximately $25 trillion worth of aged U.S. housing stock to provide move-in ready homes and rental housing for millions of Americans across the country.

Combining our technology and industry expertise, Kiavi has grown to a team of over 400 and has won many awards over the years including Forbes Fintech 50, Finovate Awards, Best Digital Mortgage Platform, Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, and many more. 

• Loans Funded: $27 billion in loans funded
• Homes financed: 100,000+ projects funded for our customers across the country
• Geography: 45 states + D.C. where we lend to REIs so they can revitalize neighborhoods
• Employees: Over 450 employees with competitive benefits and perks

This position can be based remotely in any of our approved hiring regions. Our hybrid distributed workforce philosophy allows us to find the best talent in the country and build diverse teams, while allowing our colleagues to work from the location that works best for them. 

Job Summary:

The Compliance Officer is a key leadership role responsible for building, managing, and executing the compliance functions and the operational risk framework at Kiavi. This individual will oversee compliance, fraud, and internal audit ensuring that all operational processes are robust, effective, and aligned with the company's risk appetite. The Compliance Officer will report directly to the Chief Risk Officer (CRO) and be crucial in mitigating operational threats and maintaining the integrity of Kiavi's systems and processes.

Key Responsibilities

• Compliance / Operational Risk Management: Develop and maintain a strong compliance and operational risk framework to identify, assess, monitor, and report on risks across the entire organization. This includes addressing incomplete or outdated operational documentation.
• Compliance / Operational Risk Roadmap: Develop, enhance and implement a roadmap of compliance and operational risk initiatives with clear timelines, ownership, and execution plans

• Internal Audit: Lead and build an independent audit function from the ground up, responsible for conducting regular audits to evaluate the effectiveness of internal controls, processes, and systems
• Compliance Oversight: Manage the compliance team, ensuring the company meets all external regulatory obligations and internal policies. 
• Fraud Prevention and Detection: Lead the fraud function, with a specific focus on developing and implementing an algorithmic fraud detection process. This includes implementing solutions for monitoring systems to prevent fraudulent activities.
• Team Leadership: Lead and mentor a team of professionals within the internal audit, compliance, and fraud functions, fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.

Education & Experience:

• A bachelor's degree in a relevant field such as finance, business administration, or legal.
• A minimum of 7-10 years of experience in compliance, operational risk, legal or a related field, with at least 3-5 years in a leadership or managerial role.
• Proven experience in a financial services or technology-driven environment, with a strong understanding of lending and real estate operations.
• Preferred: Strong understanding of business-purpose lending (bridge, rental, new construction) and real estate operations involving non-consumer borrowers/entities.

Skills & Competencies:

• Strong knowledge of operational risk frameworks, internal audit methodologies, and regulatory compliance requirements including AML/BSA, HMDA, FCRA, Privacy Laws.
• Demonstrated experience in implementing new processes and technologies, particularly in fraud detection and data analytics.
• Measurable ability for automating processes with outcomes that result in significant gains in efficiency and accuracy over legacy systems. 
• Exceptional leadership and team-building skills, with the ability to manage diverse functions under a single organizational structure.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to present complex information