AML Team Lead

Company Description

Wise is a global technology company, building the best way to move and manage the world’s money.
Min fees. Max ease. Full speed.

Whether people and businesses are sending money to another country, spending abroad, or making and receiving international payments, Wise is on a mission to make their lives easier and save them money.

As part of our team, you will be helping us create an entirely new network for the world's money.
For everyone, everywhere.

More about our mission and what we offer.

Job Description

Wise is seeking a dynamic and experienced Team Lead to lead our Financial Crime Operations team (focused on suspicious activity reporting) in Austin, Texas. This is a leadership role where you will directly contribute to Wise’s mission of protecting our customers and the integrity of our platform. 

We are looking for an individual who thrives in a fast-paced fintech environment, is passionate about mitigating financial crime risk, and excels at building and driving high-performing operational teams. This is not a "floor manager" role; we need a leader who takes charge, coaches effectively, and champions a culture of excellence and accountability.

Your Mission:

As the Team Lead, your mission is to lead, develop, and inspire a team of specialists dedicated to identifying and reporting activities to global financial intelligence units. You will be instrumental in building an efficient, compliant, and high-quality operational unit. This involves making data-driven decisions, proactively identifying and implementing process improvements, rigorously managing performance, mitigating operational risks, and ensuring unwavering adherence to regulatory obligations. You will be the driving force ensuring your team is not just managed, but truly led.

What You’ll Get To Do:

• Lead and Develop a High-Performing Team: Directly lead, coach, mentor, and develop a team of specialists, fostering a culture of excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Drive Performance and Quality: Own and actively manage your team's Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), service delivery goals, and quality standards, implementing strategies to consistently meet and exceed targets.
• Champion Operational Excellence: Design, implement, and oversee operational processes and task allocation, focusing on tactical execution to ensure timely, accurate, and efficient case resolution.
• Uphold Rigorous Standards: Be accountable for the quality of your team's output, ensuring strict adherence to internal policies, procedures, and regulatory requirements.
• Decisive Performance Management: Proactively manage individual and team performance, providing clear, constructive feedback, and taking swift, decisive action to address underperformance or behavioral concerns.
• Stakeholder Engagement and Representation: Confidently represent the team's operations, policies, and processes to different stakeholders upon need.
• Complex Case and Escalation Management: Serve as the primary escalation point for complex cases, collaborating with other functions to ensure effective resolution while maintaining strong customer empathy and clear communication.
• Regulatory Adherence and Change Management: Ensure ongoing compliance with relevant regulations; manage the operational impact of regulatory changes with a focus on efficiency and customer experience.
• Risk Identification and Mitigation: Proactively identify operational risks and vulnerabilities, contributing to the design and implementation of effective controls and mitigation strategies.
• Continuous Improvement: Actively seek and drive opportunities for process adherence, automation, and tooling enhancements to improve efficiency and quality.
• Capacity Planning and Resource Management: Contribute to effective capacity planning to ensure the team can meet fluctuating demands and SLAs.
• Role Model Leadership: Set the highest standards for performance, diligence, and professional conduct, acting as a role model for your team and peers.

Qualifications

What We’re Looking For:

• Proven Leadership Experience: Demonstrable experience in leading, motivating, and developing operational teams, preferably in a fast-paced, regulated environment (e.g., financial services, fintech).
• Financial Crime Expertise (Preferred): Strong knowledge or experience in AML, fraud det