Chief Compliance Officer
RemoteUnited States
Job Summary
Owns and leads Finalsite's enterprise-wide compliance and ethics strategy, establishing governance structures, risk frameworks, and controls for a scaled, regulated organization. Builds, implements, and continuously evolves the Payment Facilitator (PayFac) compliance program from the ground up, including merchant onboarding, underwriting, KYC/KYB, AML, sanctions screening, transaction monitoring, and fraud controls. Ensures adherence to applicable regulatory requirements such as PCI-DSS, NACHA, BSA/AML, OFAC, and card network rules while serving as the primary liaison with sponsor/acquiring banks, payment processors, and regulators. Advises the CEO, executive leadership team, and Board on compliance strategy, PayFac risk, and material legal, operational, and reputational risks. Leads enterprise compliance audits, regulatory examinations, investigations, and remediation initiatives while collaborating cross-functionally with Legal, Finance, HR, Product, Security, Technology, and Operations teams. Provides regular reporting on program effectiveness, merchant risk, audit findings, and key risk indicators to senior leadership.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Legal Studies, Accounting, or related field
- Minimum 12+ years of progressive compliance, regulatory, risk, payments, fintech, banking, or financial services experience
- Minimum 5+ years leading enterprise compliance programs in a senior executive or comparable leadership role
- Required: Demonstrated experience building and operationalizing a Payment Facilitator (PayFac) compliance program from the ground up
- Extensive direct experience within PayFac, payments, fintech, merchant acquiring, sponsor/acquiring banking, payment processing, or similarly regulated financial transaction environments
- Deep expertise in PayFac operations, merchant onboarding and underwriting, KYC/KYB, payment network rules, transaction risk management, fraud and financial crime controls, and financial regulatory compliance
- Expert working knowledge of PCI-DSS, NACHA, AML/KYC/KYB, OFAC, money transmission requirements, card network compliance, merchant monitoring, fraud prevention, transaction monitoring, and financial controls
- Proven experience partnering directly with sponsor/acquiring banks, payment processors, card networks, financial institutions, regulators, and auditors
- Proven experience leading sponsor bank/card network reviews, regulatory examinations, compliance audits, investigations, and remediation efforts within PayFac, payments, fintech, or financial services environments
- Demonstrated ability to build and scale compliance infrastructure in a high-growth technology organization
- Executive presence and the ability to communicate effectively with the CEO, Board of Directors, investors, regulators, banking partners, and cross-functional senior leadership
- Exceptional analytical, strategic thinking, and decision-making capabilities
- Current residency, as well as continued residency, within the United States
Desired Qualifications
- Juris Doctor (JD), MBA, or other advanced degree
- Professional certifications such as CRCM, CAMS, CIPP, CIA, or equivalent
- Experience serving as a Chief Compliance Officer or senior compliance executive within a SaaS, fintech, PayFac, or payment-enabled technology organization
- Experience supporting global payment operations, international regulatory frameworks, and scaled technology platforms
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