High Risk Assessment Specialist

Location: Global

Team: General

About the Role

Wise is a global technology company revolutionizing the way the world moves and manages money with min fees, max ease, and full speed. As a High Risk Assessment Specialist in our General team, you will play a critical role in ensuring adherence to regulatory and compliance standards, mitigating risks associated with high-risk customers while upholding AML/CTF regulations and Wise’s risk appetite. This position offers an advanced opportunity to deepen your expertise in KYC/AML, handling complex business structures, customer types, activities, and country-specific risks with appropriate mitigation strategies. You will act as the endpoint for escalations from compliance teams, mentoring colleagues as a subject matter expert, performing enhanced due diligence on high-risk customers, and analyzing documentation against Wise policies. Collaborating closely with Product, FinCrime, and other functions, you’ll develop innovative risk mitigation methods, ensure quality assurance, and drive operational efficiencies to support scalable business growth. This role demands strong analytical skills, decision-making under uncertainty, and stakeholder communication in a fast-paced, global environment. Join us in building a new network for the world’s money. The role is based in São Paulo with an initial 100% in-office period (3 months probation), transitioning to hybrid thereafter. Salary range: 11500 - 16100 BRL Monthly.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as an end point for all escalations from other compliance operations teams, assessing customers’ risks and applying risk based approach methodologies
• Mentor and consult other compliance operations teams and act as a subject matter expert in complex cases
• Perform risk assessment and enhanced due diligence on complex and high risk customers, document and provide thorough analysis on potential risks and apply appropriate mitigation measures
• Review and analyze documentation, such as AML, Sanctions, EDD, KYC, and Acceptable Use policies (customers under review), comparing them against Wise’s policies and internal risk-based approach
• Assess the customer’s potential reputational and financial crime risk to Wise from Sanctions, PEP, and adverse media perspective
• Coming up with new and better risk mitigation methods and improving our compliance framework and controls while working closely with Product and FinCrime
• Escalate and report compliance concerns to Financial Crime Oversight and other compliance teams where necessary
• Communicate with internal and external partners/stakeholders to facilitate scalable, compliant business onboarding growth

Required Qualifications

• Excellent verbal and written English skills (additional language skills are a plus)
• A minimum of 3+ years of relevant industry experience, ideally in financial services, compliance roles or at a financial services regulator
• Work autonomously within a limited variety of well-defined procedures and practices
• Ability to take difficult decisions, work with uncertainty, deal with unknowns, and coordinate various sources of information
• Ability to take decisions and apply risk-based approach at your work
• Capable of identifying gaps in policies and processes and liaise as necessary with the team, other business units and stakeholders
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, strong organizational skills, attention to detail, analytical abilities, and ability to adhere to strict deadlines in a fast paced and high pressure environment
• Punctual, resourceful, proactive, enthusiastic and willing to get things done
• Ability to work in a diverse work environment which requires collaboration, partnership and transparency
• Understanding of regional and global regulatory requirements and essentials of risk based approach

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business Administration, Law, or related field
• ICA, CAMS, or equivalent certification (EDD/AML focused)

Required Skills

• Strong analytical and problem solving capabilities
• Strong stakeholder management and interpersonal skills
• Analytical skills, with the ability to provide practical and realistic solutions for minimizing risk
• Comfortable working in a rapidly changing and complex work environment

Benefits

• RSUs (stock options)
• Flexible working
• Parental leave
• Learning budget
• Paid sabbatical after 4 years
• Health insurance
• Company retreat
• Wise card

Wise is an equal opportunity employer committed to building a diverse workforce.