Role Overview 

We are seeking a business-facing Head of Compliance to lead the compliance function for a regulated lending business. The role suits a senior compliance professional with strong regulatory judgment and practical understanding of lending operations, customer journeys, and governance. 

The successful candidate will bring strong regulatory judgment, sound understanding of lending operations, and the confidence to act as an independent second line function. The role reports administratively to the Chief Executive Officer and has direct access to the board and relevant committees on material compliance matters, including authority to escalate significant issues where appropriate.

Role Details

Department	Compliance
Reports To	Chief Executive Officer
Location	Yangon, Myanmar
Employment Type	Permanent, Full-Time
Regulatory Scope	Lending, customer protection, AML/CFT, and related regulation

What Success Looks Like in the First 12 Months 

• Build a credible compliance framework with clear ownership, escalation, and board reporting

• Establish effective compliance input into product changes, customer communications, collections, and third-party oversight

• Strengthen regulatory readiness, including filings, response management, and issue follow-through

• Improve visibility of compliance risks, complaint themes, and remediation actions for management and the board

• Build trust with management, control functions, and regulators through clear, practical, and independent advice

Key Responsibilities 

Regulatory Compliance and Oversight 

• Own and maintain the compliance framework, including the compliance plan, regulatory obligations register, reporting calendar, and escalation processes

• Act as the primary internal contact for regulatory correspondence, inspections, submissions, and follow-up actions

• Monitor regulatory developments and assess their impact on products, processes, customer communications, governance, and control requirements

• Prepare and maintain regulatory filings, licensing documentation, compliance reports, and periodic reporting to management and the board, and ensure regulatory submissions are accurate, consistent, and delivered on time

• Oversee the AML/CFT framework, including customer due diligence, escalation of suspicious activity, staff awareness, and recordkeeping

Product, Customer, and Conduct Compliance

• Provide compliance input into the design, launch, and review of lending products, customer journeys, pricing, disclosures, scripts, and processes

• Review customer-facing terms, notices, disclosures, and communications to ensure they are clear, fair, and compliant

• Oversee conduct and customer protection risks across onboarding, underwriting, disbursement, servicing, collections, complaints, and hardship processes

• Review marketing, sales, partner, and collections practices to identify conduct, disclosure, and reputational risks and ensure controls are in place

• Monitor complaint themes, control weaknesses, and customer outcomes, and drive timely remediation with management

Policy, Governance, and Third-Party Oversight 

• Draft, review, and maintain compliance policies, procedures, standards, and guidance aligned with laws, regulations, and internal requirements

• Support an effective governance framework with clear escalation, committee reporting, policy review cycles, and oversight of material risks and breaches

• Design and deliver compliance training for relevant teams, focused on conduct, customer treatment, AML/CFT, and regulatory obligations

• Oversee compliance aspects of third-party, agent, partner, and outsourcing arrangements, including due diligence before onboarding, ongoing monitoring of conduct and control performance, tracking of complaints and breaches, and escalation of material or repeated issues

Compliance Monitoring, Issue Management, and Audit Support 

• Conduct compliance reviews across key activities, including onboarding, product changes, lending operations, collections, complaints, data handling, and third-party arrangements, using complaints, exceptions, customer outcomes, and operational trends to test whether controls work in practice

• Prepare management and board reporting on compliance findings, breaches, complaints, regulatory developments, and remediation status

• Coordinate with internal audit, external audit, and control functions on compliance reviews, findings, and remediation

• Maintain a compliance issues and breach register, drive root-cause remediation, track actions to closure, and escalate overdue or high-risk matters promptly

Advisory Support and External Coordination 

• Provide practical compliance advice to business, product, operations, collections, and support functions on regulatory and policy requirements

• Review or support review of material contracts, partner arrangements, and new initiatives from a compliance perspective, and identify issues requiring legal advice or escalation

• Coordinate with external counsel and other advisers where formal legal interpretation, dispute support, or specialist advice is required

Qualifications and Experience 

Essential 

• Bachelor’s degree required; law degree preferred

• Minimum 7 years of relevant experience, including time in a senior compliance, regulatory, legal, or control role in regulated financial services, lending, or digital financial services

• Strong working knowledge of regulatory requirements for lending, AML/CFT, customer protection, outsourcing, and related financial services activities in Myanmar

• Proven ability to turn regulatory requirements into workable controls, clear guidance, and practical business decisions

• Strong written and spoken English; Myanmar language proficiency preferred or required based on business needs

Preferred 

• Experience owning or supporting an AML/CFT framework in a regulated financial institution

• Direct exposure to digital lending, microfinance, mobile-enabled financial services, collections, or other customer-facing regulated operations

• Experience supporting board, committee, regulatory examination, or governance processes

• Completion of a recognized compliance certification such as ICA, ACAMS, or equivalent

Key Competencies 

• Regulatory Judgment and Independence: Exercises sound judgment, maintains independence, and understands the boundary between business ownership and second line oversight

• Business and Product Understanding: Understands how compliance requirements apply across product, operations, servicing, and customer interactions

• Stakeholder Management: Builds credibility with management, boards, regulators, and control functions and can challenge constructively

• Attention to Detail: Produces accurate, well-structured work and maintains strong control discipline under pressure

• Integrity and Independence: Raises concerns and escalates issues regardless of seniority or commercial pressure

• Communication: Communicates clearly, gets to the point, and turns complex issues into practical actions and decisions

Note on Legal Advisory Scope 

This role provides independent compliance oversight and practical, legally informed guidance. It is not a substitute for formal legal practice. 

The role may review contracts, policies, governance materials, and business initiatives from a compliance perspective, and identify issues requiring legal input. Formal legal opinions, dispute strategy, and specialist legal advice remain the responsibility of external counsel or other qualified advisers. 

Working Relationships 

• Chief Executive Officer (or Chief Operating Officer): administrative reporting line and escalation channel for significant compliance matters

• Board and relevant committees: periodic reporting, escalation of material issues, and support on compliance governance

• Product, Operations, and Collections Teams: advises on regulatory and conduct requirements in product design, customer journeys, servicing, and collections

• Risk, Finance, Technology, Customer Service, and other control or support functions: partners on controls, reporting, complaints, data handling, and remediation

• External counsel and specialist advisers: coordinates matters requiring formal legal advice or specialist support

• Regulators and external stakeholders: represents the business in regulatory correspondence, examinations, and follow-up processes as appropriate