Head of Compliance & Internal Control

ABOUT OUR COMPANY

At Alma, we’re reinventing finance to serve those who matter most: merchants and consumers. Our instalment and deferred payment solutions help merchants boost sales by up to 20%, increase customer loyalty, and deliver a seamless shopping experience — all without encouraging debt. As the BNPL leader in France and active in 10 European countries, we’ve empowered over 23,000 merchants and 9 million consumers. With a team of 350+ and a €115M Series C funding round, Alma is rapidly scaling across Europe — and this is just the beginning...

ABOUT THE POSITION  

Your mission  will be to lead the Regulatory, Financial Security & Internal Control teams by identifying and evaluating the areas of risk within Alma, defining key policies to comply with regulatory obligations and supervising the internal control framework accordingly.

As the Head of Compliance & Internal Control, you will define Alma policies and positioning as a market leader in compliance and Internal control:

• Define the top management position on high-stakes compliance and control projects impacting all Alma and/or several departments;
• Proactively addresses and adjusts for project-related compliance risks and blockers;
• Sets standards for project quality and ensures alignment with both regulatory requirements and organizational objectives / key battles;
• Drives a culture of compliance and control by modelling and advocating compliant practices and processes across the company;
• Builds consensus in the organization, fostering cooperation and understanding of compliance as a shared responsibility;
• Define Alma’s best practices for compliance and control;
• Represent Alma as the key contact person at Alma

As the Head of Compliance & Internal Control, you will manage the following teams:

• Financial security:
  • Supervise the AML-CFT framework, especially the definition, update and accuracy of the consumer and merchant Risk classification;
  • Oversee the following actions executed by the Financial Security team :
    • Definition and implementation of the key KYB and KYC processes with all stakeholders’ teams (mainly Risk & Ops);
    • Treatment of KYB/KYC request escalations;
    • Support and challenge the AML-CFT monitoring operated by Fraud & AML-CFT team;
    • Report of the Suspicious Transaction Reports (STR) to authorities;
    • Communication of key AML/CFT reports to the ACPR;
    • Definition the AML/CFT annual training and awareness program for all employees.
    • Serve as a liaison to the local authorities.

• Regulatory compliance:
  • Define Alma’s regulatory framework and policies. You will assure compliance to main regulatory obligations of the Alma solution, in all its geographies;
  • Ensure the setup of a regulatory watch on all compliance matter , with a specific focus on AML-CFT regulations in Europe;
  • Supervise the IOBSP and ESP processes at Alma , and with its key stakeholders;
  • Supervise the implementation of Alma’s ethic program , when relevant, especially the anticorruption policies and processes;

• Internal Control:
  • Lead the elaboration and update of Alma’s risk mapping. You will identify risks associated to Alma’s processes, evaluate them accordingly and propose controls in order to mitigate them.
  • Supervise the execution of second level controls as part of Alma’s permanent control plan . You will review the controls elaborated by the internal controllers and ensure that recommendations are aligned with the findings at hand.
  • Manage the operational risk management framework at Alma. You will ensure that the risks are well identified and that the incident management framework is effective.
  • Raise awareness in relation to the risk prevention culture in the company. You will carry the Internal Controls’ role and missions within Alma via dedicated trainings along with the recommendations' action plan implementation and follow-up.
  • Support the Periodic Control missions conducted at Alma. You will follow-up on the findings elaborated and the recommendations issued accordingly, and manage the relationship with the periodic controllers.

You will collaborate closely with the Operation, Risk and Finance teams, and report to the General Secretary.

ABOUT YOU

Being an Internal Control Manager requires  a wide skill set and a high level of energy:

• Analytical and risk oriented: You have solid analytical skills and are able to deconstruct problems and be a force of proposition to resolve them.
• Written/Oral communication : You can present your conclusions in a clear, constructed and cohesive way.
• Rigorous: You pay attention to detail and advance in a methodic manner.
• Curious mindset: You are not afraid of asking questions and looking into new topics to satisfy your curiosity.
• Team leader : You are a team leader who can drive and apply a centralized vision for their team.

Your experience

• You preferably have at least 10 years of professional experience in a similar position in Audit / Internal Control within a banking environment or a Fintech (a plus).
• You have a good understanding of the financing challenges of a payment institution and/or financing company.
• You have already worked in an international and multicultural context, and you are fluent in English. French, Italian and/or German are a plus.

You're not sure if you meet 100% of the criteria and that's making you hesitate to apply?

At Alma, we believe that diversity drives innovation and strengthens our community and are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels respected, valued, and empowered to contribute. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and welcome applicants from all backgrounds and experiences. All employment decisions are made based on qualifications, experiences, merit, and business needs without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or any other legally protected characteristic.

So please take your chance, apply anyway !

ABOUT THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS

• Talent Acquisition interview
• Hiring Manager interview
• Business Case
• Final interview with our COO and co-founder
• Team fit

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