High Risk Assessment Specialist

About this role

As a High Risk Assessment Specialist , you will play a critical role in ensuring Wise's adherence to regulatory and compliance standards. You will be responsible for mitigating risks associated with high risk customers, while maintaining compliance with AML/CTF regulations and internal policies according to Wise's risk appetite. You'll have an advanced understanding of inherent risks tied with complex business structures, various customer types and activities, country-specific risks and their appropriate mitigating strategies.

This role is a great opportunity for people who are interested in deepening their expertise in the KYC/AML domain. What you'll do: Be the expert others turn to – act as the escalation point for all complex compliance cases, assessing high-risk customers and applying sophisticated risk-based methodologies Conduct deep-dive investigations – perform Enhanced Due Diligence on complex business structures and high-risk customers, analyzing their business activities, compliance programs and controls to document thorough risk assessments Share your expertise – mentor and consult other compliance operations teams, acting as a subject matter expert on complex cases Make critical assessments – review and analyze AML, Sanctions, EDD, KYC, and Acceptable Use Policy documentation, comparing against Wise's policies and risk-based approach Protect Wise's reputation – assess customers' potential reputational and financial crime risk from Sanctions, PEP, and adverse media perspectives Drive innovation – develop new risk mitigation methods and improve our compliance framework and controls, working closely with Product and FinCrime teams Enable growth – communicate with internal and external stakeholders to facilitate scalable, compliant business onboarding Own quality – be accountable for quality assurance of the High Risk Assessment team, making decisions within our policy framework and evolving processes with compliance Influence leadership – report compliance concerns, operational incidents, and recommended actions to Financial Crime Oversight and senior management Build capability – support team leads on ad-hoc project work and participate in enhancing compliance management knowledge across the team Provide oversight – assist with deep dives and audits at regional level when required 3+ years of hands-on experience conducting complex, holistic investigations within a Financial Crime team (AML, Sanctions, or Fraud) or equivalent Understanding of regional and global regulatory requirements and risk-based approaches Excellent verbal and written English skills with the ability to clearly articulate your thoughts (additional languages are a plus) Ability to work autonomously within well-defined procedures and practices Capable of consolidating disparate information across and outside the organization to apply risk-based approaches and make firm, defensible calls on complex cases Identify underlying risk drivers and materiality in every review, delivering decisive, rock-solid written arguments grounded in risk appetite and mitigation Spot gaps in policies and processes and work with teams and stakeholders to resolve issues Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, strong organizational abilities, attention to detail, and analytical capabilities Strong stakeholder management and problem-solving skills Ability to meet strict deadlines in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment Proactive, resourceful, enthusiastic and willing to get things done Thrive in diverse work environments that require collaboration, partnership and transparency Work authorization Candidates must hold valid work authorization for Estonia .