Head of Compliance

We are looking for a Head of Compliance who sees regulation as part of how a bank is built, and part of its culture.

As a senior professional you are to become our Head of Compliance and Data Protection Responsible. Someone who knows the craft inside out, but would rather shape a smarter, leaner compliance function than run a big-bank machine.

As part of our second line of defence, you lead the Compliance function with overall responsibility for identifying, assessing, monitoring, advising on and reporting on compliance and data risks.

This is a rare opportunity to shape the governance and compliance culture of a fast-growing bank at an early stage. You work closely with Executive Management and the Board of Directors, and your judgement directly influences how we grow across Denmark, and the rest of EU. If you pair deep regulatory expertise with integrity, courage and a commercial mindset, this is a place where you can make a real difference.

• You run and ensure timely development of our effective compliance framework based on the bank’s business model and risk appetite, including the annual compliance risk assessment, the multi-year compliance review plan and the Compliance Procedure.
• You review and monitor the effectiveness of the bank’s methods and procedures across all areas relevant to financial regulation – including financial crime prevention (AML/CTF, sanctions, fraud, ABC), credit, DORA, GDPR, solvency and capital (CRR/CRD), PSD2/PSD3 and MiCA.
• You report regularly to Executive Management and the Board of Directors, and escalate significant findings, warnings or concerns when compliance risks or incidents arise.

• You monitor new and updated regulation, assess its impact on the bank and advise on implementation together with Legal.
• You take part in our business development process: reviewing new products, assessing new outsourcing and overseeing product governance.
• You take part in meetings with the Danish FSA and other supervisory authorities, and follow up on any remediation.

• You take on the role as kompasbank’s Data Protection Responsible: the contact point for data protection authorities and data subjects, handling breach reporting and access requests, and advising on data processing agreements, transfer impact assessments and DPIAs.

• You own our whistleblower scheme and case handling.
• You advise on the Remuneration Policy and supporting Executive Management on investor relations and equity and debt financing.
• You build a strong risk and compliance culture through training and awareness, and making sure the Compliance function has the resources it needs.
• Working closely with Risk Management to coordinate second-line reviews and risk assessments.

• Legal background: A law degree (cand.jur., cand.merc.jur. or equivalent) and 10+ years of experience in financial services regulation, with solid experience from a bank, a law firm, a fintech or a supervisory authority.
• Compliance expertise: Proven experience leading or holding a senior role in a compliance function in a regulated financial institution.
• Regulatory knowledge: Strong analytical capability within Danish and EU financial regulation, procedures and products; knowledge of the Danish Financial Business Act and Executive Order on Management and Control of Banks, etc., AML/CTF, DORA and MiCA is a strong plus.
• Data protection: Knowledge of GDPR and data protection practice in a regulated environment; experience from a data protection role is a strong plus.
• Collaboration and communication: You build strong relationships across the bank and explain complex regulation clearly to colleagues, management and regulators.

As Head of Compliance is a key function, the position is subject to a fit & proper assessment by kompasbank and the Danish FSA. You must therefore be able to document sufficient knowledge, experience and a good reputation, and have no criminal record or ongoing insolvency proceedings that could affect your suitability.

Europe runs on small and medium-sized businesses. SMEs make up 99% of all EU companies, employ around 100 million people and generate more than half of Europe’s GDP. Yet they are the part of the economy the financial system serves worst: too complex for automated retail credit, too small to be worth a traditional corporate bank’s attention. The Draghi report on European competitiveness was blunt. Europe is falling behind the US and China in growth, productivity and technology, and fragmented, slow-moving capital is a central reason why. Europe will not become relevant again through a handful of champions alone. It needs thousands of ambitious mid-sized companies that can get financing, move money domestically and internationally, and scale across borders as easily as their American competitors. That is where kompasbank stands. Built on a full EU banking licence, we bank European SMEs properly, with serious service, data excellence and the regulatory rigour that lets us say yes where others say no.

We’re a cloud-native neobank with no legacy systems and no silos. Since opening our doors in August 2021, we’ve grown fast, expanding across Denmark, Germany and Spain, with a growth rate of more than 1,150% and top rankings on the Sifted lists – and we were named Best Bank for SMEs – Denmark 2024 by FDI Insider.

We can’t wait to hear from you! Please submit your cover letter and resume/CV. We will conduct interviews on an ongoing basis.