MLRO & Compliance Officer, UAE (ADGM) - Broker Dealer Entity

Role Overview

Key Responsibilities

Compliance Officer

• Responsible for the design, implementation, and oversight of the compliance function and monitoring of adherence to all FSRA Rules, FSMR, MIR, and other applicable regulations.
• Develops and maintains compliance policies, procedures, and monitoring programmes, including trade surveillance, conflicts of interest management, and conduct rules applicable to a Broker Dealer.
• Provides independent compliance advice to the Board and senior management, and reports material issues and escalations in a timely and structured manner.
• Conducts regular compliance reviews, testing, and gap analyses to assess the effectiveness of controls against regulatory requirements.
• Liaises with the FSRA on compliance matters and ensures timely remediation of any regulatory findings or supervisory observations.
• Advises on new products, services, customer journeys, and business initiatives to ensure regulatory requirements are appropriately embedded from inception.
• Partners with Legal, Risk, Operations, and business teams to maintain an effective and proportionate compliance framework.

MLRO

• Has overall responsibility for the implementation, oversight, and effectiveness of the entity's AML/CFT/sanctions programme in accordance with the FSRA AML Rulebook.
• Receives, investigates, and decides on internal suspicious activity reports (SARs/STRs), and files reports with relevant authorities including via goAML where applicable.
• Develops and maintains AML policies, risk assessments, customer due diligence (CDD), enhanced due diligence (EDD), and ongoing monitoring procedures tailored to virtual asset and brokerage risks.
• Ensures staff training and awareness programmes on AML/CFT are current, fit-for-purpose, and appropriately documented.
• Acts as the key point of contact with the FSRA and other authorities on financial crime matters, and provides regular AML reporting to the Board.
• Maintains and periodically reviews the entity's Business Risk Assessment (BRA) and Customer Risk Assessment (CRA) frameworks.

Requirements

• 10+ years of significant senior compliance and/or financial crime experience within ADGM, DIFC, or other regulated financial services environments.
• Strong working knowledge of FSRA Rules, FSMR, the ADGM AML Rulebook, and applicable sanctions frameworks.
• Experience in a Broker Dealer, investment firm, or trading environment, with familiarity with trade surveillance and conduct obligations.
• Experience supporting regulatory authorisations, licensing applications, or regulated entity setup.
• Experience engaging with the FSRA or equivalent regulator on supervisory matters or regulatory examinations.
• Ability to operate strategically while remaining hands-on in execution within a growing business.
• Strong judgement, stakeholder management, and decision-making capability.
• Demonstrated interest in, and practical adoption of, AI technologies to enhance compliance, regulatory, or operational effectiveness will be viewed very favourably.

Profile

• Prior MLRO / Compliance Officer or equivalent senior control function experience within a regulated firm.
• Strong UAE / ADGM regulatory credibility, ideally from crypto, fintech, payments, brokerage, or investment firms.
• Practical, commercially minded operator who can build from scratch and work hands-on.
• Approved Person or willingness to seek FSRA regulatory approval for the Compliance Officer and MLRO controlled functions.