Head of Financial Crime & DMLRO

UK London

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Legal & Compliance Leadership

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18 Jun 2026

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R-0004721

We’re reinventing payments.
In less than four years, Dojo disrupted the market to become the largest and most loved acquirer in the UK. Our payments infrastructure, purpose-built for in-person commerce, is game changing.

Now, over 150,000 customers across four countries choose to transact billions with us every year.
But we’re just getting started.

Our people are the driving force behind our success. They are our greatest investment and our ultimate competitive advantage. We hire exceptional people and give them the autonomy, trust, and ownership to thrive. The results take care of themselves.

 

The Role...

As the Head of Financial Crime & DMLRO, you will play a critical leadership role in protecting Dojo from financial crime risk and ensuring our compliance framework remains robust as we scale. In this dual-capacity role, you will have oversight of our anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorist financing (CTF), anti-bribery & corruption (ABC), and sanctions frameworks, while leading the Financial Crime function (including Financial Crime Compliance, Operations, and Quality Assurance teams).

Reporting directly to the Head of Compliance / MLRO (SMF16/SMF17) you will collaborate closely with the MLRO, executive leadership, and cross-functional teams to proactively manage risk, drive control enhancements, and ensure Dojo meets its legal and regulatory obligations under POCA, the Money Laundering Regulations, and other relevant UK and international requirements

This is a high-impact, second-line leadership role where strategic vision meets active team development and sharp regulatory execution.

What you’ll do...

  • Team Leadership & Strategy: Lead, manage, and mentor the Financial Crime compliance and operations team (including Financial Crime Officers, Analysts, and Leads) fostering a high-performing, collaborative, and solutions-oriented team culture.
  • DMLRO Accountability: Actively support the MLRO in discharging their regulatory duties. Assume full responsibility for MLRO functions and act as the primary point of contact for financial crime matters in their absence.
  • Policy & Framework Maintenance: Own the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of Dojo's financial crime compliance policies, procedures, and risk appetite statements.
  • QA/QC Framework Ownership: Act as the ultimate approver and owner of the Financial Crime Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) framework. Review monthly QA/QC testing results, evaluate control gaps, and monitor the implementation of agreed-upon remediation measures across the 1LoD and 2LoD 
  • Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR): Manage and oversee the end-to-end Suspicious Activity Reporting process ensuring that internal escalations are thoroughly investigated, documented, and reported to the National Crime Agency (NCA) or other relevant authorities in a timely manner.
  • Advisory & Cross-Functional Partnership: Partner with product, technology, and operations teams to provide pragmatic, risk-based guidance on financial crime implications for new products, payment integrations, or expansion initiatives.
  • Regulatory Interaction & Reporting: Support the MLRO and Head of Compliance in managing regulatory interactions, information requests, and external audits related to financial crime compliance 

What you’ll bring...

  • Proven Senior Experience: Extensive practical financial crime compliance experience (ideally 5+ years) in AML, ABC, CTF, and Sanctions compliance, preferably within e-money, payments, merchant acquiring, or a fast-paced fintech environment 
  • Strong Leadership Track Record: Demonstrated experience leading, building, and developing compliance or operational teams within a regulated financial services environment 
  • In-Depth Regulatory Knowledge: Deep and comprehensive understanding of UK financial crime laws and regulations (e.g., POCA, Money Laundering Regulations, JMLSG) and awareness of international standards.
  • Analytical & Pragmatic Mindset: Able to simplify complex regulations, identify systemic control gaps, and design creative, practical, and business-focused solutions.
  • Exceptional Communication: A highly collaborative communicator with a proven track record of influencing senior stakeholders, presenting to committees, and fostering cross-functional alignment.
  • Credentials: A relevant compliance or financial crime qualification (e.g., ICA Diploma in AML/Financial Crime, ACAMS certification) is highly preferred.
  • Professional Integrity: High ethical standards, professional vigilance, and a dedication to protecting the firm.

Dojo home and away

We believe our best work happens when we collaborate in-person. These “together days” foster communication, drive innovation and spark our brightest ideas.

That's why we have an office-first culture. This means working from the office 4+ days per week.

With offices across Europe, we know a thing or two about staying dynamic. Need deep focus? Head to a quiet zone. Big ideas? Collaboration spaces have you covered. Just here for a catch-up? Our social hubs make it easy. Do work that counts, in spaces made for you.


Question: what’s curious, relentless, and customer obsessed?

If you’re keen to know the answer, you’re a third of the way to meeting our Dojo values.

If the following speak to you, let’s talk:

  • You’re curious. You have a real desire to learn and create.
  • You’re relentless. You keep going even when it’s easier not to. 
  • You’re customer-obsessed. You know how important customers are to what you do. 

 

Diversity, equity, and inclusion at Dojo

From local bakeries to well-known eateries, Dojo payments serve over 150,000 places across the UK. 

And something that’s fundamental to creating relevant, innovative products at Dojo is to build teams to reflect the diversity of the businesses we serve.

Our drive to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion is closely linked to helping employees thrive and innovating for better customer experiences.

If you care about your work, you’re curious, and you think customer-first, you have a place at Dojo.

To make sure you’re the best you can be throughout the recruitment process, let us know if you need any extra adjustments to help you thrive. 

 

Visit dojo.careers to find out more about our benefits and what it’s like to work at Dojo, or check out our LinkedIn and Instagram pages. 

#LI-Hybrid

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Dojo is a trading name of Paymentsense Limited. Copyright ©2026 Paymentsense Limited. All rights reserved. Paymentsense Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA FRN 738728) and under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 (FCA FRN 900925) for the issuing of electronic money and provision of payment services.