Compliance Operations Associate - São Paulo (Hybrid)

Job description

**Clara is the leading platform in Latin America for companies to execute and manage every payment operation.** More than 50,000 leading and fast-growing businesses run on our corporate cards, bill pay, financing and B2B payments, and in 2025 the Financial Times named Clara the region’s fastest-growing company. We’re passionate about helping every company we work with become more effective—and, through that, raising the region’s competitiveness. We’re ~400 people, backed by Notable Capital, Coatue, Kaszek, monashees, DST Global, ICONIQ, General Catalyst and Goldman Sachs, among others. ### What you'll do We are looking for a hands-on Compliance Operations Associate based in Brazil to join the Legal & Compliance team and report directly to the Head of Legal & Compliance. The role will support customer onboarding, ongoing reviews and the operational AML/CFT agenda across Brazil, Mexico and Colombia. You will manage high-volume casework with sound judgment, clear evidence and reliable execution, while helping us improve controls, workflows and automation. - Review onboarding, remediation and reassessment cases for customers in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia. - Analyze corporate documents, ownership structures, Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs), business models, expected activity and the consistency of customer information. - Perform KYC/KYB and enhanced due diligence, including PEP, sanctions and adverse-media screening, and document the rationale for each conclusion. - Execute ongoing transaction monitoring and review AML/CFT alerts from initial assessment through documented closure or escalation. - Investigate unusual or potentially suspicious activity, request additional information, conduct enhanced reviews and escalate cases in line with internal governance. - Support the full range of operational AML/CFT activities assigned to Compliance, including periodic and event-driven reviews, customer-risk classification, control execution, remediation and the preparation of internal or regulatory reporting inputs. - Apply the KYC Manual, AML/CFT policies, risk criteria, checklists, SLAs and escalation rules consistently across cases. - Maintain complete, accurate and auditable records of evidence, pending items, decisions, approvals and follow-up actions. - Manage the Compliance pipeline by risk, priority and SLA, providing visibility into volumes, aging, backlogs and material exceptions. - Escalate higher-risk cases, exceptions and matters requiring a risk decision to the appropriate Compliance leadership or governance forum. - Work closely with Operations, Fraud, Risk, Credit, Product, Engineering and Data to resolve process gaps and strengthen preventive and detective controls. - Support AML/CFT risk assessments, quality reviews, control testing, metrics, procedures, playbooks and training materials. - Identify opportunities for responsible automation and contribute to requirements, testing, implementation and ongoing validation while preserving human review and auditability. ### Who you are *We’re looking for someone who meets the minimum requirements to be considered for the role. The preferred qualifications are a bonus, not a requirement.* ### Must Haves - 2+ years of experience in Compliance Operations, KYC, KYB, AML/CFT, transaction monitoring or customer onboarding, ideally in a fintech, financial institution or payments company. - Practical experience reviewing legal entities, UBOs, ownership structures, customer documentation and AML/CFT alerts. - Working knowledge of customer due diligence, enhanced due diligence, PEP and sanctions screening, adverse media and suspicious-activity escalation. - Ability to manage high-volume queues, meet SLAs and maintain clear, complete and auditable case records. - Sound judgment, attention to detail and the ability to apply policies consistently while recognizing when escalation is required. - Strong ownership, organization and clear communication across multiple teams and countries. ### Must Haves - Experience with AML/CFT requirements or Compliance operations in Brazil, Mexico or Colombia. - Experience using case-management, screening or transaction-monitoring tools. - Experience supporting regulatory reporting, audits, control testing or remediation plans. - Spanish proficiency. - Experience or strong interest in workflow automation, data analysis or the responsible use of AI in Compliance operations. ### **Where we work** This is a hybrid role: you'll split your time between the office, customers and home. We don't set a minimum number of office days for most roles — you'll spend time in the office naturally, and most days during your ramp-up or when your leader asks. ## Why Clara - **A high talent-density team** driven to make an impact in Latin America — low ego, high ownership. - Competitive salary and stock options (ESOP) from day one. - An annual learning budget and accelerated development paths. - English is our working language, with Spanish and Portuguese every day. ## How we work - **Clarity** — Open and direct communication: we say what we mean and give context where it matters. - **Simplicity** — If it can be simpler, it should be. - **Ownership** — We own everything we do, end to end. When something needs to happen, we don't wait. - **Pride** — We hold ourselves to a high standard, and it shows in what we deliver. - **ABC (Always Be Changing)** — We adapt fast, embrace change, and keep learning. - **Inclusivity** — Diverse ideas, stories and perspectives build a better Clara. If you meet the must-haves, apply — the nice-to-haves are a bonus, not a requirement.