Program Manager, Financial Crimes

Job description

Job Description: At Remitly, we believe everyone deserves the freedom to access, move, and manage their money wherever life takes them. Since 2011, we’ve tirelessly delivered on our promise to customers sending money globally, providing secure, simple, and reliable ways to manage their money, ensuring true peace of mind. Whether it’s supporting loved ones back home, growing a business across continents, or pursuing new opportunities abroad, we’re not just here to move money— we’re here to move our global customers forward. We’re looking for builders, reimaginers, and global thinkers who want to work at the intersection of technology, trust, and transformation. If that’s you and you’re ready to do the most meaningful work of your career—we invite you to join over 2,800 passionate Remitlians worldwide who are united by our vision to transform lives with trusted financial services that transcend borders. The Financial Crimes Compliance team at Remitly is seeking a Program Manager to serve as a strategic, execution-driven partner to the Financial Crimes Lead. This role is a driver of program transformation, control maturity, and governance discipline across Remitly’s AML, Sanctions, and KYC programs. The ideal candidate brings a structured mindset, compliance knowledge, and the ability to lead complex, cross-functional workstreams that span regulatory change management, control design, audit execution, and executive reporting. The right candidate is a proactive problem-solver who anticipates program needs, identifies gaps before they become issues, and helps translate regulatory and operational complexity into clear, actionable program improvements. They bring credibility with senior stakeholders, thrive in ambiguous environments, and are committed to building best-in-class financial crimes compliance infrastructure at a global fintech operating in high-risk remittance corridors. What You’ll Do Strategic Transformation & Change Management Partner with the Financial Crimes Lead to define, prioritize, and execute strategic program initiatives, translating high-level compliance objectives into structured project plans with clear milestones, owners, and accountability mechanisms. Lead change management processes for program-level transformations, including policy, procedure, and process overhauls, ensuring stakeholder alignment, effective communication, and sustainable adoption. Develop and maintain a Financial Crimes program roadmap that integrates regulatory developments, audit findings, control gaps, and I&T dependencies into a unified view of program priorities. Drive cross-functional alignment on Financial Crimes initiatives, facilitating working groups and steering sessions that bring together Compliance, Legal, Risk, Operations, and Technology stakeholders. Build and maintain program health metrics that provide the Financial Crimes Lead and senior leadership with a real-time view of program maturity, initiative progress, and risk posture. Control Management Serve as the primary liaison between the Financial Crimes program and Controls Testing, leading the end-to-end lifecycle of control creation and amendment — from identifying control gaps through to ratification and implementation. Work with program subject matter experts to draft new control language and amend existing controls across Sanctions, KYC, and AML program areas, ensuring that control statements are precise, testable, and aligned with regulatory expectations and internal risk appetite. Map controls to applicable regulatory requirements (e.g., BSA, OFAC regulations, FinCEN guidance, FATF recommendations), maintaining a living regulatory-to-control traceability matrix that demonstrates program coverage and identifies gaps. Author technical control specifications that define control objectives, key attributes, testing procedures, evidence requirements, and failure thresholds — in a format suitable for both internal validation and external examiner review. Engage 1LoD operational teams (including Customer Operations, Onboarding, and Payments) to validate control feasibility, confirm operational alignment, and document business acceptance prior to formal control ratification. Track the status of in-flight control changes through governance forums and ensure that approved control amendments are reflected in policy, procedure, and system configuration documentation. Issue & Audit Management Own the Financial Crimes issues register end-to-end, ensuring that management action plans (MAPs) are documented with clear owners, due dates, and measurable completion criteria, and driving accountability across program leads to keep remediation on track. Lead project management for Financial Crimes audits and GCIT testing cycles (Sanctions, KYC, AML), including building audit response workplans, coordinating evidence collection, managing submission deadlines, and escalating risks to the Financial Crimes Lead. Proactively monitor MAP aging and escalate overdue items to senior leadership, providing data-driven reporting on issue remediation velocity and program exposure. Coordinate with Internal Audit, Compliance Testing, and external examiners to ensure audit readiness, and serve as a primary point of contact for document requests and examiner inquiries during active reviews. Reporting & Management Information Produce and manage recurring management information reporting, including GOO reporting, Monthly Business Reviews (MBR), quarterly board reporting packages, and ad hoc deliverables — ensuring outputs are analytically rigorous, narratively coherent, and executive-ready. Aggregate inputs from program leads across Sanctions, KYC, and Transaction Monitoring and synthesize them into structured reporting that clearly communicates program status, risk trends, and remediation progress. Design and evolve reporting templates, dashboards, and governance calendars to improve the consistency, efficiency, and impact of Financial Crimes management information. Policy & Procedure Governance Lead the drafting and periodic review of Financial Crimes policies and procedures, ensuring that documents accurately reflect current regulatory requirements, operational practices, and internal control standards. Manage the policy governance calendar, proactively identifying documents approaching their review cycle and coordinating the end-to-end review, challenge, and approval workflow across relevant stakeholders. Maintain version-controlled documentation repositories and ensure that policy changes are effectively communicated to impacted teams as part of a structured change management process. Regulatory Research & Intelligence Monitor the regulatory horizon across key Financial Crimes domains (FinCEN, OFAC, FATF, FinTRAC, FCA, and others relevant to Remitly’s corridors) and produce timely, actionable intelligence briefs for program leads and senior leadership. Analyze newly issued guidance, enforcement actions, and emerging typologies and assess their implications for Remitly’s program controls, policies, and risk appetite, flagging items that require proactive remediation. Support the development of internal regulatory change management processes that ensure emerging requirements are tracked, assigned, and incorporated into program updates on a structured timeline. Technology & Initiative Tracking Own the Financial Crimes technology initiative tracker, maintaining a consolidated view of all in-flight I&T dependencies, milestone progress, escalation needs, and delivery risks. Act as the primary bridge between Financial Crimes program leads and I&T partners, translating compliance requirements into business requirements and ensuring that technology deliverables remain aligned with program objectives. Drive accountability on technology-enabled compliance initiatives, facilitating regular cadences with I&T stakeholders and surfacing blockers to the Financial Crimes Lead with recommended resolutions. What We’re Looking For Required 3–5 years of experience in compliance program management, financial crimes compliance, regulatory governance, or a related field, ideally within a financial institution, fintech, or MSB environment. Demonstrated ability to independently lead complex, cross-functional workstreams from inception to completion, with strong project management discipline and a track record of on-time delivery. Working knowledge of financial crimes compliance frameworks, including BSA/AML, OFAC sanctions regulations, and KYC/CDD requirements. Strong analytical and written communication skills, including the ability to draft control language, policies, regulatory summaries, and executive-facing materials with precision and clarity. Experience with control design, control documentation, or regulatory-to-control mapping in a compliance or risk management context. Proficiency with project tracking tools (e.g., Jira, Asana, or equivalent) and productivity software (Google Workspace or Microsoft 365). Preferred Direct experience supporting internal audit responses, regulatory examinations, or compliance testing programs at an MSB, bank, or fintech. Familiarity with GCIT, second-line testing frameworks, or formal control lifecycle governance processes. Exposure to sanctions compliance (OFAC, UN, EU, UK) and the technical operational requirements of a global remittance business. CAMS certification or active progress toward CAMS, CGSS, or equivalent financial crimes credentials. Experience operating in a high-growth, ambiguous environment where program infrastructure is actively being built and matured. Our Benefits: In Site Subsidized Meals Transportation Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) Mental Health & Family Forming Benefits Private Life Insurance On site Clinic and Remitly Doctor Continuous learning tools & certification programs Two consecutive days off Remitly is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.