THE JOB

As Head of Compliance, you will be responsible for establishing and leading IFU’s second-line compliance function, covering all aspects of non-financial risk across the organization. IFU’s compliance work is structured around four core areas, which together form the foundation for a professional and coherent compliance framework.
The first area is financial crime compliance, which will be a focus point in the role. This includes the further development and implementation of policies and procedures to prevent and mitigate risks related to anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorism financing (CTF), anti-bribery and corruption (ABC), fraud, and sanctions. While there is already some first-line activity in this area, your role will be to strengthen the overall set-up and ensure alignment with relevant regulatory requirements and best practice.
The second area is traditional compliance. This involves maintaining and renewing internal policies and practices such as the code of conduct, conflict of interest and business ethics guidelines. Furthermore, you will potentially be working with policies and regulations within personal account dealing, GDPR, and the market abuse regulation. This focus area also includes testing and implementation of controls and the broader compliance advisory and oversight function.
The third area, regulatory engagement, covers the ongoing dialogue with IFU’s supervisory authority – the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). You will be responsible for maintaining a transparent and constructive relationship, including coordination of inspections, information requests and general compliance communication as well as building a repository of all communication to and from the MFA.
Finally, operational risk will be part of your scope. This includes establishing a framework for identification and management of non-financial risks related to internal processes, systems and counterparties, and ensuring appropriate controls and escalation paths are in place.
Together, these four areas form the strategic and operational scope of the compliance function. Your role will be to design, drive, and maintain IFU’s policies, procedures, risk assessments, and controls across all four areas, with a particular focus on strengthening governance around financial crime and traditional compliance.
In addition to your core compliance responsibilities, you will lead and develop a small but growing team. You will have direct management responsibility for two employees – a Senior Compliance Officer and a Business Integrity Director. Together, you will build a strong, collaborative and high-performing compliance function that supports IFU’s mission and international presence.

YOUR QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

The ideal candidate will have the following experience

• Education: You are a qualified lawyer (cand.jur., cand.merc.jur. or equivalent) or have another relevant educational background.
• Work experience: You have a minimum of 10 years of post-graduation experience from working in a compliance role or as a senior compliance officer in a large corporation, such as a financial institution (which could be a bank or a pension fund), private company or other corporation subject to non financial compliance.
• Compliance: You have solid experience working with compliance, including the development and implementation of policies and procedures, risk assessments and internal controls. Your experience covers key risk areas such as financial crime (e.g. anti-bribery and corruption, AML/KYC, sanctions and fraud), conflicts of interest, etc. Experience working with operational risk frameworks and compliance in an international context would be an advantage.
• Stakeholder management: You have excellent abilities in interacting and building relationships with internal and external stakeholders at all levels, including at senior executive level. You constructively balance legal and commercial interests, and you are comfortable with flagging and challenging processes and decisions that impose compliance risks.
• International: You have an international outlook and experience from working in an international environment.
• Language skills: You are fluent in English (both written and verbal).
• Purpose-driven mindset: You are motivated by making a long-term difference and contributing to solving some of the world’s most pressing challenges – from climate change to social inequality. You thrive in a mission-driven organization like IFU, where investments are guided by the ambition to create lasting positive impact for people and planet.
• Hands-on approach: You bring a strong understanding of how to build and maintain a proportionate compliance program – tailored to the needs of IFU. You thrive in a hands-on role where you are closely involved in execution, and you strike a natural balance between setting direction and getting things done.
• Communication: You have strong written and verbal communication skills and can communicate complex regulatory issues in simple and concise terms to various stakeholders. In your communication, you are able to find the right balance between being detail-oriented and structured.
• Responsibility: You take responsibility and can set priorities and juggle multiple demands while maintaining the overview and adhering to deadlines.
• Build trust & influence: Strong stakeholder and communication skills with the ability to build trust across the organization at all levels. Able to influence through credibility and to “sell” the strategic relevance and business value of the compliance function – with patience and understanding.
• Strategic mindset: A strategic thinker with a can-do attitude and a strong focus on practical solutions. Able to navigate complexity, address competing priorities, and align compliance efforts with business needs.
• Ownership and collaboration: You demonstrate initiative and take ownership with a proactive leadership style. Leading by example, fostering cross-unit cooperation, and promoting teamwork and open information sharing across the organization.

IFU is partnering with Resolver on this recruitment. please apply via their website https://resolvalaw.com/ifu-head-of-compliance/
To apply opportunistically with IFU set up a job agent via the career site.

ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT IMPACT? IFU IS SEEKING A HEAD OF COMPLIANCE TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR BUILDING AND LEADING A NEW COMPLIANCE TEAM THAT WILL CONSIST OF THREE COMPLIANCE PROFESSIONALS.

IFU is Denmark’s Development Finance Institution. We aim to be a best-in-class impact investor by making commercial private sector investments that support the green transition, as well as building just and inclusive societies in developing countries and emerging markets. IFU has a strong focus on creating sustainable and responsible businesses, which generate measurable social, economic, and climate impacts as well as solid financial returns. At the end of 2023, IFU managed in total 161 investments across 100 developing countries.

In the role as Head of Compliance, you will head up the compliance efforts in IFU. Within each of the four core areas your work will consist of:

• Leading the development, implementation and ongoing refinement of an integrated, risk-based and forward-looking compliance and financial crime program and conducting comprehensive risk assessments to identify and address compliance and financial crime-related gaps.
• Ensuring high-quality and consistent compliance performance in accordance with all relevant laws, regulations, directives, standards and guidelines.
• Aligning compliance efforts with IFU’s strategic objectives and ensuring timely and high-quality dashboard-based management reporting and ad hoc reporting on compliance issues and incidents that may be identified.
• Driving the ongoing development of IFU’s compliance policies and strategy and ensuring the establishment and maintenance of a fit-for-purpose compliance framework. This includes oversight of first-line controls, policy governance and risk assessment activities.
• Contributing to the establishment of a structured regulatory engagement process and actively promoting a strong risk and compliance culture across the organization, applying a pragmatic and collaborative approach

In addition, you will also be responsible for tasks such as:

• Delivering training and promoting a risk and compliance culture across IFU’s global organization.
• Managing and responding to compliance incidents and ensuring clear escalation and case handling procedures.
• Coordinating regulatory engagement and ensuring transparency and preparedness in relation to the MFA