Position Overview

The Compliance Officer is the company’s most senior compliance authority — the designated MLRO/MLCO, the firm's primary point of accountability to its regulators, and the person ultimately responsible for ensuring that the company operates with integrity, transparency, and full regulatory compliance across every jurisdiction in which it does business.

This is a role that sits at the intersection of governance, regulation, and culture. The Compliance Officer does not simply manage compliance processes — they build and sustain a compliance framework that is proactive, risk-based, and commercially grounded. They are the firm's conscience on regulatory matters, the primary relationship holder with the FSC, CIMA, and TTSEC, and the person the Board and CEO rely on for honest, timely, and well-informed compliance counsel.

The mandate is deliberately focused: pure compliance. This role does not carry legal affairs or corporate administration responsibilities. It owns the compliance programme — AML/CFT, KYC/CDD, regulatory filings, FATCA/CRS, monitoring, auditing, staff compliance, and the firm-wide culture of integrity that underpins everything the Company does.

How This Role Fits Within the Company

The Compliance Officer reports directly to the CEO and to the Board of Directors — a dual reporting line that reflects the independence and seniority this function requires. On operational matters, the CEO is the primary relationship. On governance, programme integrity, and material compliance concerns, the Board is the audience.

Across the firm, the Compliance Officer holds functional authority over compliance matters regardless of department or reporting line. This is not a role that advises from the sidelines — it sets the compliance standard that every team, advisor, and office must meet. The Senior Manager, Operations & Compliance in Trinidad is the Alternate Compliance Officer for that jurisdiction, executing compliance operations locally under the Compliance Officer's oversight and direction. Similarly, the Senior Manager, Client Services ensures her team adheres to client compliance processes, with the Compliance Officer holding ultimate accountability for the standard those processes meet.

The Company is a growing firm operating across Barbados, Trinidad, and Cayman, with increasing regulatory complexity across all three jurisdictions. The Compliance Officer is joining at a critical moment — the opportunity is to build a compliance function that is genuinely firm-wide, consistently applied, and capable of scaling with the business.

Core Responsibilities

1.  Compliance Programme Leadership

The Compliance Officer is accountable for the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of the Company's group-wide Compliance Programme across all jurisdictions.

•      Develop, maintain, and enforce a comprehensive Compliance Programme aligned with FSC (Barbados), CIMA (Cayman), TTSEC (Trinidad), and applicable international standards including FATF, OECD, and FATCA/CRS frameworks.

•      Draft, update, and circulate compliance policies, procedures, manuals, and codes of conduct across the firm.

•      Establish and maintain a compliance calendar covering all recurring filings, renewals, audits, and regulatory deadlines across all jurisdictions.

•      Integrate compliance objectives into the Company's business strategy and governance framework — ensuring compliance is an enabler, not a blocker.

•      Develop crisis and incident response plans for material compliance breaches, and periodically test their effectiveness.

•      Report to the CEO on operational compliance matters, and to the Board on programme effectiveness, material risks, and governance.

2.  MLRO / MLCO Function & AML/CFT

The Compliance Officer serves as the Company's designated MLRO/MLCO — the named statutory authority for AML/CFT obligations across the firm. This is a formal regulatory function and one of the most critical accountabilities of the role.

•      Serve as the Company's MLRO/MLCO, or supervise appointed MLROs/MLCOs in each jurisdiction, ensuring quality and timeliness of all statutory reporting and regulatory liaison.

•      Maintain a structured AML/CFT framework incorporating risk-based controls, ongoing transaction monitoring, and sanctions screening across OFAC, EU, and UN lists.

•      Review, approve, and file Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs/SARs) where warranted, maintaining a register of all law enforcement and regulatory enquiries.

•      Conduct and oversee periodic AML/CFT risk assessments of the Company's products, services, client base, and operating structures.

•      Coordinate AML audits and inspections, ensuring all findings are remediated within required timeframes.

•      Maintain and operate the firm's Whistleblower Programme and ethical reporting channel.

3.  Regulatory Affairs & Filings

The Compliance Officer is the Company's primary interface with its regulators — responsible for maintaining the firm's licences in good standing and ensuring all regulatory obligations are met accurately and on time.

•      Maintain and renew all of the Company's regulatory licences and registrations across Barbados (FSC), Cayman (CIMA), and Trinidad (TTSEC), ensuring none lapse or fall into deficiency.

•      Prepare and submit all required regulatory filings, annual returns, compliance certificates, and fit-and-proper updates across all jurisdictions.

•      Serve as the Company's named point of contact with regulators — representing the firm in inspections, audits, consultations, and correspondence with full transparency and professionalism.

•      Oversee FATCA and CRS reporting for all relevant Company entities, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and timely submission.

•      Monitor regulatory changes and legislative developments across all jurisdictions, advising the CEO and Board on implications for the Company's operations and policies.

•      Coordinate with external compliance consultants, auditors, and advisors on jurisdictional matters where specialist input is required.

•      Maintain licence and registration trackers for the firm, its entities, and its registered representatives.

4.  Client Compliance — KYC, CDD & Onboarding

•      Oversee the firm-wide client compliance framework — setting the standards for KYC, CDD, and EDD that all client-facing teams must follow.

•      Review and approve high-risk client relationships, enhanced due diligence cases, and material wire transfers on compliance grounds.

•      Ensure client files across all offices are complete, current, and meeting regulatory requirements — working with the Senior Manager, Operations & Compliance and the Senior Manager, Client Services to close gaps.

•      Conduct and oversee ongoing transaction and sanctions monitoring for suspicious or unusual activity.

•      Ensure periodic client risk reviews are completed on schedule and that changes in client risk profile are escalated and acted upon.

•      Validate source of funds and source of wealth documentation for high-risk or complex client structures.

5.  Monitoring, Audits & Compliance Reporting

The Compliance Officer maintains a structured oversight programme that keeps the Board and CEO informed of the firm's compliance position at all times.

•      Implement and maintain a structured compliance monitoring and testing plan across all first-line processes and jurisdictions.

•      Conduct thematic reviews on areas of focus — client onboarding, wire activity, suitability documentation, data access, and trade approvals.

•      Prepare the Monthly Compliance Report for CEO review and the quarterly report for the Board and Compliance Committee.

•      Maintain a compliance dashboard tracking risks, breaches, audit findings, and corrective actions through to closure.

•      Coordinate and prepare documentation for all internal and external regulatory audits, ensuring audit trails are complete and audit-ready at all times.

•      Track and report on compliance KPIs, presenting trends, exceptions, and remediation progress to leadership.

6.  Staff & Employment Compliance

•      Oversee compliance obligations relating to staff — including background screening, fit-and-proper assessments, regulatory declarations, and ongoing employment compliance requirements across all jurisdictions.

•      Partner with HR to ensure employee compliance attestations, conflict-of-interest declarations, and gifts and entertainment registers are maintained and current.

•      Ensure all staff licensing, registration, and regulatory certification requirements are tracked, renewed, and met.

•      Manage the firm's response to any employee conduct issues with a compliance dimension — maintaining clear records and following established escalation protocols.

•      Oversee the integrity of the Company's insider trading safeguards, personal account dealing policies, and related staff conduct controls.

7.  Compliance Culture & Training

The Compliance Officer is the firm's most visible champion of a compliance-first culture. This is not a passive role — it requires active engagement across every team and office.

•      Design and deliver mandatory compliance and AML/CFT training firm-wide, ensuring 100% completion on an annual basis.

•      Provide targeted coaching to advisors, client service staff, and operations teams on regulatory requirements, ethical standards, and their individual compliance obligations.

•      Conduct refresher training following policy updates, regulatory changes, or compliance incidents.

•      Promote a culture in which compliance is understood as a firm-wide responsibility — not the compliance team's problem alone.

•      Communicate new laws, regulatory developments, and policy changes across the firm clearly and promptly.

8.  Risk Management & Board Governance

•      Conduct and present annual compliance and regulatory risk assessments to the Board, identifying material risks and recommended mitigations.

•      Maintain breach and incident logs, documenting root causes, remediation actions, and lessons learned.

•      Establish and chair the Company's Compliance Committee, ensuring meetings are well-structured, documented, and actioned.

•      Contribute to the Company's Enterprise Risk Management framework, ensuring compliance risk is integrated into the firm's broader risk picture.

•      Escalate material compliance breaches or regulatory concerns directly to the Board where the gravity of the matter requires it.

•      Certify that all compliance documentation is audit-ready, securely maintained, and subject to appropriate record retention schedules.

What Success Looks Like

The Compliance Officer is performing well when:

•      All regulatory licences and filings across Barbados, Trinidad, and Cayman are current, accurate, and submitted on time — zero lapses, zero late filings.

•      FATCA/CRS obligations are met in full across all relevant entities, with clean audit trails.

•      Regulators regard the Company as a well-governed, proactively compliant firm — not a reactive one.

•      Client files are complete and KYC/CDD standards are maintained consistently across all offices and teams.

•      The Board receives clear, timely, and honest compliance reporting — and can exercise meaningful governance over the compliance function.

•      Staff across the firm understand their compliance obligations, complete training on time, and escalate concerns without hesitation.

•      AML/CFT controls are robust, tested, and operating effectively — with no material findings outstanding beyond 30 days.

•      The CEO and Board can rely on this role for independent, well-informed compliance counsel — including when the answer is difficult to hear.

Skills & Competencies

•      Deep expertise in compliance, regulatory affairs, and AML/CFT within multi-jurisdictional financial services.

•      Strong working knowledge of Caribbean and international regulatory frameworks — FSC, CIMA, TTSEC, FATF, FATCA, CRS, and applicable data protection standards.

•      Demonstrated experience as a designated MLRO/MLCO or in a senior compliance officer role with statutory reporting obligations.

•      Sound judgement and independence of mind — able to escalate difficult issues to the CEO or Board when required.

•      Exceptional communication skills — able to present complex regulatory matters clearly to executives, the Board, and regulators.

•      Strong relationship management capability with regulatory bodies and external compliance advisors.

•      High attention to detail and operational discipline in documentation, reporting, and audit preparedness.

•      Relevant professional certification preferred — CAMS, ICA, CCEP, or equivalent.

•      Minimum 7–10 years in compliance or regulatory roles within financial services; experience in wealth management or multi-jurisdictional operations strongly preferred.