About This Role
This is a second-line oversight position inside Ethiopia’s national payment switch operator—meaning you won’t just tick boxes on regulatory checklists. You’ll be the internal conscience that pressures business units to prove their products and processes meet legal and policy standards before they go live. It suits a compliance professional who enjoys constructive friction: reviewing others’ work, asking hard questions, and translating regulatory noise into practical internal action. EthSwitch sits at the heart of the country’s digital payments infrastructure, so the stakes are systemic, not just departmental.
What the Requirements Say About This Role
The 5–8 year seniority band signals they want someone who has already seen compliance failures or near-misses, not a fresh graduate with theoretical knowledge. Because the role spans accounting, finance, economics, and technology, the ideal profile is a hybrid: comfortable reading financial regulations, understanding how payment systems work technically, and explaining implications to non-specialists. The emphasis on “independent challenge” means they are looking for professional courage—someone who will not cave to operational pressure when a business unit wants to rush a product to market. Familiarity with national payment regulations, NBE directives, and international standards like ISO 27001 or PCI-DSS would give you an edge, even if not explicitly listed.
How to Approach This Application
Do not lead with your job titles—lead with a specific compliance problem you identified, escalated, and resolved in a previous role. The employer is likely prioritizing candidates who can demonstrate they have stood firm against business pressure while maintaining working relationships. In your cover letter, reference a current regulatory change affecting Ethiopian payments (e.g., recent NBE directives on digital financial services) and briefly outline how you would assess its impact on EthSwitch’s operations. Quantify your experience: number of audits conducted, percentage reduction in compliance incidents, or complexity of products you have reviewed. Avoid generic statements about being “detail-oriented”—show it through examples.
Who This Role Suits
This role is best suited for a compliance professional with 5+ years in banking, fintech, or payment systems who enjoys advisory work more than pure auditing. Given EthSwitch’s monopoly-like position in the national switch, the role is high-visibility but moderately competitive—expect serious candidates from commercial banks and regulatory bodies, but fewer applicants than a generic finance role. Your edge will come from combining regulatory knowledge with a demonstrated ability to challenge senior stakeholders constructively.
A second-line compliance role responsible for supporting the development and continuous improvement of EthSwitch's Compliance Management System (CMS) and providing independent compliance oversight, monitoring, advisory, and challenge across the organization.
Key Responsibilities
Support development, implementation, and continuous improvement of the Enterprise Compliance Management System and framework.
Maintain the Enterprise Compliance Obligation Register and support identification and assessment of compliance risks.
Conduct compliance assessments, monitoring, and independent second-line review and challenge of Business Units.
Monitor regulatory developments and assess their potential compliance implications for EthSwitch.
Provide compliance advisory and challenge for new products, services, projects, strategic initiatives, material changes, and outsourcing arrangements.
Support oversight of the AML/CFT and sanctions compliance framework within the RMC mandate.
Monitor compliance issues, remediation actions, and material breaches and support appropriate escalation.
Coordinate compliance awareness and training activities.
Prepare enterprise compliance reports and management information for EMT, BRC, and other relevant governance forums.
Support regulatory and supervisory engagement as assigned by the Manager.
- Bachelor’s Degree in Risk Management, Economics, Information Technology, Law, Accounting, Finance, or Banking Master’s Degree in Business Administration, Accounting, Finance, Information Technology.
- Minimum 5 (Master) and 7 (BA) years of relevant experience in compliance, or regulatory affairs, preferably in financial services or digital payments.
- Proven experience working with financial institutions, financial intelligence units, or regulatory bodies is an advantageous.
- Demonstrated understanding of AML/CFT, sanctions, and data protection standards (e.g., FATF, Basel, GDPR).
- Experience with compliance technology platforms, risk registers, and monitoring tools. Certification in Compliance, AML (e.g., CAMS, ICA), or Risk Management is an advantageous.
Terms of Employment
- The position is offered on a fixed-term contract of two (2) years. Upon successful completion of the contract period, the employee may be considered for permanent appointment, subject to organizational requirements, satisfactory performance, and the Company's policies.
How To Apply
Qualified candidates are invited to submit their application with non-returnable CV, educational qualifications and work experience to hr@ethswitch.com, stating the title of the position clearly on the subject line. Qualified female applicants are highly encouraged.
*Please be aware that it is mandatory to attach your credentials (educational qualifications and work experience) along with your CV. Submitting only your CV is not sufficient.
*Please be advised that all applicants’ Educational Credentials will be verified with the respective higher institutions.
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Senior Compliance Officer
Ethswitch S.C.
