Compliance Associate, UK

Payward - the parent company behind Kraken, NinjaTrader, Breakout, xStocks, Payward Services and CF Benchmarks - has spent the last 15 years building one of the most modern and globally accessible financial infrastructure platforms in the industry, built to advance an open, global financial system.

Before you apply, we encourage you to explore our culture page to understand what drives us and how we work.

The team

Founded in 2011, Kraken is one of the world's longest-standing crypto platforms, trusted by over 10 million individuals and institutions across the globe. It offers spot trading, margin, futures, staking, and OTC services, with products built for both individual investors and institutional clients.

Payward Limited (PWL) is the UK entity through which Kraken operates its crypto exchange, registered with the FCA as a cryptoasset business under the Money Laundering Regulations. As we continue to grow our UK presence and regulatory footprint, we are looking for a Compliance Associate to join our UK Compliance team.

Reporting to the CCO, the Compliance Associate will play a hands-on role supporting the day-to-day operation of the UK compliance function. This is a broad role spanning compliance monitoring, policy, risk management and regulatory engagement, with significant scope to grow as the business and its regulatory obligations evolve.

The opportunity

Compliance monitoring and testing

• Support delivery of the Compliance Monitoring Programme (CMP), including designing and executing second-line monitoring reviews across key regulatory obligations

• Document testing results clearly and present findings to relevant governance committees

• Track agreed remediation actions and follow up with first-line stakeholders to verify closure

Policy, risk management, governance and reporting

• Assist with the maintenance and periodic review of UK compliance policies and procedures, ensuring alignment with regulatory requirements and group frameworks

• Contribute to compliance risk assessments and the maintenance of the UK compliance risk register

• Monitor internal and external developments — including business change, regulatory updates and emerging technology — to identify and escalate new compliance risks

• Support horizon scanning and gap analysis as new regulatory obligations emerge, including developments under the UK cryptoasset regime

• Support preparation of materials for UK governance committees and boards, including RAG dashboards, KRI reporting and compliance updates

• Assist with record-keeping obligations and maintain accurate compliance registers and trackers

Stakeholder engagement and project support

• Respond to compliance-related inquiries and due diligence requests from banking partners, counterparties and other external stakeholders

• Liaise with Kraken's global compliance function to ensure alignment between group policies and UK-specific regulatory requirements

• Support senior members of the UK Compliance team on ad hoc regulatory projects and workstreams as they arise

What you bring

• You have compliance experience in a regulated financial services firm, ideally with exposure to cryptoasset, payments or investment management businesses

• You have practical experience in compliance monitoring, testing or risk management, and understand how to translate regulatory requirements into operational controls

• You are familiar with the UK regulatory landscape, including the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 and developing cryptoasset regulation

• You are highly organised, proactive and comfortable navigating ambiguity in a fast-moving environment

• You communicate clearly and can translate complex compliance requirements into plain language for non-compliance audiences

• You are data-driven and comfortable using data to inform risk judgements and prioritise your work

• You have excellent automation skills — you embrace tools and technology to streamline compliance processes, build efficient trackers and reduce manual effort where possible

• You have an execution mindset: you take ownership of your work, follow through on commitments and deliver to a high standard

Nice to haves

• Experience at a cryptoasset business or exposure to the UK cryptoasset regulatory regime

• Familiarity with compliance management systems or workflow automation platforms

• ICA, CISI or equivalent compliance qualification

Unless a specific application deadline is stated in the job posting, applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.

Please note, applicants are permitted to redact or remove information on their resume that identifies age, date of birth, or dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution.

We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment on our team, assessing candidates in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.

Payward is powered by people from around the world and we celebrate the diverse talents, backgrounds, contributions, and unique perspectives that everyone brings to the table. We hire based on merit, seeking out people with the right abilities, knowledge, and skills for the job. We encourage you to apply for roles where you don't fully meet the listed requirements, especially if you're passionate or knowledgeable about crypto.

We may ask candidates to complete job-related skills or work-style assessments as part of our hiring process. These assessments evaluate competencies relevant to the role and are applied consistently across candidates for similar positions. Results are considered alongside experience and interviews, and are not the sole basis for any employment decision.

As an equal opportunity employer, we don't tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind, whether based on race, ethnicity, age, gender identity, citizenship, religion, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws.

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