Lead, Licensing

About the role

The Pôle Digibank & Fintech is setting up a new operating company within its cluster to deliver settlement, regulated access to US dollar holdings and merchant payout, collection and treasury services on a single infrastructure. The Lead, Licensing determines the jurisdiction in which the entity is authorised, secures and maintains that authorisation, and defines the legal basis for each market to distribute the entity's services. The position is one of three founding posts, working alongside the Leads for Engineering and Business and Operations.

Key responsibilities

• Select the licensing jurisdiction by comparing candidate regimes on cost, timeline, capital requirements, permitted activities and banking access, and submit a single recommendation.
• Prepare and file the licence application (business plan, policy suite, financial projections, fit and proper submissions, systems and controls) and act as named point of contact with the licensing authority and the regulators of the operating markets.
• Determine, for Madagascar, Tanzania, Senegal, Togo and the Comoros, which activities need a letter of no objection, sandbox admission or a local licence.
• Build the AML/CFT framework, including KYC/KYB, sanctions screening, transaction monitoring, blockchain analytics, travel rule compliance and suspicious transaction reporting.
• Define client asset, custody and reserve arrangements and the attestation regime, and prepare the entity for its first external audit.

Required profile

• Postgraduate qualification (master's level or equivalent) in law, finance, economics or a related discipline.
• Eight years or more of experience in financial services licensing, regulatory affairs or compliance, in a regulator, central bank, law firm, professional services practice, bank or fintech.
• Personal accountability for at least one licence application carried through to grant; experience with virtual asset, electronic money, payment institution or banking licensing is a strong advantage.
• Direct experience engaging with an African central bank or financial sector regulator.

Required skills

• Translate regulatory requirements into checklists, documentary matrices and production plans.
• Design an AML/CFT framework able to withstand supervisory examination.
• Working knowledge of stablecoin mechanics and drafting ability in French and English.