Head of Risk & Compliance, Data Science
Nium
Role Summary:
Responsible for leading the development of AI/ML models to identify risks (such as fraud or credit risk) while ensuring these models are auditable, explainable, and compliant with data privacy laws
Enhance the coverage and accuracy of the existing rules for anti-money laundering and financial crimes
Establish and run rules management process to ensure rules are performing to expected thresholds
Manage, mentor, and develop a team of data scientist/analysts supporting compliance domains such as AML, sanctions, fraud, KYC, conduct, and regulatory reporting.
Ensures the integrity, accuracy, and usability of data across compliance and financial crime functions.
Develops data dashboards to provide visibility of performance of rules and models
Bridge advanced analytics with regulatory requirements and risk management
Assess data quality and labelling, perform advanced analysis to identify high predictive strength variables, and work with technology teams on availability of variables.
Ensures that data-driven insights strengthen regulatory adherence, operational efficiency, and fraud prevention strategies.
Key Responsibilities
Define the vision for Data Science in risk and compliance, ensuring alignment with business goals, risk appetite, and regulatory requirements
Lead the end-to-end development of ML models (e.g., AML detection, KYC/KYB, fraud scoring, model validation) while ensuring compliance with auditability and fairness standards
Knowledgeable about AI and comfortable leveraging AI in different aspects of model development
Supports rules and models testing and validation, in coordination with the Product Team.
Identifies opportunities to enhance compliance analytics capabilities and automation.
Develop, measure, and monitor data risk frameworks, including data quality, integrity, and security
Requirements
Master's degree or PhD in Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Mathematics, or a related field
12+ years in data science / modeling roles preferably in compliance or financial crime domain.
Strong understanding of ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) processes, data modelling concepts and data warehousing
Understanding of AML, KYC, sanctions, and regulatory reporting requirements would be preferred
Proficient in AI/ML algorithms, statistical modeling, data mining, and languages like Python, R, and SQL
Experience in building data / management information dashboards in different environments (Power BI, Qlikview, Qilksense)
Familiarity with financialcrime systems and data structures (AML transaction monitoring, sanctions screening engines and fraud detection systems) is a plus.
Ability to translate complex datasets into high accuracy good / bad separation decisions
Strong written and verbal skills for reporting and stakeholder engagement.
Build and manage high-performing teams, fostering a culture of innovation, data science excellence, and compliance awareness