Partner Engagements Manager, Compliance Strategy

Company Description

We’re Checkout.com. You might not know our name, but companies like eBay, Spotify, Klarna, Uber, and Sony do, because we’re behind many of the digital experiences you use every day.

We are where the world checks out, enabling over 10 billion transactions yearly for more than one billion global shoppers.

Whether you want to book a holiday, order food, renew a subscription, or check out online, there’s a good chance our tech powers the payments behind the scenes. Our platform helps the most ambitious businesses deliver effortless digital experiences, at scale.

If you want to do career-defining work, you’ve come to the right place. We move fast, think globally, and believe great teams are built by hiring exceptional people with conviction, curiosity, and the desire to make an impact.

With 20 offices across six continents and London as our HQ, we’re shaping the future of fintech – and we’re just getting started.

About the role

The Partner Engagements Manager, Compliance Strategy will lead Checkout’s external-facing compliance strategy across banking, scheme and other strategic partner relationships.

You will own the operating model and delivery of compliance-related partner engagements, including annual reviews, periodic due diligence, requests for information, licensing and scheme initiatives, and readiness for product or geographic expansion. You will ensure that Checkout presents a consistent, accurate and well-evidenced view of its compliance framework, while converting external expectations into practical improvements to our roadmap, controls, processes and operating model.

The role combines strategic ownership, senior stakeholder management and hands-on delivery. You will lead complex engagements, advise Compliance leadership, build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, and develop the partner-engagement capability of the team, including managing and coaching Senior Analyst(s) as the structure is established.

What you will do

• Own the Compliance Strategy partner-engagement portfolio, prioritising work across banking partners, schemes and other strategic external stakeholders.

• Establish and continuously improve the operating model for partner engagements, including governance, roles and responsibilities, service standards, evidence expectations, response libraries, escalation routes and management information.

• Lead annual KYC AML partner compliance reviews, partner onboarding or refreshes, complex RFIs and other material external engagements from planning through to closure.

• Act as a senior Compliance representative in partner meetings, with high level input around Checkout’s compliance framework, risk management approach, policies, controls, governance and improvement plans with clarity and confidence.

• Provide oversight and challenge to response packs, control narratives, policy summaries, presentations and supporting evidence, ensuring consistency, accuracy and appropriate ownership.

• Lead compliance support for scheme, product-launch and geographic-expansion initiatives, ensuring external partner obligations and readiness requirements are identified, tracked and addressed.

• Translate partner feedback, requests and emerging expectations into strategic recommendations, roadmap priorities, control enhancements and process improvements.

• Build strong working relationships across Compliance, Legal, Risk, Product, Operations, Commercial, Finance, Technology and regional teams to align delivery and resolve dependencies.

• Maintain clear governance over engagement risks, issues, decisions, action plans and remediation, escalating material matters to the Head of Compliance Strategy and relevant governance forums.

• Produce concise and decision-useful updates for Compliance leadership, senior management and governance committees, including themes, trends, risks, commitments and delivery status.

• Partner with relevant second-line teams to ensure external engagement activity is consistent with the Compliance framework, risk appetite, regulatory obligations and the responsibilities of the three lines of defence.

• Coach, develop and set clear expectations for Senior Analyst(s).

• Create and implement a high-quality, scalable and collaborative partner-engagement framework.

• Identify opportunities to use better data, tooling, workflow design and documentation to improve response quality, reduce duplication and increase the resilience of the Compliance operating model.

• Represent Compliance Strategy in cross-functional strategic initiatives and take on other priorities that support long-term capability maturation.

What you will need to be successful

• Typically 3–5 years of experience in a similar role within compliance, regulatory compliance, risk, audit, legal or a related function in payments, fintech, banking or another regulated financial-services environment.

• Demonstrable experience leading external partner, banking, scheme, audit, regulatory or due-diligence engagements.

• Experience translating regulatory or partner expectations into practical requirements, delivery plans, governance and measurable improvements.

• Experience leading complex, cross-functional workstreams with multiple stakeholders, dependencies and deadlines.

• Experience coaching or managing people, setting priorities, giving feedback and creating clarity in a fast-moving environment.

• Strong understanding of the payments ecosystem and the compliance expectations relevant to banking partners, payment schemes and regulated financial institutions.

• Working knowledge of relevant compliance domains such as AML/CTF, sanctions, KYC/CDD/EDD, licensing, safeguarding, operational resilience, regulatory change or control assurance.

• Excellent written and verbal communication, including the ability to present complex issues, defend recommendations and influence senior stakeholders.

• Strong judgement and the confidence to challenge constructively, distinguish material from non-material issues and escalate appropriately.

• Strong organisational, analytical and project-management skills, with a track record of delivering high-quality outcomes under pressure.

• ICA, ACAMS or another relevant professional qualification is desirable.

How you will work at Checkout

• Be The Owner: Set direction, create accountability and ensure commitments are delivered.

• Talk Straight: Give clear, evidence-led advice and communicate difficult messages respectfully and early.

• One Team: Build alignment across functions and regions, sharing context and bringing people with you.

• No Room for Approximation: Set a high bar for accuracy, evidence, consistency and regulatory defensibility.

• Athlete Mindset: Plan rigorously, raise the standard and keep improving the capability of the function.

• Better Every Day: Turn recurring engagement friction into scalable processes, tools and operating-model improvements.

• Pace Matters: Balance urgency with thoughtful risk judgement and disciplined execution.

• Fundamentally Positive: Lead with trust, humility and a practical, solution-oriented approach.

What success looks like

• Partner engagement framework is clearly documented with detailed SLAs and communicated to all relevant stakeholders.

• Partner engagements are planned, governed and delivered consistently across the portfolio.

• Checkout is represented externally through clear, accurate, credible and coherent compliance narratives.

• Material risks, gaps and commitments are visible to the right stakeholders and managed through to resolution.

• Scheme, product and geographic-expansion initiatives receive timely and practical Compliance Strategy support.

• Partner feedback is converted into measurable improvements in processes, documentation, monitoring, tooling and capability.

• The Senior Analyst(s) and wider stakeholder network have clear priorities, effective ways of working and opportunities to grow.

• Compliance leadership has reliable management information to understand engagement themes, risks, capacity and progress.

Additional Information

Bring all of you to work

We create the conditions for high performers to thrive, through real ownership, fewer blockers, and work that makes a difference from day one.

Here, you’ll move fast, take on meaningful challenges, and be recognized for the impact you deliver. It’s a place where ambition gets met with opportunity, and where your growth is in your hands.

We work as one team, and we back each other to succeed. So whatever your background or identity, if you’re ready to grow and make a difference, you’ll be right at home here.

It’s important we set you up for success and make our process as accessible as possible. So let us know in your application, or tell your recruiter directly, if you need anything to make your experience or working environment more comfortable.

Life at Checkout.com

We understand that work is just one part of your life. Our hybrid working model offers flexibility, with three days per week in the office to support collaboration and connection.

Curious about what it’s like to be part of our team? Visit our Careers Page to learn more about our culture, open roles, and what drives us.

For a closer look at daily life at Checkout.com, follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram