Compliance Associate Manager

About The Company

Founders today are building global companies from day one but the systems that manage their money were built for a different era. Aspire exists to change that!

We're building the financial operating system for global founders, bringing banking, software, and automation into a single platform so businesses can move faster across borders and stay focused on building.

Aspire is built by people who think from first principles, care deeply about solving hard problems, and take real ownership of their work. Our team brings global experience from leading fintech and technology companies, and many of us are former founders and operators who understand what it takes to build thoughtfully, make trade-offs, and deliver at scale in a global environment.

Backed by leading global investors including Y Combinator, Peak XV, and Lightspeed, Aspire has been trusted by more than 50,000 startups and growing businesses worldwide to manage their finances since 2018. Together with partners like J.P. Morgan, Visa, and Wise, we're building for the next generation of global companies.

Compliance Associate Manager

About The Role

We are seeking an experienced Compliance Manager to join our Compliance team supporting our Hong Kong regulated business from India. This role will focus on providing day-to-day compliance and AML/CFT support across our Hong Kong operations, including activities conducted under SFC-licensed regimes (Type 1, 4, 9) and our Money Service Operator (MSO) licence.

While this position is not based in Hong Kong and does not require Cantonese, the successful candidate must be able to develop and maintain a strong working understanding of the Hong Kong regulatory environment (SFC, AMLO, and Customs & Excise Department requirements), and partner effectively with Hong Kong-based compliance leadership and business stakeholders.

This position is ideal for compliance professionals with solid financial services compliance and financial crime experience (e.g., in brokerage, wealth/asset management, payments, remittance, fintech) who are motivated to specialize in Hong Kong regulations in a dynamic, cross-border environment.

What Will You Be Doing

Regulatory Compliance (HK SFC Type 1, 4, 9)

• Support implementation and maintenance of policies, procedures, and controls aligned to Hong Kong requirements (e.g., SFO, SFC Code of Conduct, relevant guidelines/circulars).
• Execute elements of the compliance monitoring plan (CMP), including thematic reviews and controls testing covering dealing/advisory/asset management-related processes.
• Perform reviews of marketing materials, product disclosures, client communications, agreements, and other documentation against internal standards and Hong Kong regulatory expectations (with escalation as needed).
• Support surveillance activities (as applicable), such as exception reviews, communications monitoring support, and first-line supervision checks (coordination, sampling, QA).
• Assist with tracking licensing-related obligations (e.g., fit & proper documentation tracking, training/CPT tracking) and maintaining compliance records.
• Draft and coordinate periodic and ad-hoc regulatory submissions/notifications (with final review/sign-off by HK compliance leadership).
• Support preparation for SFC inspections/audits/exams: document collation, response tracking, remediation coordination, and evidence maintenance.
  
  

Regulatory Compliance (HK MSO License)

• Support compliance with AMLO and C&ED guidelines applicable to MSO operations (remittance/currency exchange/payment-related services, as applicable).
• Assist with monitoring ongoing MSO licence obligations, licence conditions, and notification requirements (tracking, evidence, reporting packs).
• Support operational compliance checks (e.g., record-keeping, transaction documentation, customer file completeness, control attestations).
• Coordinate regulatory reporting/submissions to C&ED (drafting, data collation, maintaining logs), with escalation to HK compliance leadership for sign-off.
• Support readiness for C&ED inspections and examinations by maintaining organized documentation and remediation trackers.
  
  

AML/CFT Compliance (Across Both Licenses)

• Support the MLRO and Hong Kong Compliance team in maintaining and enhancing the AML/CFT framework aligned to AMLO and applicable SFC/C&ED guidance.
• Conduct QA and oversight for onboarding and due diligence processes (CDD/EDD), including file reviews, gap identification, and remediation follow-up.
• Support sanctions screening and transaction monitoring operations (e.g., alert QA, disposition quality checks, threshold tuning support via analysis, process adherence checks).
• Prepare summaries and escalation memos for high-risk customers/cases/transactions for review by HK approvers.
• Support suspicious activity investigations by gathering facts, documenting analysis, and preparing draft STR packages for MLRO review and filing to JFIU.
• Assist with periodic AML/CFT risk assessments and gap analyses; help develop action plans and track closure.
  
  

Policy & Governance

• Draft, review, and update compliance and AML/CFT policies, procedures, controls, and guidance notes to align with evolving Hong Kong regulatory expectations and internal standards.
• Maintain structured compliance documentation (manuals, registers, logs, evidence folders) to support auditability across both SFC and MSO business lines.
• Support governance requirements such as activity mapping, control ownership, and (where required) segregation of activities between regulated businesses.
  
  

Training & Advisory

• Assist in developing and delivering compliance/AML training (English) tailored to relevant business teams.
• Track and summarize Hong Kong regulatory updates (SFC circulars, AMLO/C&ED-related updates) and prepare internal impact assessments and implementation checklists.
• Provide practical day-to-day guidance to operations and product teams, escalating complex HK regulatory interpretation matters to HK compliance leadership.
  
  

Stakeholder Management

• Work closely with HK-based compliance, legal, risk, audit, and business teams to deliver compliance projects and BAU obligations.
• Support strategic initiatives such as new product launches, process changes, control enhancement projects, and (where relevant) licensing-related support workstreams.
  
  

Minimum Qualifications

• 5+ years of compliance and/or AML/CFT experience in financial services (e.g., securities, wealth/asset management, fintech, payments/remittance, banking).
• Demonstrated experience in at least some of: compliance monitoring/testing, regulatory change support, governance documentation, AML operations oversight (CDD/EDD, sanctions screening, transaction monitoring), investigations/STR support.
• Ability and willingness to build strong working knowledge of Hong Kong regulatory requirements, including:
• High-level understanding of SFC regulatory expectations and conduct principles, and/or
• High-level understanding of AMLO obligations and MSO-relevant C&ED expectations.
• Strong analytical and writing skills; able to produce clear memos, monitoring reports, and well-organized evidence packs.
• Comfortable working with cross-border stakeholders and managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Fluent English (written and spoken).
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior exposure to Hong Kong regulatory topics (e.g., supporting HK entities, dealing with HK policies, participation in HK regulatory change projects), even if not directly licensed-role experience.
• Experience working in regulated environments with multiple business lines (e.g., securities + payments, brokerage + asset management).
• Familiarity with compliance and financial crime tools (e.g., screening systems, case management tools, transaction monitoring platforms, communications surveillance tooling).
• Certifications such as CAMS, ICA, or other compliance/financial crime qualifications (HKSI/LE papers not required).
• Experience with process improvement, control design, and audit/inspection readiness.
  
  

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