Head of Compliance

Company Description

Our Client is a dynamic and innovative telecommunications company serving millions of subscribers across Nigeria with a renewed focus on digital transformation, customer-centricity, and operational excellence.

As they deepen their commitment to transparency, governance, and risk assurance, we seek an outstanding Compliance leader to foster transparency, control integrity, and compliance with Nigerian and international standards. 

Job Description

The Head of Compliance is a critical executive leadership role accountable for enterprise-wide assurance, regulatory alignment, and risk-based governance. The incumbent will act as a trusted advisor to the CEO and Board Audit Committee, fostering transparency, control integrity, and compliance with Nigerian and international standards. This is a transformational role aimed at driving a forward-looking, agile, and digitally enabled assurance function that supports the company's innovation and growth agenda. 

Key Responsibilities 

• Serve as a key advisor to the CEO and senior leadership on risk, regulatory matters, and internal control frameworks. 

• Monitor regulatory trends, emerging risks, and new laws to ensure the organization is always compliant with NCC guidelines, financial regulations, anti-money laundering (AML), data privacy, and other applicable laws. 

• Establish and maintain a comprehensive compliance framework, including policies, monitoring programs, reporting mechanisms, and training initiatives. 

• Lead the development and enforcement of a strong ethics and compliance culture across the enterprise. 

• Collaborate with the Enterprise Risk Management team to ensure robust risk assessments are embedded in compliance activities. 

• Proactively identify control gaps, emerging threats, and areas for operational improvement. 

• Develop effective testing, monitoring, and control systems to detect and prevent violations or inefficiencies. 

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Law, Business Administration, or a related field. MBA or relevant master’s degree preferred. 

• Professional certifications such as CIA, CPA, CISA, ACCA, or equivalent are required. 

• Minimum of 12–15 years of progressive experience in internal audit, compliance, or risk management, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership capacity—preferably within telecoms, financial services, or other regulated industries. 

• Deep knowledge of Nigerian regulatory environment, including NCC guidelines, CBN regulations, FIRS, anti-corruption laws, and international compliance standards. 

• Strong experience in enterprise risk assessment, fraud prevention, forensic auditing, and governance best practices. 

Leadership Attributes 

• Strategic and critical thinker with deep business insight 

• High ethical standards and proven track record in organizational trust-building 

• Exceptional communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills 

• Ability to lead change and drive enterprise-wide culture shifts 

• Digitally aware, with strong understanding of systems-based controls