Head of Compliance Recruitment

Position: Head of Compliance & Risk Recruitment

Location: New York City - hybrid

Company Overview:

We are partnering with a top-performing, New York-based recruitment firm known for its deep specialization across the financial services ecosystem. With a strong track record of delivering top-tier talent in compliance, risk management, and regulatory affairs, the firm continues to build out its market-leading platforms. As part of this growth, they are seeking a Head of Compliance Recruitment — a strategic hire that will not only drive high-impact individual production but also build and lead a team of specialist recruiters over time.

Position Overview:

The Head of Compliance Recruitment will initially operate as a player-coach, owning a 360 desk while helping expand the firm’s footprint across compliance and risk verticals. This is a hands-on leadership role — starting as a high-output biller with a clear runway to scale a team around them. The ideal candidate will be an expert at headhunting mid-to-executive-level professionals across financial services, including investment managers, banks, fintechs, and advisory firms, with a nuanced understanding of compliance and risk frameworks.

Key Responsibilities:

Own the full-cycle recruitment process: origination, search execution, client delivery, offer management, and post-placement integration.

Build and cultivate a deep bench of compliance and risk management talent, leveraging both active and passive candidate pipelines.

Develop and nurture client relationships, acting as a trusted advisor on hiring strategy, compensation benchmarking, and organizational design within compliance and risk functions.

Partner directly with C-suite and senior HR stakeholders to craft tailored recruitment solutions based on client mandates.

Proactively identify market trends and talent gaps; deliver competitive intelligence and candidate insights to clients.

Source passive candidates using executive search methodologies — cold outreach, headhunting, targeted networking, and referrals.

Manage offer negotiations and close high-caliber talent in a competitive market.

Collaborate with leadership to define and execute a roadmap for building a dedicated compliance/risk recruiting team.

Represent the firm at industry events, webinars, and networking functions to enhance brand presence and talent acquisition reach.

Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, law, or a related field preferred.

Minimum 5 years of full-desk recruitment experience, with a strong emphasis on compliance, risk management, regulatory, or financial services.

Proven track record of consistent billings and client wins within a fast-paced agency or executive search environment.

Deep working knowledge of compliance and risk frameworks (e.g., AML, KYC, SEC, OCC, FINRA, MiFID II) and emerging regulatory trends.

Strong client development skills — comfort building new accounts from scratch and scaling existing client relationships.

High emotional intelligence, polished communication skills, and the ability to influence at senior levels.

Strategic thinker with operational rigor — capable of growing a practice area and mentoring junior recruiters in the future.

Familiarity with CRM/ATS platforms and sourcing tools such as LinkedIn Recruiter, Bullhorn, or equivalent.

Compensation:

Highly competitive base salary, industry-leading commission structure, performance bonuses, and long-term incentives aligned with practice growth milestones.