Chief Compliance Officer

Company Intro

Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG) is the world's leading provider of online travel and related services, provided to consumers and local partners in more than 220 countries and territories through five primary consumer-facing brands:Booking.com, Priceline,Agoda, KAYAK andOpenTable. The mission of Booking Holdings is to make it easier for everyone to experience the world. For more information, visitBookingHoldings.comand follow us on X (formerly known as Twitter) @BookingHoldings.

Booking Holdings Financial Services (hereinafter “BHFS”) provides financial services in the form of payment services and e-money products across all the brands. BHFS is committed to conducting its business in compliance with applicable laws, regulations and guidelines, with integrity and to the highest ethical standards

Job Summary

Booking Holdings Financial Services UK, is looking for a Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) with strong experience from the payments industry to act as a critical partner to our business, helping develop, launch, and enable our mission to deliver a world-class payments operation to support Booking Holdings Inc’s brands globally.

The selected candidate will have the chance to witness firsthand the investment in digital technology that helps take the friction out of travel. The CCO will be a critical appointment and will be primarily responsible for ensuring the business complies with laws, regulatory requirements, policies and procedures across the UK. You’ll report directly to the UK Managing Director, with a dotted line into the Global Chief Compliance Officer and be a key part of the senior management team defining the overall direction of the company.  Registration as an EMD Individual with the FCA will be required to fulfil this role.

Harnessing the strategic vision of the company this role will be responsible for establishing standards and implementing procedures to ensure that the compliance programs throughout the organisation are effective and efficient in identifying, preventing, detecting and correcting noncompliance with applicable laws and regulations and producing useful management information to support the business as it continues to scale. Given the collaborative nature of the business you will be consistently business partnering with the product, operations, engineering and marketing teams to ensure you understand the intricacies of operations.  

You will support directly a dynamic organisation of executives, legal experts, risk managers, product managers, finance and treasury professionals, software and hardware engineers, designers, deal makers, and operations specialists who are responsible for bringing products to life across Booking Holdings Inc’s global portfolio of brands, and making an impact on millions of travellers per day.

This opportunity represents an exceptional chance to embed yourself with one of the world’s most exciting organisations and help define the future for accessing travel experiences across the world.

This role is based in London, UK, reports to the UK management. Due to the regulatory UK component of this role, hiring locally is preferred.

Key Responsibilities

The CCO will be a key member of the Executive Team and will serve as designated MLRO and  FCA EMD holder.

This role will  be instrumental in ensuring the organisation meets its strategic objectives under the umbrella of the Booking Holdings Inc family of Brands, with a particular focus on the UK. 

You will provide assurance to senior management and the Board that there are effective and efficient policies and procedures in place, well understood and respected by all employees, and that the company is complying with all regulatory requirements. The CCO will:

• Monitor adherence to (regulatory) compliance frameworks on existing and emerging regulatory requirements.

• Monitor data classification, collection and control 

• Ensure work policies and procedures comply with regulatory requirements 

• Monitor the adequacy and effectiveness of compliance programmes and tools (anti-money laundering, know your client, transaction monitoring, etc.) 

• Demonstrate ethical leadership and business integrity 

• Balance short-term concerns and pressures, long-term vision and sustainable organisational success 

• Fulfil stewardship responsibilities by ensuring effective regulatory and GDPR compliance and control, and responding to regulatory developments 

• Share strategic leadership responsibilities with the Management team and ensure the compliance function supports the business at a strategic and operational level 

• Oversee the organisation’s compliance reporting and prepare and present clear and concise compliance reports, advice and guidance  to the Board

• Engage and communicate effectively with colleagues, customers, suppliers, regulators, and other internal and external stakeholders 

• Develop the annual compliance work plan and update this periodically

• Guide in a productive, professional way, the compliance teams

• Provide guidance, advice, and/or training and educational programs, to improve business' understanding of related laws and regulatory requirements

• Coordinate efforts related to audits, reviews, and examinations

• Develop policies and programs that encourage managers and employees to report suspected fraud, suspicious transactions and other improprieties, without fear of retaliation

• Coordinate internal compliance review and monitoring activities, including periodic reviews of departments

• Independently investigate and act on matters related to compliance

• Oversee and effectively manage the provision of services to the Compliance function

• Act as the MLRO for the business

Knowledge and Skills

• We’re looking for a Compliance Director SME with deep UK e-money and payments expertise, who combines regulatory fluency with the leadership, integrity, and adaptability to scale compliance in fast-paced, high-growth environments.

• Strong knowledge of UK financial services regulatory frameworks, particularly Safeguarding Requirements 

• Strong knowledge of UK Anti-Money Laundering Requirements 

• Experience dealing with regulators such as the FCA, PSR or the Bank of England etc.

• Ensure full governance compliance in the course of achieving the company’s goals and objectives.

• Leading the compliance culture within an organisation. Providing the relevant training and regular updates to heighten staff’s compliance awareness.

• The ability to prioritise activities and delegate to others both within the business and external partners

• Experience of managing and monitoring the conduct risk and compliance requirements of internal and external channels

• Comprehensive understanding of relevant IT systems and payment platforms  

• Experience in implementing compliance frameworks at dynamic, scaling and innovative companies with a global reach

• We’re particularly interested in candidates with experience at leading UK-based fintech, payments, or card issuing where scalable compliance, tech-driven cultures, and FCA regulation are core.

Booking Holdings Financial Services International Ltd. is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We are committed to treating all employees equally, regardless of gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religious belief, age, disability, race or membership of the traveler community. We believe embracing equality and diversity in the workplace benefits not just our organisation but also individual employees, departments and our customers.

This policy extends to every phase of the employment process including, but not limited to, recruitment, selection, placement, transfer, training and development, position elimination, restructure, promotion, compensation, benefits, layoffs, termination, and all other conditions or privileges of employment. Booking Holdings Financial Services International Ltd is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.