Blackbird is hiring a Compliance Manager to supercharge our compliance function and provide a world-class experience to Blackbird, our investors and portfolio companies.

About the Role

At Blackbird, our mission is to be a generational owner of the most ambitious tech companies founded by Aussies and Kiwis.  To match this ambition, we constantly strive to ensure we are a transparent, well governed and fully compliant financial services organisation.  

Reporting to the General Counsel and working within our Legal & Compliance Team, we are looking for someone to build on and strengthen our existing compliance, risk and governance frameworks across Australia and New Zealand, and further embed a strong culture of compliance at Blackbird. 

The successful candidate will hone their previous compliance experience (ideally but not necessarily in the financial services industry), to complement and upgrade our existing infrastructure and apply their talents in a fast-paced and autonomous environment where no day is ever the same.

Whilst we don’t expect experience in each of these aspects, here is a brief overview of the type of work the role will encompass:

• AFSL compliance - monitoring and reporting on day to day compliance with our AFS Licence obligations, including maintaining all related policies, registers, authorised representative arrangements, processes and checklists (often in close collaboration with the Blackbird legal team)

• AML/CTF compliance - maintaining our AML Program and internal AML registers for Australia and New Zealand; assisting with required reporting to AUSTRAC and the NZ FMA; leading internal/external reviews and audits and implementing recommendations; assisting in improving our existing controls with a view to ensuring ongoing compliance with our AML Program and regulatory requirements

• Privacy and data security - maintaining our Privacy Policy; working closely with the broader business (including our IT & Security team) in relation to our information security and data protection policies and processes to ensure compliance with privacy laws 

• Governance and reporting - assisted by our Legal & Compliance Analyst, being a member of and leading our quarterly Governance Committee meetings; assisting the General Counsel/Company Secretary with quarterly board reporting and approvals of new and/or amended policies

• Risk Management - working with the business to ensure that our risk management framework and key risk register mapping is fit for purpose as we continue to grow 

• “Operationalising” our approach to compliance and risk - continuously thinking of ways to automate and upgrade our compliance, governance and risk processes so that Blackbird can continue to scale 

• “Other” compliance - assisting with and/or overseeing our Legal & Compliance Analyst in relation to other compliance related matters at Blackbird including policy preparation and maintenance, regulatory filings, compliance training of staff, audit, systems and controls and due diligence processes, as well as keeping abreast of and communicating changes to regulations that may affect Blackbird’s business. 

Position Requirements

Your background is less important than the key skills, which include:

• several years of compliance, governance and/or risk management experience, ideally in financial services or funds management (in-house or in a law firm/compliance consultancy) where you have been the ‘go to’ person and owned projects end to end - a law degree is advantageous but not essential 

• sound knowledge of AML/CTF laws, privacy and data security laws, and financial services licensing laws in Australia and NZ

• practical, hands on experience in supporting the design and implementation of an effective compliance/risk program, ideally in a financial services or funds management business 

• a passion for creativity and high ownership mentality to build and improve current practices, processes and controls

• a meticulous attention to detail and ability to multi-task, prioritise and work well under pressure

• mentoring and teaching junior team members (including our Legal & Compliance Analyst) 

• being hands on and happy to jump into the weeds to assist the team with any task, no matter how big or small

• strong verbal and written communication skills, great at communicating both internally and externally and a hospitality mindset in dealing with all stakeholders

We’re looking for someone who is as passionate as us about building an iconic investment business. This is a full-time role based in Sydney (Surry Hills), where the majority of our Legal, Compliance & Operations team is based.

Working at Blackbird

We believe that building a diverse and inclusive team is critical to Blackbird’s success. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, or marital, veteran, or disability status. We use Applied to ensure every applicant gets an equal chance of success.

We offer:

• Flexible working: Whether it’s working from home or leaving early to pick up the kids from daycare or school.

• Generous parental leave: We know family comes first, and we are proud to offer 20 weeks of parental leave for all parents (an additional 4 weeks for the birth parent), with no minimum tenure. In addition, we offer IVF, adoption and surrogacy leave. We also continue to pay superannuation and vest carried interest for up to 12 months of parental leave, and offer a supportive return-to-work policy to help with the ramp back.

• Learning & Development Budget: Our team is hungry to continuously learn and you’ll receive a budget to spend on books, conferences, training, coaching and courses relating to your profession.

• Wellbeing: We think in decades not days. To support our Blackbirds over the long haul we offer a range of holistic wellbeing benefits including a monthly healthy living allowance, 24/7 access to wellbeing support, a home office allowance, personal kit-kat days, and more!

• Unplugged weekends: We work hard without letting work get in the way of life. We’ve implemented no Slack or emails on weekends, so you can switch off and enjoy yourself.

• Connection: While being big fans of a fully distributed workforce, we value our vibe and time to connect online and IRL through team and company offsites, monthly social activities, weekly lunches and our many social clubs (#fun-manis, #fun-fantasybookclub, #bb-craft just to name a few!).

• A share of Blackbird’s success: We think it is important to share successes with the whole team. All Blackbird employees receive carry in funds raised and ownership in management companies formed while they are at the firm.

Blackbird is a Pledge 1% member —  we pledge 1% of our time, equity and profits to help not-for-profit causes in our community. Through Pledge 1%, we established the Blackbird Foundation to supercharge the creative capabilities of young people.

We are also very proud to have won the 2023 AFR Best Place to Work award in three categories including Overall winner. In 2022, we became certified as one of Australia’s Great Places to Work.

About Blackbird

Blackbird is Australia's biggest venture capital fund whose mission is to supercharge Australia and New Zealand’s most ambitious founders. We do this by raising venture capital funds, investing into the best startup companies and helping them succeed. We have a portfolio valued at over $7B, including some of the most successful Australian and Kiwi startups such as Canva, SafetyCulture and Culture Amp.

We are inspired by investment firms such as Berkshire Hathaway and Bridgewater Associates. Like the companies we back, we want to build a business that lasts for decades and produces excellent returns for our investors. Most of all, we want to support our region’s most talented founders build category-defining technology companies.

We’ve written a lot about what we love at Blackbird, so check out our blog if you want some more information about us. In particular, you should read about our mission and values, our Blackbird’s Operating Principles (BOPs) and what we look for in founders.