Global Head of Sanctions

Block is one company built from many blocks, all united by the same purpose of economic empowerment. The blocks that form our foundational teams — People, Finance, Counsel, Hardware, Information Security, Platform Infrastructure Engineering, and more — provide support and guidance at the corporate level. They work across business groups and around the globe, spanning time zones and disciplines to develop inclusive People policies, forecast finances, give legal counsel, safeguard systems, nurture new initiatives, and more. Every challenge creates possibilities, and we need different perspectives to see them all. Bring yours to Block.

The Role

As part of Block’s Global BSA/AML and Sanctions Program, the Global Head of Sanctions Compliance will own the end-to-end sanctions program across the company. You will set the strategic vision, and own the Sanctions program, policies, standards, and oversight of execution. You will serve as the company's senior lead on all Sanctions matters, inclusive of escalations, regulatory reporting, and engagement with external agencies.  

You Will

• Own Block's global sanctions compliance program end-to-end — covering real-time payments, peer-to-peer money movement, Bitcoin and digital asset transactions, merchant acquiring, and BNPL — developing a multi-year strategy that keeps pace with both regulatory change and product velocity.
• Author and maintain company-wide sanctions policies.
• Define the sanctions risk framework across Fiat and digital asset products with support on design and oversight from cross-functional compliance teams.  
• Build, lead, and scale a team of sanctions compliance professionals setting objectives, delegating work plans, and developing talent into future leaders of the function.
• Partner deeply with Product, Engineering, Detections, and Legal to integrate sanctions controls into our systems and architectural design — screening, real-time decisioning engines, and ML-assisted name matching.
• Serve as Block's senior-most external voice on sanctions matters: primary point of contact for OFAC, FinCEN, and other regulators; lead on voluntary self-disclosures; and spokesperson in industry forums on sanctions compliance.
• Drive the continuous improvement of our sanctions screening infrastructure — evaluating vendors, tuning alert thresholds, and partnering with Detections on tooling — to maintain high-quality controls without creating friction that undermines product experience.
• Lead response to escalated sanctions issues, including potential violations, subpoenas, and regulatory inquiries.

You Have

• 10+ years of sanctions compliance experience, ideally spanning both a major financial institution and a high-growth fintech or payments company — you understand both how large compliance programs are built and how to move fast in a product-driven environment; Bachelor's required, advanced degree preferred.
• Deep, current expertise in OFAC, UN, EU, and OFSI sanctions regimes, including the evolving guidance on virtual assets, DeFi, and blockchain-based value transfer.
• A track record of building and leading high-performing sanctions or broader financial crimes teams.
• Hands-on experience designing or overhauling sanctions screening programs at scale — vendor selection, threshold calibration, false positive reduction, integration with core transaction infrastructure.
• Experience as the senior-most compliance person within regulatory exams, enforcement discussions, and voluntary self-disclosures.
• Experience with ML-assisted screening tools and technology enabled solutions, inclusive of AI. 
• CAMS, CGSS, or equivalent certification preferred.

We’re working to build a more inclusive economy where our customers have equal access to opportunity, and we strive to live by these same values in building our workplace. Block is an equal opportunity employer evaluating all employees and job applicants without regard to identity or any legally protected class. We will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records for employment in accordance with state and local laws and “fair chance” ordinances.

We believe in being fair, and are committed to an inclusive interview experience, including providing reasonable accommodations to disabled applicants throughout the recruitment process. We encourage applicants to share any needed accommodations with their recruiter, who will treat these requests as confidentially as possible. Want to learn more about what we’re doing to build a workplace that is fair and square? Check out our I+D page.

While there is no specific deadline to apply for this role, U.S. roles are typically open for an average of 55 days before being filled by a successful candidate. Please refer to the date listed at the top of this job page for when this role was first posted.