Compliance Specialist at Water.org

What You'll Do

As Compliance Specialist, you will play a central role in building and strengthening the systems that allow Water.org to operate with integrity across the globe — because the financial partnerships and institutional relationships that bring safe water and sanitation to millions of families depend on a compliance foundation that earns trust at every level. You'll work across legal entities, countries, and teams to keep Water.org's governance, data privacy, and third-party due diligence programs running with rigor and care.

• Multi-Jurisdictional Compliance Ownership: Manage compliance program activities across Water.org's global footprint, supporting corporate governance, entity registrations, and good-standing requirements across multiple countries and legal entities.
• Data Privacy Program Management: Support and strengthen Water.org's data privacy practices — including handling data subject requests and navigating multi-jurisdiction privacy frameworks — so that partners and program participants can trust how their information is handled.
• Counterparty Due Diligence and Sanctions Screening: Run counterparty due diligence and sanctions screening processes (including OFAC and anti-bribery compliance) that protect Water.org's partnerships and ensure responsible engagement with every organization we work with.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work as a trusted partner — not an enforcer — alongside Legal, Finance, HR, and regional country teams to embed compliance practices into day-to-day operations across a diverse, global organization.
• Program Building and Process Maturation: Help shape a compliance program that is still growing, bringing structure, documentation discipline, and independent ownership to workstreams that need someone who can lead without waiting to be directed.

Requirements

What Makes You Fit

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience required; degree in Legal Studies, Business, Compliance, or a related field preferred.
• 5+ years of experience in compliance, legal operations, risk management, or process-focused roles, preferably supporting global or multi-jurisdictional programs within an international nonprofit, NGO, or mission-driven organization.
• Working knowledge of data privacy, third-party due diligence, and sanctions/anti-bribery compliance is a plus.
• Strong organizational, process management, stakeholder engagement, and communication skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a global, multicultural environment.
• Proficient in written and spoken English and committed to Water.org's mission, values, and ethical standards.

An Ideal Candidate Brings

• Corporate, multi-jurisdictional compliance experience across multiple legal entities; this is valued as much as, or more than, nonprofit-sector experience specifically, given Water.org's multi-country structure and operations.
• A self-starter mindset: comfortable owning compliance processes end to end with minimal day-to-day direction, and reporting outcomes rather than needing close oversight.
• Experience building or significantly maturing a compliance program, not just administering an established one, along with comfort partnering across Legal, Finance, HR, and regional teams as a collaborative advisor rather than an enforcer.

Benefits

Salary/Benefits  

• This position offers country-specific benefits and market-based, competitive salary as well as periodic review for merit and incentive pay based on organizational and personal achievement.