GM - Business Enablement Risk & Compliance

Our Purpose 

At Xero, we’re here to help you supercharge your business. We do this by automating routine tasks, surfacing actionable insights and connecting businesses with the right data, advisors and apps. When that happens, we’re not only making life better for small business, we’ll be building a stronger economy that can change the world.

The General Manager (GM), Business Enablement Risk and Compliance, is a senior leadership role responsible for implementing and operationalising a risk and compliance framework that empowers Xero to achieve its strategic objectives. This role focuses on ensuring compliance while enabling business units to innovate, grow, and operate efficiently. The GM works to balance risk management with business enablement, fostering a culture of accountability and resilience while driving value for Xero. Partnering closely with executives, business units, and external stakeholders to align risk and compliance strategies with organisational objectives while fostering a proactive, resilient, and compliant operating environment.

This role offers an opportunity to establish risk and compliance as a key strategic function within Xero, supporting a customer-first, risk-appropriate growth strategy while protecting Xero by implementing and operationalising risk and compliance management frameworks.

What you'll do

• People Leadership: Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing, engaged team that collaborates cross-functionally, prioritises effectively, aligns with Xero’s strategy, and proactively manages risk, compliance, budgets, and resources.

• Business Partnership and Enablement: Act as a strategic partner to business leaders, providing risk and compliance guidance to support growth initiatives and operational efficiencies and promoting risk-aware culture that integrates compliance and risk management into day-to-day business activities.

• Risk Assessment: Conduct comprehensive risk assessments using customizable templates and workflows to proactively identify, assess, and manage risks that could impact business operations, including strategic, financial, and reputational risk. 

• Risk Management: Design and implement risk management strategies and controls that enable business innovation and operational excellence including capturing, tracing and investigating risk incidents, including near misses and losses, ensuring lessons learned are integrated into future business processes. 

• Compliance Management: oversee the development of robust compliance processes aligned with Xero’s strategy that manages compliance obligations, automates compliance tasks and ensures business units adheres to relevant laws, regulations, and industry standards, enabling sustainable business practices.

• Regulatory Change: Work with Enterprise Compliance to guide business units through changes in regulatory environments to adapt processes and policies to remain compliant while maintaining agility.

What you'll bring with you

• Business Enablement Mindset – Align risk and compliance with business objectives to drive growth and innovation.

• Strategic & Analytical Thinking – Balance risk mitigation with opportunities and design effective strategies.

• Leadership & Collaboration – Inspire teams, foster accountability, and build strong cross-functional partnerships.

• Testing and Monitoring - Proficiency in establishing monitoring systems and conducting testing to ensure adherence to risk and compliance processes.

• Technical Expertise – Deep understanding of risk frameworks, compliance processes, and regulatory landscapes.

Why Xero? 

Offering very generous paid leave to use however you’d like (plus statutory holidays!), dedicated paid leave to care for your physical and mental wellbeing as well as an Employee Assistance Program to access mental health care for you and your family, free medical insurance, wellbeing and sports programmes, employee resource groups, 26 weeks of paid parental leave for primary caregivers, an Employee Share Plan, beautiful offices, flexible working, career development, and many other benefits that reflect our human value, you’ll do the best work of your life at Xero.