Director of Insurance Risk & Compliance

Established in 1996 in Amsterdam, Booking.com has grown from a small Dutch start-up to one of the largest ecommerce companies in the world. Booking.com is the largest business within Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG) and accounts for the vast majority of Booking Holdings’ total revenue. Booking Holdings is a leading Fortune 500 e-commerce conglomerate with a market cap of roughly $166 billion (2025). Booking.com currently employs approximately 13,000 employees in 140 offices in 70 countries worldwide. 

With a mission to make it easier for everyone to experience the world, Booking.com invests in digital technology that helps take the friction out of travel. Booking.com connects travelers with the world’s largest selection of incredible places to stay, including everything from apartments, vacation homes, and family-run B&Bs to 5-star luxury resorts and even tree houses. The Booking.com website and mobile apps are available in over 44 languages, offer more than 28M total reported listings, and cover over 174,000 destinations in 229 countries worldwide. Offering 30 different types of places to stay, including homes, apartments, B&Bs, hostels, farm stays, bungalows, even boats, igloos, and treehouses. So whether travelling for business or leisure, customers can instantly book their ideal accommodation quickly and easily, without booking fees and backed up by its promise to price match. Via the customer experience team, customers can reach Booking.com 24/7 for assistance and support in over 44 languages, any time of the day or night. 

At Booking.com, we are all involved in making hundreds of decisions every day. The decisions we make are a reflection of our Values- they reflect what is important to us, both as individuals and as an organisation. 

When Values are made explicit, they provide clarity on what “good” looks like. And when they are shared, they build unity in a group. They build culture. 

• Think customer first. We obsess about adding value for our customers- guests, partners, colleagues- to make it easier for everyone to experience the world.
• Own it. We deliver on our promises, make informed decisions and prioritize to get the important things done today.
• Learn forever. We are resilient, take time to reflect, and seek to learn– from colleagues, from the outside world and from our failures.
• Succeed together. We celebrate team success, through making connections, building trust and valuing the diverse perspectives of others.
• Do the right thing. We get the right results the right way. For each other, our communities and the world around us. 

Job Summary 

Reporting into the Senior Director, Insurance; the Compliance Director is the foremost expert and owner of all matters pertaining to Insurance Compliance within Booking.com. 

This role will cover both new and existing business lines, with a global scope and will ensure that all revenue is delivered by the Insurance team in a compliant manner. 

The Compliance Director, Insurance is expected to design, from the ground up, a comprehensive Risk and Compliance program suited to the specific needs of the insurance business. This will need to work seamlessly and in tight collaboration with the existing corporate compliance landscape.  

The Compliance Director, Insurance, will be the point person and senior most full time resource dedicated to Insurance Compliance requirements. Their main objectives are to: 

• Maintain an effective Insurance Compliance organisation, within the confines of working for an insurance business that is part of a much bigger - non-insurance - group
• Design, build, and launch an effective quantitative risk management structure - covering a variety of standard and novel exposures
• Lead and inspire the compliance team to achieve business priorities, execute projects, and foster a culture of continuous improvement
• Foster a culture of compliance across 1st line units
• Be a compliance champion and the key 2nd line of defence lead for the Insurance vertical
• Lead communications and relationships with external partners, such as insurance companies, TPAs, on matters of Insurance Compliance
• Lead communications, relationships, and applications, to regulatory authorities all over the world, with a principle focus on the FCA (UK), AFM (NL), MFSA (MT) and the 50 State Insurance Commissioners
• Lead communications and relationships with internal partners, such as Risk & Control, Corporate compliance (both at Booking.com and Group level), Internal audit, Finance, HR, and Legal

This role will require extensive insurance compliance experience, particularly in the field of insurance distribution, on a global scale. The ability to move between overall strategic and organisational design vs. Day-to-day compliance oversight is an absolute must. 

Key Responsibilities:

• This framework will need to support a business with 9 figure revenues in a highly regulated space 
• This framework will need to span a global remit, with an array of product types from traditional retail (e.g. Travel insurance), through to complex insurance programs (e.g. Vacation Rental Partner liability)
• This framework will span multiple booking.com verticals (accommodations, flights, cars) and be on both booker and partner side
• Framework must cover all aspects of risk (whether new, or in conjunction with corporate functions), including, but not limited to: Financial, operational, behavioral, regulatory, and reputational risk.
• Define and embed systems which allow for identification, escalation, mitigation, or denial / acceptance of risk at appropriate Booking.com levels, from Board, through to LT, through to Trips LT.
• Define and embed systems of monitoring, remediation, and testing of risks to ensure continual improvement and oversight
• Define and embed systems of education and training to ensure continued compliance - particularly to non-insurance teams
• This role is not limited to the Insurance vertical, as it is also key in establishing the vertical within a non-insurance business. Ability to communicate insurance topics to a non-technical audience at all levels (from Board / ExCo downwards) is vital
• Communicate and raise the profile of the insurance team across the Booking.com business
• Influence and collaborate with other leadership teams to deliver on Insurance compliance objectives

Knowledge & Skills

• Bachelor degree or higher in a relevant field (f.e. Accounting, Finance, Computer Science, Security, Business, Audit). Master Degree is preferable. Alternatively compensating years of experience (3 to 5 years in addition to below). Specialized diploma preferred.
• At least 12 years’ experience in Compliance & Risk areas
• Mastery of insurance compliance topics - particularly in areas of distribution
• Knowledge of captives and captive management a plus
• Extensive experience working under a global regulatory environment
• Extensive experience of designing &building compliance frameworks and governance structures
• Working from senior leadership through to junior product resource in both insurance and non-insurance environments
• Proven ability to build and develop teams
• Proven ability to embed compliance culture

Pre-Employment Screening

If your application is successful, your personal data may be used for a pre-employment screening check by a third party as permitted by applicable law. Depending on the vacancy and applicable law, a pre-employment screening may include employment history, education and other information (such as media information) that may be necessary for determining your qualifications and suitability for the position.