Case Study: Head of Reconciliations and Safeguarding

The Company

MarTrust is a leading specialist maritime payments company. As a global maritime financial services provider, the firm delivers innovative payment solutions tailored specifically for the shipping industry. Its core services include crew and supplier payment management, currency exchange, and payroll optimisation. A key differentiator is MarTrust’s ability to significantly reduce reliance on Cash-to-Master (CTM), improving operational efficiency for its clients in the maritime sector.

The Requirement

Martrust came to Compliance Professionals, as they were looking for a Head of Reconciliations to lead and optimise reconciliation processes across all financial transactions, ensuring data accuracy, operational integrity, and continual improvement. This role would oversee a team of reconciliation analysts and drive strategic automation initiatives. MarTrust had initially started the search for the role themselves, and although they had identified some strong candidates, they had not been able to find the exact blend of experience and cultural fit they required.

The ideal profile required 5–7+ years’ experience in financial reconciliations, at least 2–3 years in a leadership role, and strong exposure to payment solutions or financial data environments. Candidates needed deep knowledge of digital payments, hands-on experience with financial ERP systems, and a background suited to the niche maritime payments landscape. Compliance Professionals quickly understood the technical and cultural nuances of the brief and were engaged to deliver a targeted search.

Our Solution

With more than a decade of expertise in operations recruitment, Compliance Professionals executed a focused search across the payments, fintech, and money transfer markets. We conducted detailed market mapping to identify candidates with the right mix of leadership experience, reconciliation expertise, and familiarity with relevant products such as instant payments and FX solutions.

Our search focused on professionals who had operated in similar high-growth, technology-led environments, with proven proficiency in reconciliation tools, financial management software, and data analytics. This approach ensured that only candidates with the closest alignment to MarTrust’s requirements were shortlisted.

The Outcome

Compliance Professionals submitted a refined shortlist of four highly qualified candidates drawn from both active and passive talent pools. All four were invited to first-round interviews, with three progressing to final stage. An offer was extended to the standout candidate, who accepted, bringing with them significant experience from a leading payments platform, where they oversaw global reconciliations and safeguarding operations.

By partnering with Compliance Professionals, MarTrust secured the specialist expertise they needed through a seamless, efficient, and highly targeted process.