Associate Director, Group Sanctions Regional Team, Europe & Americas

STANDARD CHARTERED; London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job description

Job Summary

The Associate Director, Group Sanctions Regional Team (GSRT), Europe & Americas, reports to the Head of Sanctions for Europe, and is responsible for the provision of high-quality advice to 1st and 2nd line teams on matters pertaining to the Group’s sanctions policies and standards, and where required, relevant sanctions laws and regulations. The role holder is a sanctions subject matter expert, with a particular focus on EU and UK sanctions regulations and is accountable as a primary point of escalation and advice for complex sanctions-related queries.

In addition, the role holder is expected to consult on all other aspects of the sanctions programme, as needed, such as preparation of MI and reports to senior management, regulatory and audit engagement, review and approval of high-risk clients, design and delivery of tailored training and communications, input into design of sanctions controls, and supporting ad-hoc global and regional business or financial crime compliance driven projects that require sanctions SME input. Where necessary, the role holder will act as a delegate for the Head of Sanctions for Europe at internal committees and external industry engagements.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy

• Promote the culture and practice of Compliance, Financial Crime & Conduct Risk (CFCR) standards.
• Contribute to the sanctions effectiveness agenda; strategic plans and alignment with risk appetite with respect to sanctions risks.
• Where required, act as delegate in representing the Europe sanctions team in relevant committees for sanctions strategy, risks, and performance.
• Prepare or contribute to sanctions related materials to regulators, internal and external audit, 1st line businesses and other 2nd line colleagues.
• Contribute to the sanctions compliance function around the CFCR vision and strategic intent.
• Contribute to the enhancement of data and analytics capability to drive greater insight into sanctions risk identification and management and migration of good practices into the first line of defence.

Business

• Provide strategic advice to relevant stakeholders on the interpretation and application of EU and UK sanctions, best practices, and Group Sanctions Policy and Procedures. Provide transactional advice on relevant sanctions risks in all lines of business.
• Analyse the comprehensive impact of anti-financial crime related regulatory matters on relevant business area(s) and its operations.
• Ensure key changes (to laws, rules, regulations) are implemented (in region/country), in coordination with Group communications.
• Drive business enablement through the effective and creative design of control frameworks so that financial crime compliance becomes a strategic advantage.

Processes

• Engage with all stakeholders on sanctions requirements, the Group’s Sanctions Policy and Standards, and support client teams in reviewing high risk clients for sanctions purposes within KYC processes. Provide views on client retention, strategies to manage or ringfence client sanctions risk, and escalate for approval where required.
• Address queries related to business activities covered by the Group’s Sanctions Policy and Standards in a time efficient manner through the Advisor Connect tool. Provide approval for matters covered under Permitted Activity by assessing relevant regulatory permissions, exceptions, and licences issued by sanctions authorities.
• Assist Europe Head of Sanctions in preparing the OFSI Annual Report of Frozen Assets, filing breach reports to disclose regulatory breach events, as well as other communication with UK or EU sanctions authorities.
• Input into the development of Sanctions Policies and Standards to maintain effective compliance with EU and UK sanctions regulations.
• Accountable for the annual review of any dispensations against the Group’s Sanctions Policies and Standards.
• Represent the EA GRST at relevant risk and client forums, including the Sanctions Programme Working Group (“SPWG”). Where required, represent the Head of Sanctions, Europe at external events, such as industry roundtables.
• Review and provide commentary for UK and Germany sanctions MI dashboards.
• Where required, contribute to and deliver targeted sanctions training for 1st line teams.
• Represent the EA Sanctions Compliance function on project and change engagement as needed.
• Support the Sanctions ACT team with advisory queries arising from Transaction Screening, Name Screening, or Sanctions Risk Events.
• Provide subject matter expert input into Potential Circumvention Attempt cases, including by providing contemporary examples of emerging circumvention typologies identified through industry or regulatory communications.

Skills and Experience

• Highly advanced English (verbal & written)
• Strong knowledge of UK law and regulations
• Strong knowledge of sanctions and financial crime regulations
• ACAMS or CISI certification
• Business awareness
• Geopolitical awareness
• Presentation and soft leadership skills
• Organisation and prioritisation
• Education and degree in Law or Economics

About Standard Chartered

We're an international bank, nimble enough to act, big enough for impact. For more than 170 years, we've worked to make a positive difference for our clients, communities, and each other. We question the status quo, love a challenge and enjoy finding new opportunities to grow and do better than before. If you're looking for a career with purpose and you want to work for a bank making a difference, we want to hear from you. You can count on us to celebrate your unique talents and we can't wait to see the talents you can bring us.

Our purpose, to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, together with our brand promise, to be here for good are achieved by how we each live our valued behaviours. When you work with us, you'll see how we value difference and advocate inclusion.

Together we:

• Do the right thing and are assertive, challenge one another, and live with integrity, while putting the client at the heart of what we do.
• Never settle, continuously striving to improve and innovate, keeping things simple and learning from doing well, and not so well.
• Are better together, we can be ourselves, be inclusive, see more good in others, and work collectively to build for the long term.

What we offer

In line with our Fair Pay Charter, we offer a competitive salary and benefits to support your mental, physical, financial and social wellbeing.

• Core bank funding for retirement savings, medical and life insurance, with flexible and voluntary benefits available in some locations.
• Time-off including annual leave, parental/maternity (20 weeks), sabbatical (12 months maximum) and volunteering leave (3 days), along with minimum global standards for annual and public holiday, which is combined to 30 days minimum.
• Flexible working options based around home and office locations, with flexible working patterns.
• Proactive wellbeing support through Unmind, a market-leading digital wellbeing platform, development courses for resilience and other human skills, global Employee Assistance Programme, sick leave, mental health first-aiders and all sorts of self-help toolkits.
• A continuous learning culture to support your growth, with opportunities to reskill and upskill and access to physical, virtual and digital learning.
• Being part of an inclusive and values driven organisation, one that embraces and celebrates our unique diversity, across our teams, business functions and geographies - everyone feels respected and can realise their full potential.