Lead Associate - Financial Crime Market Intervention

We are currently recruiting for an AML Lead Supervisor in the Financial Crime Market Interventions Department.

The team/department

The Financial Crime Market Interventions Department provides the dedicated specialist resource and expertise to help the FCA meet its financial crime responsibilities, as part of the FCA’s wider objective on integrity and as part of its strategic focus on financial crime.

The department is comprised of four Financial Crime Supervision teams, a Sanctions Supervision Team, a Financial Crime Public Commitment Strategy and Delivery Team and a Financial Crime Risk, Data & Strategy Team (RDS). Working together with others inside and outside the FCA, we deal with issues involving money laundering, financial sanctions, bribery and corruption, and fraud or dishonesty. The Financial Crime Market Interventions Department does not cover market abuse.

What you will be doing (the role)

This role sits in one of the Financial Crime Market Intervention Department’s AML Supervision teams. The team focuses on the effectiveness of firms’ AML systems and controls. This is undertaken through a range of supervisory work including assessments, visits, and interventions on regulated firms. We work closely with the supervision teams for each financial services sector as well as external partners to assess firms’ compliance with relevant rules, laws and guidance.

As a lead supervisor, you will be responsible for overseeing the casework of staff, ensuring that the objectives of the department are delivered through their activities. You will also be responsible for ensuring the delivery of high-profile work assigned to them.

You will work with a variety of internal and external stakeholders on AML matters to ensure that they are kept informed and engaged as appropriate. In addition, you will manage your own personal caseload and be involved in the relationship-management of major firms. You will be expected to make appropriate judgements on regulatory actions following supervisory assessments.

Our lead supervisors are expected to oversee, coordinate and monitor caseloads, and provide advice, guidance, coaching, and feedback to team members.

You will report to a Financial Crime Market Intervention Department Manager.

This role is classified as a Lead Associate.

What you will get from the role

• An interesting and varied workload, with responsibility for delivering the work assigned to you and your team.
• The opportunity to lead projects and high profile or complex casework.
• The chance to join a friendly, collaborative and informal environment committed to thinking creatively about achieving good anti-financial crime outcomes for the FCA.
• The opportunity to use your judgement to make decisions at pace, stand by them, and learn from experience.
• The chance of line managing and developing staff.
• A chance to understand the changing ways in which firms and the industry operate, and the implications for how we carry out our work on financial crime.
• The opportunity to help shape the Financial Crime Market Intervention Department’s future activities and ways of working.

The skills and experience you will have

We’re a signatory to the Government's Disability Confident scheme. This means that we will offer an interview to disabled candidates entering under the scheme, should they meet the minimum criteria for a role.

Minimum:

• Significant financial crime experience, including a strong understanding of relevant financial crime rules (for example from a relevant supervision, compliance or financial crime role within a regulatory body, law enforcement, government, financial services or consultancy firm).
• Excellent communication skills and ability to communicate complex information in a way that is accessible to a range of recipients.
• Significant experience of managing and delivering projects, prioritising, planning and forecasting workloads, coordinating the involvement of others, monitoring and reporting progress.

Essential:

• In depth knowledge of the FCA’s regulatory and wider legal framework, and a good understanding of the wider business, economic, and market environment for financial services firms and how this affects firms’ vulnerability to financial crime.
• A team player, with a positive approach and outlook to their work with experience of motivating others, mentoring and coaching less experienced team members, sharing knowledge and giving high-quality feedback.
• Demonstrable expertise in building effective working relationships with a variety of internal and external stakeholders, providing effective challenge and seek mutually beneficial solutions to problems.
• Proven ability to lead challenging meetings with senior-level individuals with confidence and credibility.
• Significant experience of managing and progressing a portfolio of complex cases, applying technical and professional experience to prioritise work, make judgements and timely decisions.
• Significant experience of quickly analysing and interpreting a variety of data and information to execute effective action to mitigate risk.
• Proven expertise in managing complex assessments of financial crime systems and controls at financial services firms (for example, through a relevant role within a regulatory body, law enforcement, financial services or consultancy firm).