Senior Financial Crime Manager

What We’re All About at Kroo

At Kroo Bank, we are charting the future of banking with our groundbreaking technological innovations and unique digital services. The rapid advancements in the fintech sector necessitate ongoing evolution in the roles and responsibilities of our bank to effectively tackle new business opportunities and challenges. We are dedicated to consistently updating our job descriptions to ensure we continue to lead in banking innovation.

Please note that the responsibilities listed in this job description are intended to give a comprehensive overview of your position but may not detail every aspect of your job role. The fluid nature of our industry requires that your specific tasks may be adjusted to better suit evolving business strategies. We value your flexibility and your willingness to work collaboratively if we need to adapt. If you have any questions regarding your job role, we encourage you to contact your manager for clarification.

The Role:

The Senior Financial Crime Manager is responsible for leading multiple teams within the Financial Crime Operations department including the Transaction Monitoring Teams, AML & Complex Investigations Teams, and KYC Financial Crime Team. The role requires deep end to end expertise in Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and strong experience in managing transactional monitoring and screening processes. While experience in fraud management is beneficial, the focus is primarily on AML and monitoring. This position plays a critical role in the strategic development, day-to-day oversight, and escalation management of financial crime activities, ensuring compliance with relevant regulations and industry best practices. Other responsibilities include:

• Oversee effective operations of the Transaction Monitoring Team, AML & Complex Investigations Teams, and KYC Financial Crime Team.
• Provide leadership, direction, and mentorship to team leads ensuring performance objectives are met and aligns with the bank’s financial crime prevention strategies.
• Oversee daily financial crime operations, ensuring effective coordination across teams to meet KPIs.
• Act as the primary subject matter expert in AML and Transaction Monitoring, guiding the team in complex AML-related investigations and decision-making.
• Ensure compliance with all relevant AML regulations and industry standards, implementing and maintaining robust detection and prevention systems.
• Provide guidance on the enhancement of AML processes, frameworks, and investigative standards.
• Oversee the bank’s transactional monitoring processes, ensuring timely and effective identification and escalation of suspicious activity.
• Provide oversight and strategic direction for the investigation of suspicious activity reports (SARs) and related case management.
• Collaborate with other departments, including Compliance, to maintain and improve transaction monitoring systems in line with business growth and regulatory changes.
• Act as the key escalation point for complex financial crime cases across the team, offering expertise and resolution strategies.
• Oversee fraud-related activities, including the management of chargeback processes and resolution of disputed transactions.
• Ensure the seamless integration of financial crime detection measures across all relevant business areas.
• Acting as a nominated officer and ensuring the submission of concise and effective suspicious activity reports.
• Lead initiatives to optimise financial crime detection and investigation processes, working closely with senior stakeholders, including the Head of Financial Crime Operations and MLRO.
• Analyse financial crime trends and data to anticipate emerging risks and implement proactive mitigation strategies.
• Continuously evaluate and improve systems and processes related to AML and fraud prevention.
• Liaise with external stakeholders, including regulators, law enforcement, and other financial institutions, ensuring timely and accurate communication on financial crime issues.
• Prepare and present Management Information (MI) reports, highlighting key trends, performance metrics, and risk insights for senior management and relevant stakeholders.

About You

While not essential, the following experience is highly desirable in our ideal candidate for this position:

• AML Expertise: Extensive knowledge of Anti-Money Laundering regulations, with proven experience as a subject matter expert in AML frameworks and investigations.
• Leadership Experience: Demonstrated experience in managing managers and leading teams, particularly in a financial crime or compliance setting.
• Transactional Monitoring: Strong background in managing and optimising transactional monitoring processes and ensuring regulatory compliance.
• Financial Crime Knowledge: Understanding of broader financial crime risks, including fraud management, though specific subject matter expertise in fraud is not required.
• Strategic & Analytical Thinking: Ability to analyse complex financial crime data, identify trends, and lead strategic initiatives to improve detection and prevention mechanisms.
• Communication Skills: Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex information clearly to various internal and external stakeholders.
• Retail Banking Experience: Extensive knowledge of retail banking operations, with proven experience dealing with banking products, services, and customer relationship management.

About Our Process:

We can be flexible with the structure of our interview process if someone's circumstances or timescales require it but our general structure is:

• People screen interview - 30 mins
• General interview challenge with the hiring manager - 30 mins
• Take home assessment
• Head of Financial Crime interview - 30 mins
• COO interview - 45 mins

Please let us know if you have any specific requirements or need assistance so we can be as accommodating as possible for you.

What we offer:

At our cutting-edge fintech company, we know that attracting and retaining the best talent means offering top-notch benefits that help our employees thrive both in and outside of work. Check out what we currently offer:

• Generous holiday time: 25 days annual leave, 8 bank holidays, 1 Kroo bank holiday (June 24th), and 1 day off during the week of your birthday.
• Personal days: We know that life can be unpredictable, so we offer 3 personal days to use as needed.
• Employer-sponsored volunteer program: We're passionate about giving back to our community, and we support our employees in doing the same with up to 4 hours per month of employer-sponsored volunteer time.
• Mental health support: We care about the mental health of our team members and offer access to Spill, our mental health support partner.
• Workplace pension: We want you to feel secure about your future, so we offer a workplace pension with a 5% employee contribution and a 3% employer top-up.
• Top-notch equipment: We provide top-of-the-line equipment necessary for smooth hybrid work, including a MacBook laptop. Additionally, we also offer support in establishing your home office by contributing towards your setup if required.
• Modern office: When you're in the office, you'll enjoy access to our modern, bustling workspace in Central London.
• Cycle to Work scheme: We encourage sustainable transportation with our Cycle to Work scheme.
• Electric Car scheme: We're committed to reducing our carbon footprint, and our Electric Car scheme makes it easy for our employees to do the same.
• Enhanced parental leave: We know that family comes first, and we offer an enhanced parental leave policy to support our employees in starting and growing their families.
• Room for growth: As a fast-paced, high-growth start-up, we're dedicated to providing our employees with room to grow and excel.
• You get full healthcare for you and your nuclear family via Vitality.

Hybrid Working:

At Kroo Bank, we embrace a hybrid policy that grants individuals and teams a considerable level of autonomy regarding office usage, maximising productivity. Our office in London is a splendid space that serves as a valuable and potent resource when utilised appropriately. Presently, we follow a blended working model, where employees are expected to work in the office 4 days per month. Therefore, candidates who are able to occasionally commute to the office align best with our current work practices. Please bear in mind that this position entails working shifts over 5 days, totalling 37.5 hours per week. The shift schedule will be provided well in advance, typically spanning from 6 am to 10 pm.

Diversity and Inclusion:

We wholeheartedly uphold our commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. Every employee is highly regarded, respected, and supported without any form of judgement or prejudice. We consider Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion as fundamental pillars guiding our path in all aspects of our bank. We also ensure that reasonable adjustments are made available to all candidates throughout the recruitment process.