Risk & Business Control Manager - Financial Crime Operations

Purpose of Job

Provide effective first-line risk and control oversight across Financial Crime Operations, ensuring risks are identified, assessed and managed within risk appetite, controls remain effective, audit and regulatory issues are remediated, and governance reporting supports informed decision-making and regulatory compliance.

Accountabilities & Responsibilities

• Partner with FCMO management to identify, assess and manage operational and financial crime risks across onboarding, KYC, sanctions screening, transaction monitoring and fraud controls.
• Maintain risk and control governance, including risk assessments, control inventories, KRIs, KCIs, procedures and management reporting.
• Analyse control performance, incidents, backlogs, audit findings and compliance actions to identify emerging risks and remediation priorities.
• Coordinate the management of operational risk events, control failures and corrective actions, ensuring timely and sustainable remediation.
• Oversee audit, compliance and regulatory actions, providing challenge, escalation and progress reporting.
• Assess risk impacts arising from regulatory, policy, process, system and organisational change, ensuring appropriate controls and governance are maintained.

Knowledge, Skills, Experience & Qualifications

• Risk and Control Management. Strong understanding of non-financial risk frameworks, first-line control responsibilities and the design, assessment, monitoring and remediation of controls within a regulated financial crime operations environment.
• FCMO Business Knowledge. Strong knowledge of FCMO's first-line activities, including customer onboarding, periodic and event-driven reviews, customer risk assessment, KYC data maintenance, sanctions and PEP screening, transaction monitoring, fraud controls, quality assurance and regulatory control processes.
• Financial Crime Risk and Regulation. Good understanding of AML/CTF, sanctions, fraud, PEP and adverse-media risks, together with relevant EMEA regulatory expectations and the application of risk-based customer due diligence and escalation requirements.
• Governance, MI and Issue Management. Demonstrable ability to analyse KRIs, control performance, operational incidents, backlogs, quality findings, audit and compliance actions and regulatory matters; identify trends and emerging risks; and provide clear, timely reporting to management and governance forums.
• Stakeholder Management and Communication. Proven ability to act as a trusted adviser, provide robust and independent challenge, and work effectively with Front Office, Operations, Financial Crime Compliance, Risk, Legal, Technology and Internal Audit. Able to translate complex financial crime and control matters into concise analysis, decisions and actions.

Specific requirements:

• Relevant experience in a Business Control Officer, risk and control, financial crime operations, compliance monitoring or audit function within a major financial institution.
• Strong analytical and numerical capability, with experience of producing risk and control MI, identifying thematic weaknesses and supporting prioritised remediation.
• Practical knowledge of end-to-end FCMO processes and their supporting systems, data, procedures and controls across EMEA; relevant risk, compliance or financial crime qualifications are desirable.