Financial Crime Operations Team Lead

The opportunity

Shieldpay are looking for a Financial Crime Operations Team Lead to lead the function, implementing best practices across the team and enhancing our first line of defence framework.

This role will partner with the broader Risk and Compliance team to set the strategy for the Fin Crime Operations functions, implementing robust policies to protect the business and our customers from financial crime activities. You will play a crucial role in safeguarding the business through an extensive knowledge in the ever evolving landscape of financial crime and best methods of combatting it.

You’ll lead a team of analysts responsible for transaction monitoring, customer onboarding, fraud investigations and AML reviews. This is a hands-on leadership role requiring strong operational oversight, stakeholder management and a deep understanding of financial crime in the Fintech space. You will develop and build our financial crime operational procedures and implement enhancements to our framework, working closely with the second line compliance team to ensure all processes and associated documentation are effectively mitigating against the financial crime risks posed to the business.

What you’ll be doing

• Lead the Financial Crime Operations team and the associated pipeline of work.
• Own the CDD Quality Assurance process to ensure a high standard of customer onboarding and continuous monitoring is always adhered to
• Manage the onboarding and ongoing monitoring pipeline of work and case distribution to analysts
• Perform investigations in connection with customer due diligence, suspicious behaviours and transactions, and build typologies that will assist the business and share with key stakeholders that work with us
• Lead locally on the Customer Due Diligence Procedures as well as Sanctions, Warning, PEP and other searches where referrals have been made by the team and assist on swift resolution
• Solid ability to build data analytics and produce MI reporting relevant to financial crime activities with a view to manage risk and inform business decisions
• Work directly with our commercial, operations, product and technology teams to enhance our solution within a customer focused world
• Support the Director of Risk and Compliance on financial crime strategy
• Anticipate the impact of financial regulatory change / amendments to Shieldpay’s policies and procedures in connection with financial crime
• Provide training and insights on financial crime obligations to the Financial Crime Operations team and the wider organisation
• Act as an escalation point for the Financial Crime Operations team

What we're looking for in you

• Direct experience working as a team lead or management role within a financial crime function
• ICA / ACAMS qualified or similar certification
• Advanced knowledge of financial crime obligations and security procedures
• Experienced with supporting the operational implementation of financial crime strategies and risk programs including performing risk assessments
• Solid experience with financial crime systems (onboarding, screening, transaction monitoring) and communicating associated business requirements to Product and Technology teams to support system builds and configuration
• Must possess a strong hands-on mentality with a focus on execution, and high motivation to take an active role within Shieldpay
• Pro-active self-starter, able to work across multiple departments and quickly build strong relationships
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both verbal and written
• Results focussed, able to take the initiative with a concern for excellence
• Operate well in a high-pressure environment, even faced with tight timelines for ambitious deliverables

Our Promise: Shieldpay is an equal opportunities employer. For Shieldpay building a fair and transparent workforce begins with the recruitment process that does not discriminate on the grounds of gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy or maternity, gender reassignment, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, disability or age. We offer flexible working options, such as flexible hours and hybrid work, to support our employees' work-life balance