Job Title:                   Compliance Manager – UK

Industry:                    Banking

Location:                     United Kingdom

Salary:                       Competitive Salary + Other Benefits

Purpose of the Role

The Compliance Manager supports the HCM in overseeing and managing the bank’s adherence to UK regulatory requirements (FCA/PRA), internal policies, and financial crime standards.  The role involves developing and updating policies, procedures and processes to ensure adherence to applicable laws and regulations.  This position adds value by safeguarding the Bank against regulatory, financial crime, and reputational risk while supporting ongoing monitoring processes, efficient customer onboarding and fostering a culture of compliance and ethical behaviour within the organisation.

Role Responsibilities

• Assist the MLRO and Compliance in ensuring the Bank operates in accordance with all legal and regulatory requirements and group standards relating to Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing, Proliferation Financing (“AML/CTF/PF”), Market Abuse, Anti Bribery, PEPs, Sanctions, tax evasion, Fraud and other financial crime and regulatory compliance risks.
• Identify, understand and interpret UK financial services legislation, regulations and obligations, and advise Senior Management on how the Bank can meet those obligations.
• Monitor and respond to regulatory developments in the UK and how they affect the Bank and its business strategy.
• Ensure all aspects of the Compliance Monitoring Programme are covered.
• Support the Compliance Manager / MLRO in preparing regular management Information, regulatory reports, and board level compliance updates.
• Carry out periodic reviews and ongoing monitoring activities, including transaction behaviour assessments and trigger event reviews.
• Assist in horizon scanning and regulatory monitoring, ensuring the Bank remains updated on FCA, PRA, JMLSG, and AML/CTF requirements.
• Review, investigate, and escalate financial crime alerts in accordance with internal procedures.
• Support policy and procedure reviews, ensuring alignment with regulatory expectations.
• Assist with the clearance and oversight of sanctions monitoring alerts, including reviewing true matches accordingly and promptly following up on any outstanding alerts.
• Review reports from the transaction monitoring solution and conducting investigations into alerts generated by using judgement and decision-making skills, to determine whether grounds for suspicion of money laundering, terrorist financing or proliferation financing (“ML/TF/PF”) exist.
• Conduct risk assessments to identify vulnerabilities and potential exposure to financial crime and implement appropriate controls and mitigation strategies.
• Maintaining oversight of High-Risk relationships, PEP management, EDD sign off, periodic and trigger review processes and breach management, escalating to the MLRO where appropriate.
• Provide day-to-day advisory support and training to the KYC Team to ensure that requirements are being complied with.
• Maintain accurate customer files and ensure audit ready documentation.
• Assist with internal compliance training delivery for staff across the business.
• Participate in thematic reviews, monitoring programmes, and compliance testing activities.
• Support remediation exercises and system improvement projects as required.
• Liaise professionally with relationship managers, operations teams, and external stakeholders to resolve KYC or compliance queries.

Skills and Experience

Technical

• In-depth knowledge and experience of working within an FCA-regulated environment.
• Advanced technical compliance and financial crime knowledge, including the application of FCA Handbook or comparable rules, AML regulations and JMLSG guidance in relation to relevant Businesses.
• Ability to interpret regulations and other required guidance, translating this seamlessly into operational practice across the organisation.
• Proven experience in implementing and monitoring regulatory quality frameworks that meet compliance requirements.
• Ability to write clear, professional and regulator-ready Compliance reports.
• Practical experience in customer due diligence (CDD) and enhanced due diligence (EDD).
• Familiarity with AML/CTF typologies, sanctions screening, PEP identification, and fraud risks.
• Experience working with KYC and transaction monitoring systems.
• Strong understanding of internal controls, risk assessments, and compliance monitoring frameworks
• Strong investigative skills with the capability to identify key risks and areas of non-conformance with regulatory and legislative requirements and identify root cases, themes and trends.

General

• Banking experience, particularly in a UK-based foreign owned Institution.
• Strong analytical skills and attention to detail, with the ability to research, investigate and assimilate data from various information sources and draw meaningful conclusions from the information obtained.
• Stakeholder management skills and confidence dealing with Senior Management and Board level, with the ability to provide clear advice to ensure suitable decisions are made.
• Ability to work unsupervised, and willingness to work to deadlines to get the job done when required.
• Professional and proactive approach with an ability to challenge when needed.
• Strong team player with ability to collaborate across multiple departments.
• Ability to work under pressure and manage multiple priorities.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills.

Qualifications/Education/Training

Essential       

• 7 years or more experience in a Compliance environment.
• Proven record of on-the-job reliability and completing assigned tasks with minimal or no supervisor’s interference.
• Unquestionable commitment to the Bank’s vision and strategic goals.

Desirable     

• University degree in equivalent field.
• Compliance qualification from ICA, CISI or an equivalent recognised body.
• Ideal candidate will be from a banking background with proven knowledge of Compliance, conduct rules and money laundering requirements.

Key Competencies

Market Knowledge          

• Understands banking products, customer types, and financial crime risks relevant to the UK banking sector.

Business Strategy & Business Model    

• Understands the Bank’s objectives, customer base, and risk appetite, ensuring KYC and compliance practices are aligned with business goals.

Risk Management & Control     

• Identifies, assesses, and escalates compliance and AML/CTF risks, contributing to an effective control environment.

Financial Analysis & Costs         

• Interprets financial documents (statements, reports, ownership structures) to support KYC due diligence and customer risk assessment.

Governance Oversight & Controls      

• Supports adherence to governance processes, ensuring documentation, reporting, and decision making follow internal and regulatory standards.

Regulatory Framework & Requirements        

• Maintains working knowledge of FCA/PRA expectations, AML regulations, sanctions requirements.
• Keeps abreast of current UK regulations and international AML rules.

Per Regulators’ Conduct Rules 

• Acts with Integrity.
• Acts with due skill, care and diligence.
• Is open and cooperative with the Regulators.
• Pays due regard to customers’ interests and treats them fairly.
• Observes market conduct standards.

Key Performance Indicators

• Zero sanctions, fines or any other kind of disciplinary action.
• Ensure 100% adherence to compliance and financial crime prevention policies, procedures and regulatory requirements.
• Completion of 95% of CMP Reviews to the required quality and in line with the CMP schedule.
• Analyze, monitor, update and provide commentary on both the Compliance and Conduct Dashboards for Senior Management within the CCAC.
• Accurate and timely 4-eye checks of sanctions screening payments completed by the First Line, including assessing, mitigating, and clearing any alerts generated by the screening systems.
• Complete 100% of sanctions, transaction monitoring and financial crime-related investigations within the defined SLAs.
• Respond to compliance and financial crime-related inquiries from internal and external stakeholders within the required SLAs.
• Submit 100% of required regulatory reports to senior management and regulators within the designated timelines within the required time limits.
• Quality assurance of customer due diligence files and acting as a key point of contact for the KYC Team, and assisting them where required.
• Attend 100% of relevant compliance and financial crime prevention training sessions and workshops, as well as developing and delivering ad-hoc training as and when required.
• Assisting the MLRO with the development and update of new and existing compliance and financial crime policy documents.