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Senior Manager – Financial Crime Compliance
London
Reporting to: Head of Financial Crime, Europe & SMF17
About the Role
We are seeking a highly capable and strategically minded Senior Manager – Financial Crime Compliance to play a pivotal role in safeguarding our European businesses against financial crime risks. This role sits within the Anti‑Financial Crime function and carries significant responsibility for oversight, framework development, and cross‑functional influence.
You will own and maintain the AFC Framework for Europe, ensuring that the region operates to a consistently high standard across Policy, Governance, Risk Assessment, Testing and Monitoring. You will also act as a key deputy to the Head of Financial Crime, Europe & SMF17, stepping in where relevant to provide continuity of leadership and decision‑making.
This is an outstanding opportunity for an experienced AFC professional to shape the direction of the Financial Crime programme across multiple jurisdictions and business lines.
Key Responsibilities
Ownership of the AFC Framework (Europe)
- Own, maintain and continually enhance the Europe Financial Crime Compliance Framework, ensuring it meets regulatory expectations and global standards.
- Lead the development, drafting and maintenance of AFC policies, standards, procedures and guidance, ensuring they are clear, actionable and aligned to regulatory change.
- Oversee and coordinate the region’s Financial Crime Governance, including committee structures, reporting, escalation processes and decision documentation.
- Lead the Financial Crime Risk Assessment cycle for Europe, including the Business‑Wide Risk Assessment (BWRA), thematic reviews and ongoing risk identification.
- Oversee AFC testing, monitoring and assurance activity, ensuring effective identification of risks, control gaps and opportunities for improvement.
Regulatory and Business Partnership
- Act as a subject‑matter expert for AML/CTF, Sanctions, ABAC and Anti-Tax Evasion requirements across European entities.
- Support the interpretation and operationalisation of regulatory change, ensuring business teams receive clear, practical guidance.
- Build strong relationships with senior stakeholders in 1LoD and 2LoD, promoting a risk‑aware culture and ensuring effective execution of AFC obligations.
Deputising for the Head of Financial Crime, Europe & SMF17
- Represent AFC Europe in senior governance forums, working groups and regulatory interactions when required.
- Provide leadership continuity during absence of the Head of Financial Crime, Europe, including decision‑making, briefing senior leaders, and guiding the AFC strategy.
- Champion AFC’s strategic priorities across the business, maintaining alignment with global Financial Crime objectives.
Control Environment & Operational Excellence
- Provide oversight of key Financial Crime controls including screening, Transaction Monitioring, periodic reviews, KYC/CDD, suspicious activity reporting and customer risk rating.
- Partner with Operations and Technology to ensure policies and standards are embedded into practical, workable business processes.
- Drive continuous improvement of MI, dashboards, data quality, tooling and workflow efficiency.
Programme & Change Delivery
- Contribute to large‑scale Financial Crime remediation and enhancement programmes across Europe.
- Manage interdependencies across regulatory change, systems upgrades, resource planning and BAU operations.
- Ensure robust documentation, tracking and governance of Financial Crime change initiatives.
Skills & Experience
Essential
- Extensive senior‑level experience in Financial Crime Compliance, within the second-line, in a regulated financial services environment.
- A proven track record of leading complex AFC activities across multiple risk domains (AML/CTF, Sanctions, Fraud, ABAC, Transaction Monitoring, KYC/CDD).
- Strategic policy development expertise, including drafting policies, standards and frameworks, and ensuring they are successfully operationalised across multiple business lines and jurisdictions.
- Strong leadership and judgment, with experience making high‑impact decisions, advising executive committees, and shaping firm‑wide Financial Crime risk appetite and strategy.
- Deep technical understanding of risk and control frameworks, including BWRA, RCSAs, thematic reviews, controls testing, assurance methodologies, and regulatory risk management.
- Experience engaging with regulators (e.g., FCA, CBI, other EU regulators) and representing AFC at senior governance forums.
- Exceptional communication and influencing skills, capable of advising senior executives, coaching business leaders, and translating complex regulatory expectations into actionable solutions.
- Proven ability to lead cross‑functional programmes, including multi‑workstream remediation, framework enhancement and operational uplift across first and second line teams.
- Experience managing and developing high‑performing teams, including senior specialists, SMEs and managers, with the ability to drive culture, capability and succession planning.
Desirable
- Experience operating across multiple European jurisdictions and/or global AFC structures.
- Recognised professional qualifications (ICA, ACAMS, Int. Dip AML or similar).
- Experience deputising for SMF functions or holding SMF17/MLRO responsibilities in previous roles.
How We Work
Vanguard has implemented a hybrid working model for the majority of our crew members, designed to capture the benefits of enhanced flexibility while enabling in-person learning, collaboration, and connection. We believe our mission-driven and highly collaborative culture is a critical enabler to support long-term client outcomes and enrich the employee experience.
