Financial Crime Specialist – KYC

Role Overview

• Conduct thorough, risk-proportionate investigations on customers including medium and high-risk customers
• Ensure all critical due diligence information is obtained and documented to the required standard
• Assess customers’ Source of Wealth (SoW) and Source of Funds (SoF), evaluating whether declared wealth and funds are consistent with their overall risk profile and transactional behaviour
• Complete EDD reviews for Specially Interested Persons (SIPs), Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs), and customers subject to court orders or law enforcement enquiries
• Manage a caseload of ongoing and onboarding customer risk review cases efficiently, maintaining high throughput without sacrificing investigative quality
• Identify and escalate customers whose risk profile has materially changed, applying sound regulatory and commercial judgement
• Conduct onboarding and ongoing name screening checks to identify sanctioned individuals, PEPs, and Relatives and Close Associates (RCAs)
• Assess screening alerts with confidence and precision, escalating appropriately and completing EDD off the back of positive findings in line with policy and regulatory requirements
• Conduct ad hoc screening on international inbound credits to ensure funds have not originated from a sanctioned entity or individual
• Handle both inbound and outbound phone-based & chat based interactions with customers as part of their daily responsibilities
• Leverage AI-enabled monitoring and investigation tools as a core part of day-to-day activity
• Critically assess AI-generated outputs to ensure accuracy, regulatory alignment, and sound case decisions
• Use insights from AI tools to support risk identification and drive investigation efficiency

Requirements

• Experience in financial crime risk management, with a focus on EDD, AML, and/or KYC processes, ideally within a fintech, challenger bank, or regulated financial institution
• Strong command of UK financial crime regulations, including the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA), Money Laundering Regulations (MLR 2017), and FCA guidelines on financial crime
• In-depth knowledge of financial crime risk typologies, due diligence processes, transaction monitoring methodologies, and name screening best practice
• Awareness of emerging financial crime trends relevant to the fintech sector, including crypto-asset risks, APP fraud, and sanctions evasion
• Demonstrated experience working in a target-driven or high-throughput compliance operations environment
• Strong analytical ability and meticulous attention to detail, with the capacity to assess complex financial transactions and identify potential financial crime typologies
• Solid understanding of AML/KYC processes including transaction monitoring, adverse media screening, EDD, and PEP/sanctions screening
• Ability to produce clear, well-structured written documentation, including investigation summaries, escalation reports, and risk assessments
• Comfortable working with AI-powered compliance tools, and able to critically evaluate AI-generated outputs to support compliant case decisions
• Thrives in a fast-paced, high-volume environment and demonstrates strong personal organisation and time management to meet case SLAs
• Proactive and solutions-focused, with the initiative to flag issues early and adapt to changing priorities
• Collaborative team player who builds effective relationships with internal stakeholders across compliance, operations, and technology teams, as well as external parties where required
• Demonstrates professionalism and strict confidentiality at all times

Benefits

• Flexible ways of working
• Option of working from abroad for up to 120 days a year
• Workplace free from discrimination
• DE&I forum made up of Zopians wanting to make a difference
• Culture where everyone can bring their full self to work