Senior Financial Crime Investigator

Business Unit: COO, Risk Operations
Salary Range: £32,800 - £49,200 per annum DOE + Benefits 
Location: Hybrid - Glasgow, Leeds or Newcastle. Remote available for those outside a hub location.  

Our Team

We have an exciting opportunity to come join us in the role of Senior Financial Crime Investigator. In this role you will support our 1^st Line colleagues acting as a financial crime specialist and first point of escalation for financial crime suspicions. We are looking for people who have an eye for detail and great at building relationships. The role could cover areas such as transaction monitoring, PEP and sanctions screening, customer risk assessments or adverse media.

What you'll be doing 

• Effectively deliver 1st Line Financial Crime activities and processes within quality and performance objectives, ensuring a service delivery which enhances the customer experience and ensures we operate within regulatory & policy requirements.
• Investigate anti-money laundering transaction monitoring escalations, including performing Know Your Customer and Customer Due Diligence assessments and interrogating financial data to assess the likelihood of financial crime.
• Ensure consistent, well thought out and accurate rationale on retail, complex and corporate/business products, providing insight and feedback on alerts to FC Investigators - poorly rationalised or incorrect decisions could expose the colleague and bank to criminal charges, reputational damage and regulatory censure. 
• Work with the 2nd line Financial Crime team to provide advice and guidance to 1st line colleagues, documenting the guidance to strengthen financial crime controls to prevent future reoccurrence where possible.
• Document and escalate new and emerging financial crime trends and system performance in a way that can be communicated to colleagues in 2nd line to ensure ongoing, consistent system improvement.  Represent Financial Crime Operations in systems meetings with 2nd line to articulate rule performance, trends and improvement ideas.
• Be a Subject Matter Expert in Financial Crime processes and procedures and actively contribute to keeping these up to date and policy compliant and perform annual reviews of processes and procedures.
• Assisting Financial Crime Managers with documented changes to Financial Crime procedures for systems and controls, policy changes and training to FC colleagues.
• Coach investigator staff with varied experience and deliver effective and constructive feedback as part of the quality control process.
• Ensure that working practices support MI production through accurate & timely completion of tasks, assist FC Managers in the collation and production of MI and other controls.

We need you to have 

• Experience of working within a financial crime environment. Ideally having worked in either a Client Screening, Transaction Monitoring or a risk assessment role.
• A keen eye for detail and be able to present your findings/thoughts in a clear and concise manner.
• The ability to analyse information and be able to draw conclusions and/or recommendations from the facts/data provided.
• The ability to deliver structured coaching & feedback and to manage individual performance.
• Excellent time management and work prioritisation skills with the ability to work autonomously and assist colleagues with time management and work prioritisation.
• Ability to adjust quickly and use a variety of new systems and processes.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.

It's a bonus but not essential if you have 

• Product knowledge and financial crime regulatory knowledge is advantageous.
• Experience of any AML Prevention, Detection or Investigation system.
• Experience of any Sanction, PEP, adverse media or Transaction Monitoring system.
• Experience of any customer risk assessments
• Experience in corporate/business products advantageous
• Relevant ICA qualifications.

Red Hot Rewards 

• Generous holidays - 38.5 days annual leave (including bank holidays and prorated if part-time)​ plus the option to buy more. 
• Up to five extra paid well-being days per year​.  
• 20 weeks paid, gender-neutral family leave (52 weeks in total) for expectant parents and those looking to adopt.  
• Market-leading pension.  
• Free private medical cover, income protection and life assurance.  
• Flexible benefits include Cycle to Work, wellness and health assessments, and critical illness.  

And there's no waiting around, you'll enjoy these benefits from day one. 

If we’re lucky to receive a lot of interest, we may close the advert early. Please ensure to submit your applications as soon as possible.  

Say hello to Virgin Money

Virgin Money is so much more than just a bank. As part of the Nationwide group, together we're the UK's first full-service mutual bank serving millions of retail and business customers and all driven by our purpose; Banking but fairer, more rewarding and for the good of society. With us, you’ll be part of an organisation uniquely positioned to make a difference to the lives of customers, communities and broader society and embark on a collaborative, customer obsessed, and fun-filled career journey. Embrace the weekdays, enjoy fantastic perks, and make a meaningful positive difference. Time to discover what it means to be part of the first mutual full-service banking provider.  

Be yourself at Virgin Money

At Virgin Money, we celebrate everyone. We have fun, think big, and relentlessly include each other, all in pursuit of our purpose: Banking – but fairer, more rewarding, and for the good of society.  We’re committed to creating an inclusive culture where colleagues feel safe and inspired to contribute, speak up and be heard.   
As a Disability Confident Leader, we're committed to removing any obstacles to inclusion.  If you need any reasonable adjustments or support making your application, contact our Talent Acquisition team careers@virginmoney.com

Please note: If we receive a high volume of eligible applications, we may need to prioritise candidates whose skills and experience most closely align with the role, while still ensuring fair and equitable consideration for all applicants.

Now the legal bit
Although some of our roles allow you to be based anywhere in the UK, we'll need you to confirm you have the right to work in the UK. 

If you're successful in securing a role with us, there are some checks you need to complete before starting. These include credit and criminal record checks and three years' worth of satisfactory references. If the role is part of the Senior Manager Regime and Certification Regime, it requires enhanced pre-employment checks – we'll ask for six years of regulatory references, and once in the role, you'll be subject to periodic employment checks.