Head of Financial Crime Operations

Hampshire Trust Bank is a specialist bank, staffed by experts focused on helping UK businesses realise their ambitions.

We offer niche specialty lines SME bank targeting under-served segments, our dedicated Development Finance, Bridging Finance and Specialist Mortgages teams ensure that businesses receive the outstanding service, lasting relationships, integrity and expertise they need to prosper.

About The Role
Our well-respected First Line Risk department support the Group's activities through advising and providing operational support to business areas and units to effectively manage risks in the first line of defence. This is achieved through providing technical knowhow and advice on first line matters relating to Operational Resilience, Third Party Risk Management, Financial Crime Operations, Quality Assurance and Complaints.

The Financial Crime Operations department is responsible for managing 1st line of defence financial crime controls designed to mitigate financial crime risk and to support the continued growth of HTB's business areas in a compliant and sustainable manner. The Head of Financial Crime Operations is responsible for undertaking and providing oversight of key financial crime prevention and detection activities in line with the Group's risk appetite and financial crime policies and procedures.

The working pattern of this role is hybrid, with an expectation to be in the London office 50% of the time.

Key Responsibilities

• Delivering a 1LOD financial crime model that aligns with HTB Board and Executive Committee expectations and has both the capacity and capability to manage financial crime controls and tasks that sit within 1LOD.
• Leadership of the Financial Crime Team in executing their duties, including but not limited to Onboarding, Name Screening, Payment Screening, Transaction Monitoring, Fraud, Periodic & Event Driven Review & Quality Assurance/Control/Testing
• Developing and maintaining a positive and professional working relationship with key stakeholders including 1LOD Managing Directors, HTB Money Laundering Reporting Officer and 2LOD Financial Crime.
• Fostering a culture of continuous improvement by identifying opportunities to enhance controls and/or leverage technology to mitigate relevant financial crime risks proportionately.
• Building and maintaining a respectful, inclusive and collaborative culture in respect of financial crime prevention.
• Ensuring that business areas are provided with effective and efficient service to manage financial crime risk to support the compliant and sustainable growth of HTB, and which are aligned to service level agreements.
• Driving operational efficiency and reducing costs by identifying and implementing continuous improvements in the team's operations and processes, reducing subsequent year-on-year headcount requirements.
• Developing and maintaining financial crime processes and procedures that adhere to and achieve internal, regulatory, and legal requirements and which are regularly reviewed for opportunities to improve the internal and external customer experience.
• Collaborating with the Compliance department (2LOD Financial Crime) where necessary to seek advice on complex financial crime risk related matters and to support production of risks assessments and MLRO report.
• Ensuring that performance of key financial crime controls owned by 1LOD are subject to appropriate quality assurance/control/testing and that such is used to inform system, process and people development.
• Ensuring that screening and transaction monitoring controls are risk assessed, calibrated and subject to ongoing efficacy reviews in line with risk appetite and subject to appropriate 2LOD Financial Crime oversight.
• Developing appropriate and relevant KRIs/KPIs and reporting mechanisms and preparing management information to relevant stakeholders and/or governance committees.
• Providing financial crime expertise, where necessary, in assessing business transformation or small change projects and product reviews to ensure that such meet internal, regulatory and legal requirements.
• Leading, where appropriate, on projects specifically relating to financial crime controls to ensure that such meet internal, regulatory and legal requirements.
• Ownership of supplier relationship management with third parties who supply services and/or systems relevant to the management of financial crime risk. This includes configuration of these systems to reduce false positives and seeking opportunities to further improve HTB's efficiency with additional technology solutions (eg AI, workflow tooling).
• Creating a culture of learning & development within Financial Crime Operations to maximise the potential and performance of team members.
• Overseeing the design and delivery of training and development sessions across 1LOD to provide colleagues the skills, knowledge, and tools to instil a culture of best practice, achieving Group, regulatory and legal standards for Financial Crime.
• Maintaining and sharing knowledge on relevant financial crime risk typologies, relevant legislation and regulatory guidance.

Required Skills & Experience

• Significant demonstrable experience in a financial crime risk leadership role within the financial services industry
• Demonstrable experience leading and managing a team responsible for performing financial crime control management.
• Exceptional knowledge of financial crime risks, controls and the assessment of such.
• Strong understanding of the legislative and regulatory frameworks that apply to financial services institutions regulated by the FCA and PRA for Financial Crime.
• Holds a professional qualification in Financial Crime Prevention (such as ICA or ACAMS), or similar.
• An analytical and critical thinking mindset with excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to influence others, including senior stakeholders.
• Strong individual contributor with the ability to work effectively as a team.
• Excellent relationship building skills.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with excellent attention to detail.
• Strong organisational and planning skills.

Benefits

• Competitive remuneration
• Discretionary annual bonus
• Annual pay review
• Private Medical Insurance (Bupa)
• Mental health & wellbeing support via YuLife & Bupa
• 25 days annual leave (increasing with service) + Holiday Buy Scheme
• Cycle to Work Scheme & Green Car Scheme
• Enhanced family leave policies
• Study support & professional membership
• Hybrid working (50/50)
• YuLife Rewards – discounts on retail, lifestyle & experiences
• Pension scheme – 8% employer contribution (non-contributory)
• Interest-free season ticket loan
• Annual volunteering day & Net Zero employer commitment