Sanctions Advisory Lead

This role to provide strategic oversight, expert guidance, and business advisory support across the Barclays UK arm of the bank on sanctions risk management. Reporting directly to the global head of sanctions, this role will be responsible for leading a team of sanctions compliance specialists, ensuring that the bank's global sanctions policy, risk appetite, and regulatory obligations are effectively implemented while balancing commercial objectives.

This is a high impact leadership role that requires deep sanctions expertise, strong stakeholder management skills, and the ability to engage with senior stakeholders across multiple business units. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record in global sanctions compliance, team leadership, and advisory experience within a complex financial institution and understanding of financial products

Key responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of sanctions compliance specialists providing direction, mentorship and performance management
• Foster a high performing risk sensitive culture adherence to sanctions policies and regulatory requirements
• Oversee resource allocation and capability building initiatives within the team to ensure alignment with evolving business and regulatory expectations

Experience

• Proven leader with 12+ years pf sanctions compliance experience within a global financial institution, regulatory body or advisory firm
• Proven leadership experience managing teams of 15 plus professionals in a compliance, risk, or financial time function
• Strong knowledge of multiple sanctions regimes, such as EU, US, HK ad SG with an in depth knowledge of UK sanctions.
• Deep understanding of financial products and services across retail and wholesale banking
• Experience engaging with senior regulators and enforcement bodies on sanctions related matters

Purpose of the role

To identify and conduct the appropriate analysis and due diligence on Sanctions alerts to ensure the appropriate action is taken against customers and payment activity as defined by the Sanctions Standards and Restricted Activity Matrix, ensuring that the organisation adheres to all applicable sanction's laws and regulations and internal governance, such that client accounts are not held and transactions are not processed in breach of application laws and regulations. 

Accountabilities

• Understanding the objectives of the Global Sanctions Function and the control frameworks and embed a culture of compliance with sanctions.
• Revision of escalated cases and confirm a True Match in line with regulations/policy accurately and in a timely manner, feeding back on instances of incorrect escalation.
• Management and provision of guidance in the completion of complex sanctions investigations, ensuring that matters are correctly managed and follow appropriate escalation routes, while involving the relevant stakeholders early and fully.
• Due diligence on Payment Screening alerts to determine the appropriate treatment and next steps for the payment in line with documented procedures following the defined governance process and approvals as required.
• Escalation of Customer Screening True Matches to appropriate Business Aligned Sanctions Team for assessment.
• Identification of opportunities to drive efficiencies in the alert management process and feed these back to the appropriate team(s) to implement.

Director Expectations

• To manage a business function, providing significant input to function wide strategic initiatives. Contribute to and influence policy and procedures for the function and plan, manage and consult on multiple complex and critical strategic projects, which may be business wide..
• They manage the direction of a large team or sub-function, leading other people managers and embedding a performance culture aligned to the values of the business. Or for an individual contributor, they lead organisation wide projects and act as deep technical expert and thought leader, identifying new ways of working and collaborating cross functionally. They will train, guide and coach less experienced specialists and provide information affecting long term profits, organisational risks and strategic decisions..
• Provide expert advice to senior functional management and committees to influence decisions made outside of own function, offering significant input to function wide strategic initiatives.
• Manage, coordinate and enable resourcing, budgeting and policy creation for a significant sub-function.
• Escalates breaches of policies / procedure appropriately.
• Foster and guide compliance, ensure regulations are observed that relevant processes in place to facilitate adherence.
• Focus on the external environment, regulators, or advocacy groups to both monitor and influence on behalf of Barclays, when appropriate.
• Demonstrate extensive knowledge of how the function integrates with the business division / Group to achieve the overall business objectives.
• Maintain broad and comprehensive knowledge of industry theories and practices within own discipline alongside up-to-date relevant sector / functional knowledge, and insight into external market developments / initiatives.
• Use interpretative thinking and advanced analytical skills to solve problems and design solutions in often complex/ sensitive situations.
• Exercise management authority to make significant decisions and certain strategic decisions or recommendations within own area.
• Negotiate with and influence stakeholders at a senior level both internally and externally.
• Act as principal contact point for key clients and counterparts in other functions/ businesses divisions.
• Mandated as a spokesperson for the function and business division.

All Senior Leaders are expected to demonstrate a clear set of leadership behaviours to create an environment for colleagues to thrive and deliver to a consistently excellent standard. The four LEAD behaviours are: L – Listen and be authentic, E – Energise and inspire, A – Align across the enterprise, D – Develop others.

All colleagues will be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship – our moral compass, helping us do what we believe is right. They will also be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Mindset – to Empower, Challenge and Drive – the operating manual for how we behave.

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