Compliance Officer – Onboarding & Financial Crime in London

Braemar is seeking an experienced and highly practical Compliance Officer – Financial Crime & Onboarding to support the development and delivery of a global financial crime framework across both regulated and non-regulated businesses. This is a hands-on role suited to a proactive financial crime professional who enjoys operating close to the business, conducting investigations and KYC, building scalable processes, and strengthening financial crime controls in a fast-moving commercial environment. The role offers a greenfield opportunity to help design and implement improved KYC, sanctions screening, and financial crime controls across multiple jurisdictions and business lines, including shipping, commodities broking, and financial markets. For the right candidate, this role offers a clear pathway to MLRO or equivalent senior financial crime leadership responsibilities as the financial crime framework continues to mature globally and reports directly to the Group Head of Compliance.

Job Responsibilities

• Perform KYC, sanctions screening, and due diligence on clients, counterparties, and suppliers across the Group.
• Maintain and remediate client onboarding files and customer records to ensure consistency, completeness, and audit readiness.
• Conduct periodic reviews of existing clients and update records where required.
• Manage and respond to reverse due diligence requests from clients and counterparties.
• Support the design and implementation of a global financial crime framework, including AML, sanctions compliance, and anti-bribery controls across multiple jurisdictions.
• Help develop and enhance client onboarding, KYC, and sanctions screening processes across regulated and non-regulated businesses.
• Identify opportunities to improve screening processes, controls, and data quality within existing systems.
• Assist with the development and maintenance of financial crime policies, procedures, and risk assessments.
• Provide sanctions advisory support to the business, particularly in relation to shipping, commodities trading, and maritime activity.
• Conduct sanctions checks and review complex screening alerts relating to vessels, counterparties, cargoes, and jurisdictions.
• Assist with the assessment of sanctions risks relating to trade routes, counterparties, and maritime operations.
• Conduct fast-paced investigations into sanctions alerts, financial crime concerns, or adverse intelligence.
• Escalate material risks to the Head of Compliance and MLRO where appropriate.
• Support internal investigations and the preparation of reports where financial crime concerns arise.
• Manage and optimise the use of screening and intelligence tools, including World-Check, vessel intelligence platforms, and other third-party tools.
• Monitor screening outputs, investigate alerts, and improve workflow efficiency and data management.
• Work closely with Legal, Desk Heads, Senior Management, and operational teams to ensure onboarding processes are understood and applied effectively.
• Act as a business-facing compliance partner, helping teams navigate financial crime risks in commercial transactions.
• Support training and awareness initiatives across the business where required.
• Support the Group Head of Compliance and MLRO with wider financial crime initiatives, including AML and sanctions risk assessments, Anti-Bribery & Corruption controls, and regulatory engagements where relevant.

Experience

• 5+ years’ experience in financial crime, AML, or sanctions compliance.
• Experience working in commodities trading, shipping, brokerage, banking, or financial services environments preferred.
• Experience handling KYC onboarding, sanctions screening, and financial crime investigations.
• Familiarity with screening technologies such as World-Check or similar platforms.

Skills

• Highly practical and operational mindset, comfortable working in a hands-on role.
• Strong ability to conduct investigations and assess financial crime risks quickly.
• Ability to operate effectively in fast-moving commercial environments.
• Strong communication skills and ability to engage directly with front-office teams.
• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail.
• Experience dealing with maritime sanctions, shipping, or trade-related financial crime risks.
• Exposure to multi-jurisdictional regulatory environments.
• Professional qualifications such as ACAMS, ICA, CISI, or similar.
• Experience supporting MLRO or regulatory reporting functions.

A greenfield opportunity to help shape and strengthen a global financial crime programme. Exposure to complex international trading and maritime markets. Direct engagement with senior leadership and commercial teams. A clear development pathway toward MLRO or senior financial crime leadership roles. A collaborative and entrepreneurial working environment.