Financial Crime Compliance Associate in London

British International Investment (BII) is the UK’s leading development finance institution, wholly owned by the UK Government. Our primary mission is to address global development challenges through strategic investments that promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth. BII focuses on catalysing economic development, creating jobs, and building resilient economies in some of the world's most complex and underserved markets. We invest in businesses and projects that prioritise inclusive development, environmental sustainability, and innovation. Our approach is characterised by rigorous investment standards, high governance principles, and a commitment to delivering measurable development impact.

Our team consists of highly skilled and passionate professionals dedicated to making a tangible difference globally. We foster a collaborative and intellectually stimulating work environment that values curiosity, innovation, and professional growth. Our culture balances high performance with a strong emphasis on wellbeing, ensuring our employees can achieve their full potential while contributing to our mission.

BII at a glance:

• Over 75 years supporting sustainable business growth in developing and emerging markets
• More than £9.9 billion in net assets
• 1,600+ businesses invested in
• 950,000+ workers in the businesses we support
• 650+ people in our diverse global team
• 3 key development objectives: Productive | Sustainable | Inclusive

The Financial Crime Compliance team (“FCC”), part of the Compliance function, is responsible for ensuring BII effectively mitigates the risk of its products and services being used for money laundering, terrorist financing, bribery and corruption, sanctions breaches, or other forms of financial crime. FCC designs and maintains the financial crime compliance framework to meet legal and regulatory requirements across AML, CTF, ABC and economic sanctions.

The Financial Crime Associate supports all areas of the FCC programme including policy, assurance, transaction oversight, risk assessment, training and advisory, and works closely with business teams, operations, Compliance and other risk functions. The role involves assessing the design and operating effectiveness of financial crime systems and controls, providing clear and practical guidance, and driving remediation activity to close gaps and strengthen BII’s overall financial crime control environment.

Responsibilities

• Support the Financial Crime Compliance Manager in the delivery of the Financial Crime programme which entails policy, assurance, firm wide risk assessment, training and advisory.
• Provide senior‑level advice on complex compliance and financial crime matters across BII, interpreting UK and international regulatory requirements and advising on policy, process and risk‑appetite implications.
• Lead or support the development and maintenance of key compliance frameworks, policies and financial crime controls, including AML, ABC and sanctions standards, supported by horizon scanning and regulatory gap analysis.
• Maintain and analyse compliance and financial crime risk registers, producing clear insights, identifying emerging risks and strengthening controls.
• Develop and enhance senior management and Board reporting, producing high‑quality MI and contributing to strategic compliance updates.
• Deliver targeted training and build first‑line capability in compliance and financial crime, embedding a strong culture and sharing lessons learned and best practice across teams.
• Lead or support investigations, thematic reviews and root‑cause analyses, recommending remediation actions and supporting periodic/onboarding reviews of investees and funds.
• Provide sanctions and broader financial crime advisory, supporting the First-Line teams on transactions and portfolio matters.
• Represent Compliance by engaging with senior stakeholders and liaising with external regulators and partners where required.

The candidate/skills

• Strong experience managing financial crime issues within UK financial services, with detailed knowledge of the UK Money Laundering Regulations, JMLSG guidance, sanctions laws, and anti‑bribery and corruption requirements.
• Proven ability to assess KYC structures, collect and validate due‑diligence documentation, and perform key controls including PEP and sanctions screening, managing and documenting alerts effectively.
• Solid understanding of international financial crime best practice, including sanctions exemptions and general licence frameworks.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder‑engagement skills, with the ability to present compliance matters clearly, confidently and in non‑technical language.
• Highly proactive, demonstrating sound judgement, anticipation of emerging risks, and strong attention to detail.
• Collaborative and capable of influencing across teams and geographies, sharing best practice and supporting organisational learning.
• Ability to analyse, cleanse and summarise data, with good knowledge of compliance methodologies, tools and techniques.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage a varied and demanding workload, delivering high‑quality outputs under pressure.
• High proficiency in Excel, Word and relevant compliance, risk or governance systems, with confidence using data‑analysis tools.
• Demonstrated teamwork, integrity, professional scepticism and discretion, with the ability to provide clear, evidence‑based recommendations to senior leadership.
• Motivation aligned to BII’s development mission, ideally with experience or exposure to development, sustainability, social impact, or cross‑border financial crime and regulatory environments.

Desirable (at least one or more of the following)

• Broad knowledge of FCA compliance and its regulatory framework with respect to Private Equity and or Asset Management.
• Experience of working with complex products and ownership structures.
• Experience of conducting sanctions risk assessments in emerging/high risk markets with complex products.

Our cultural values

• Impact-led, commercially rigorous
• Tenacious in the face of challenges
• Collaborative and caring

BII is committed to diversity and inclusion and welcomes all applicants regardless of gender, age, educational background, national origin, ethnic origin, disability, sexual orientation and religion. Please provide a cover letter with your application.

Salary: Competitive