Head of Financial Crime Operations · Shoreditch ·

As the Head of 1st Line Financial Crime, you will be responsible for developing, owning, and executing the firm’s financial crime controls across the customer lifecycle — from onboarding to ongoing monitoring and investigations. You’ll lead a high-performing team, work cross-functionally with compliance and technology, and act as a critical 1st Line defence partner in ensuring our obligations under AML, CTF, sanctions, fraud, and conduct risk frameworks are met.

What you can expect to be doing:

• Own and implement the 1st Line financial crime operating model across onboarding, screening, transaction monitoring, and customer reviews with an emphasis on long term scalability.
• Design and operate controls to meet AML, sanctions, anti-bribery & corruption, fraud, and market abuse requirements under MLRs and other applicable regulation and guidance.
• Act as the primary stakeholder in third party and internal financial crime technology solutions (e.g., onboarding platforms, TM tools, screening systems).
• Oversee operational processes for EDD and PEP/sanctions screening, ensuring adherence to SLAs and QC KPIs.
• Lead the investigation teams including supporting with SAR decisioning and filing in line with NCA guidance.
• Partner with 2nd Line Compliance/Financial Crime teams to interpret regulation and embed risk-based controls within business processes.
• Ensure timely and accurate MI and reporting, including dashboards for senior leadership and Board committees.
• Drive continuous improvement through control testing, process optimisation, and leveraging data analytics.
• Manage, mentor, and grow a high performing, scalable financial crime operations team.

What we’re looking for:

• Proven experience in a senior financial crime operational role within a fintech, payments firm, or investment firm.
• Strong understanding of the regulatory requirements in the UK , particularly as they relate to financial crime.
• Deep knowledge of AML, sanctions, fraud, and market abuse risk typologies and control frameworks.
• Experience leading operational teams performing EDD, screening, monitoring, and investigations.
• Familiarity with financial crime technology platforms (e.g., transaction monitoring systems, screening tools).
• Ability to translate complex regulatory requirements into practical, risk-based 1st Line controls.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, particularly with Compliance, Customer Support, Product, and Engineering.
• Excellent analytical, written, and verbal communication skills.

Desirable

• Professional certification (e.g., ICA, CAMS, ACAMS).
• Experience scaling controls in a fast-growth or start-up environment.
• Knowledge of UK financial crime legislation and enforcement trends.

What we’re really looking for: ️

Someone with a genuine interest in Chip and is excited about being part of a fast-growing company and our mission to build the investment super app of the future.

Although we’re in the financial space, and under the scrutiny that comes with it, the current operations team works well together, and even sometimes with a smile. We’re sure you’ve got the technical skills, otherwise, you would have stopped reading by now, so let us be clear on what will make us want to work with you.

We want a real person, with interests outside of work, to join our team. You could be a dancer, a gamer, a musician, a parent, a hockey fan, or even that one person that still writes Twilight fan-fiction. Doesn’t matter to us.

At the interview stages, we will be looking for empathy, eq, fun stories, and the ability to smile even when things are tough.

Working Hours

• Monday to Thursday: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
• Friday: 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM (Start your weekend early!)

Enjoy a structured yet balanced workweek, with an early Friday finish to kickstart your weekend!

PERKS

• Discretionary Performance-Related Bi-Annual Bonus of up to 10% (Cash) and 5% (Shares) based on your gross annual salary.
• Workplace pension scheme – We invest in your future with a workplace pension scheme , contributing 5% on earnings up to £50,000 . Plan ahead with confidence while you grow your career!
• Private medical insurance (medical history disregarded)
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Season ticket loan
• Free ChipX subscription for UK-based employees
• We are an equal-opportunity employer and value diversity
• Flexible working arrangements
• 28 days holiday plus bank holidays, plus the days between Christmas and New Year ️
• Annual training budget for courses, workshops, or conferences to help you advance your career.
• £30 per month Chip Fitness Benefit to suit your Mental/Physical Wellbeing
• Company laptop
• Opportunity to have a huge impact on our product while fast-tracking your knowledge, responsibility and skills in a high-growth fintech startup

Our Interview Process:

1. Video screen with someone from our Talent team
2. Video interview with the hiring manager
3. F2F interview with our Chief Risk & Compliance Officer
4. Final interview with our Financial Crime Manager & Team Lead

About Chip

Our mission is to make our customers wealthy.
We\’re building the wealth super app of the future. An app to build your long-term wealth across savings, investments and pensions.
We use technology to break down barriers so users can invest like the ultra-wealthy, giving them one simple place to manage, grow and protect their wealth.
The Sunday Times listed Chip as the 6th fastest growing tech company in Britain… and we\’re not slowing down. Chip serves over 300,000 active customers and looks after over £5billion in assets. These customers trust us to build the most amazing product we can, so working at Chip comes with real purpose.
Chip is being built by a fast-growing team of designers, developers, customer service professionals, marketers, banking experts, and entrepreneurs. Our funding story though is a little different. Chip is one of the most crowd-funded businesses in Europe, having raised over £50m from 29,000 investors, over 9 years. Crowdfunding is in our DNA and only Brewdog has more investors than Chip.

Our vision

We know planning for your future can be a tedious, daunting task often avoided, so we want to change that. We\’re building the wealth app for our community, giving them one place for saving and investing.

We\’re giving customers control and guidance to effortlessly build their long-term wealth using award-winning tech, while celebrating their achievements along the way.

Who we are

Chip has a creative and diverse team of 180, from all different backgrounds and industries. We’re driven and passionate people, but no one takes themselves too seriously.

Don’t just take our word for it. We have a few awards under our belt, including Best Personal Finance App at the 2022 & 2024 British Bank Awards.

Our Values

Be ACCOUNTABLE

Everything you do matters, Care about the end result, Challenge the norm, Disagree, yet commit to making it happen once a decision has been made, Do the best job possible

Be BOLD

Share our Ambition and do your bit to achieve it, Innovate: challenge the norm, break the mould and make it happen, Set goals that truly align with our mission, Do your best for our customers

Be COLLABORATIVE

Work cross-functionally – we win as a team, Build strong relationships based on trust, Treat others fairly and respectfully, Hold others to account, Be supportive and inclusive, Have fun together

Equal Opportunities

We are passionate and committed to our people and go beyond the rhetoric of diversity and inclusion. You will be working in an inclusive environment and be encouraged to bring your whole self to work. We will do all that we can to help you successfully balance your work and home life. As a growing business we will encourage you to develop your professional and personal aspirations, enjoy new experiences, and learn from the talented people you will be working with. It’s talent that matters to us and we encourage applications from people irrespective of their gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability status or caring responsibilities.

Note to Agencies

Chip does not accept unsolicited CVs from recruiters or employment agencies in response to any of our live roles on our career page. Chip will not consider or agree to payment of any referral compensation or recruiter fee relating to these unsolicited CVs. Chip explicitly reserves the right to hire those candidate(s) without any financial obligation to the recruiter or agency. Any unsolicited CVs, including those submitted to hiring managers, are deemed to be the property of Chip.

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