Financial Crime Detection and Control Manager

Hampshire Trust Bank is a specialist bank, staffed by experts focused on helping UK businesses realise their ambitions. We offer niche specialty lines, as a SME bank, targeting under-served segments. Our dedicated Specialist Business Finance (Wholesale), Development Finance, Bridging Finance and Specialist Mortgages teams ensure that businesses receive the outstanding service, lasting relationships, integrity, and expertise they need to prosper. We also provide savings accounts to individuals and businesses and since we lend to SMEs, our savers can be sure their money will help boost the British economy. Our vision is to be the go-to bank in our chosen markets; to deliver positive customer outcomes, rewarding careers and great shareholder value through a high-performing culture grounded in excellence and integrity.

The First Line Risk team provides specialist services that enable HTB’s strategic growth objectives, protect the bank‘s regulatory record and seek to ensure that our customers are receiving good outcomes. We do this by managing centres of operational excellence for Financial Crime, Complaints and Quality Assurance and by providing expert risk leadership in Operational Resilience, Third Party Risk Management and our broader Operational and IT Risks.

Key Responsibilities

• Conducting financial crime risk assessments on the risks associated with the bank’s customers, products and services in respect of name screening, payment screening and transaction monitoring and ensuring that they are kept updated in line with internal policy and industry best practice.
• Ensuring that name screening, payment screening and transaction monitoring rules and associated systems configuration are designed, built and implemented effectively and calibrated to reflect risk assessments.
• Ensuring that controls to ensure the ongoing accuracy and completeness of name screening, payment screening and transaction monitoring rules and associated systems configuration are operating effectively.
• Working with relevant data, business intelligence and IT teams to ensure that data lineage is documented and the integrity of data flow is subject to an appropriate level of ongoing testing.
• Developing, testing and proposing updates to screening configuration and transaction monitoring rules (including new rule development) to ensure financial crime defences keep pace with current and emerging risks to HTB.
• Ensuring that screening configuration and all transaction monitoring rules are subject to ongoing efficacy reviews in line with risk appetite and subject to appropriate 2LOD Financial Crime oversight.
• Ensuring that performance of key financial crime systems owned by 1LOD are subject to appropriate control testing.
• Collaborating with the Compliance department (2LOD Financial Crime) where necessary to seek advice on complex financial crime risk related matters.
• Developing financial crime monitoring routines and performance reporting for screening and transaction monitoring including the preparing management information to relevant stakeholders and/or governance committees.
• Develop analysis and insightful information aimed at optimising Financial Crime performance for HTB.
• Development and maintenance of Financial Crime Team resource planning and forecasting.
• Maintain an accurate and complete suite of procedures for the Financial Crime Team covering all aspects of Financial Crime Operations.
• Develop and deliver financial crime system training to new and existing staff members on an ongoing basis, particularly when material changes are made to financial crime systems.
• Leading, where appropriate, on projects specifically relating to financial crime systems to ensure that such meet internal, regulatory and legal requirements.
• A key contact role managing third parties who supply services and/or systems relevant to the management of financial crime risk.
• Design and implementation of financial crime access role profiles.
• Supporting IT, where necessary, with financial crime systems administration including user access reviews.

Required Skills & Experience

• Deep understanding of financial crime risk typologies including money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions, fraud & proliferation financing.
• Significant demonstrable experience in configuring and managing financial crime systems.
• Demonstrable experience assessing customer & transaction data to inform development of fraud and transaction monitoring rules.
• Understanding of relevant sanctions legislation and configuring name and payment screening systems.
• 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.
• Experience using SQL/Python and data visualisation tools (e.g. Tableau).
• An analytical and critical thinking mindset with excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to work with and analyse large data sets.
• Ability to influence others, including senior stakeholders.
• Strong individual contributor with the ability to work effectively as a team.

Competitive remuneration including discretionary annual bonus and annual pay review. Private Medical Insurance (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 memberships. Hybrid working (50/50 London). Interest‑free season ticket loan.