Head of Financial Crime & MLRO

The Head of Financial Crime & MLRO will lead YouLend's financial crime function and ensure that our financial crime framework remains effective, risk based and aligned with our continued growth across the UK, EU and US. YouLend has made significant investment in its financial crime infrastructure, including enhancements to KYC/KYB, AML controls, transaction monitoring, screening, MI, governance and Financial Crime Operations. This is not a greenfield role. The focus is now on owning, refining, assuring and future proofing the framework so that it remains proportionate to YouLend's business model, regulatory obligations and risk appetite.

The role will work closely with Legal, Regulatory Compliance, Financial Crime Operations, Product, Data, Engineering, Transformation and Commercial teams. It will also own key financial crime governance forums, including the Financial Crime Committee, and support regulatory engagement and reporting where required.

Own YouLend's financial crime strategy across the UK, EU and US, ensuring that the framework remains effective, proportionate and aligned to YouLend's business model, regulatory obligations and risk appetite. Lead the ongoing refinement of YouLend's financial crime framework, including AML/CTF, screening, fraud, KYC/KYB, customer risk assessment, transaction monitoring, ongoing monitoring and SAR processes. Maintain and enhance YouLend's financial crime risk assessments, including the Business Wide Risk Assessment, Customer Risk Assessment, Country Risk Assessment and relevant product, partner and channel risk assessments. Ensure financial crime policies, standards and procedures remain current, practical and embedded across relevant first and second line teams. Provide senior financial crime advice to the business on new products, partners, markets, operational changes and strategic initiatives.

Oversee the effectiveness of YouLend's financial crime systems and controls, including CDD, screening, transaction monitoring, escalation processes, SAR decisioning, high risk customer management and ongoing monitoring. Work closely with Financial Crime Operations to ensure financial crime controls are applied consistently, efficiently and in line with YouLend's policies and risk appetite. Set clear standards for escalations, investigations, closure rationale, quality assurance and operational decision making. Review and refine transaction monitoring, KYC/KYB and AML processes, working closely with Operations, Product, Data, Engineering and Transformation teams. Review third party financial crime tools and identify responsible opportunities to use automation and AI to improve efficiency, consistency, quality assurance, monitoring and MI.

Act as MLRO and key financial crime contact for regulators, law enforcement, external advisors and internal stakeholders, as appropriate. Own the Financial Crime Committee, including agenda setting, MI, papers, action tracking and escalation of material issues. Refine financial crime MI so that senior stakeholders have clear insight into risk trends, control effectiveness, operational performance, backlogs, alerts, SARs, high risk customers, screening outcomes and agreed actions. Prepare clear and concise reporting for senior management, board level forums and regulators where required. Support regulatory notifications, information requests, audits, thematic reviews and other regulatory engagement relating to financial crime.

Lead and support financial crime compliance assurance reviews, thematic reviews and control testing. Track assurance actions through to closure, ensuring outcomes are clearly documented and appropriately evidenced. Use MI, assurance findings and operational feedback to identify trends, improve controls and support continuous improvement. Ensure relevant first and second line teams are trained and equipped to identify, escalate and manage financial crime risks. Continue to mature YouLend's risk based approach, ensuring controls are commercially workable while remaining regulatorily defensible.

• Significant experience in financial crime within regulated financial services, ideally within a payment institution, electronic money institution, fintech, SME lending, merchant acquiring, corporate lending or similar environment.
• Experience acting as MLRO, Deputy MLRO or in a senior financial crime leadership role within a regulated financial services business.
• Strong understanding of UK financial crime requirements, including the MLRs, JMLSG guidance, sanctions, SARs, NCA reporting and FCA expectations.
• Experience working with EU financial crime requirements, cross border financial crime frameworks or multi jurisdictional financial crime governance.
• US financial crime exposure is helpful.
• Experience overseeing KYC/KYB, CDD, transaction monitoring, sanctions screening, PEP/adverse media screening, fraud controls, customer risk assessment and ongoing monitoring.
• Experience working with financial crime operations teams, including escalation frameworks, QA, MI, training and continuous improvement.
• Experience working with Product, Data, Engineering or Transformation teams to improve financial crime systems, controls and reporting.
• Strong experience preparing senior management reporting, committee papers, regulatory responses and clear written assessments.

• Strong judgment and ability to apply a practical, risk based approach in a fast moving business.
• Ability to use data, MI and assurance findings to assess control effectiveness and drive improvements.
• Clear and credible communicator, with the ability to challenge constructively and influence senior stakeholders.
• Comfortable working across Legal, Regulatory Compliance, Operations, Product, Data, Engineering and Commercial teams.
• Strong written skills, with the ability to produce clear, concise and regulatorily defensible analysis.
• Pragmatic, structured and execution focused, with the ability to improve controls without creating unnecessary complexity.

This is an opportunity to lead the financial crime function in a high growth fintech with a complex and evolving international footprint. YouLend has already made significant investment in its financial crime infrastructure, governance and operations. The next phase is about making the framework sharper, more data led, more efficient and resilient as the business continues to scale. YouLend offers a comprehensive benefits package, including stock options, private medical and dental insurance, enhanced parental leave, modern central London office space, subsidised daily lunch, wellness benefits and regular team and company socials.