Vice President, Sanctions Advisory (Escalations Team Lead)

Do you want your voice heard and your actions to count? Discover your opportunity with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), one of the world’s leading financial groups. Across the globe, we’re 150,000 colleagues, striving to make a difference for every client, organization, and community we serve. We stand for our values, building long‑term relationships, serving society, and fostering shared and sustainable growth for a better world.

With a vision to be the world’s most trusted financial group, it’s part of our culture to put people first, listen to new and diverse ideas and collaborate toward greater innovation, speed and agility. This means investing in talent, technologies, and tools that empower you to own your career. Join MUFG, where being inspired is expected and making a meaningful impact is rewarded.

OVERVIEW OF THE DEPARTMENT/SECTION

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG) is one of the world’s leading financial groups. Headquartered in Tokyo and with over 360 years of history, MUFG has a global network with around 3,000 offices in more than 50 markets. The Group has over 180,000 employees, and offers services including commercial banking, trust banking, securities, credit cards, consumer finance, asset management, and leasing.

The Financial Crimes Office for EMEA (FCOE) in London is part of the Global Financial Crimes Division (GFCD) headquartered in New York. FCOE works to ensure the organisation conducts its business in such a way that we protect our reputation, our business, and our clients within the regulatory and legal framework. It is responsible for the establishment and maintenance of effective systems and controls to protect clients’ assets and to mitigate the risk that MUFG might be used to further financial crime.

The Regional EMEA Sanctions Advisory Team, part of FCOE Sanctions, is structured into three specialized pillars: (1) Sanctions Due Diligence and Review, (2) Complex Review and Regulatory Reporting, and (3) Level 3 Escalations and Payment Transformation. These teams provide subject matter expertise to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, internal policies, and risk appetite.

MAIN PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

This role drives the implementation of MUFG Bank’s financial crime risk appetite, policies, and standards by managing a dedicated sanctions advisory escalation hub within the Sanctions Advisory team. The Level 3 Escalations and Payment Transformation Team is responsible for handling payment and client-related escalations and queries across the EMEA region. The team conducts regulatory analysis and provides subject matter expertise primarily related to live transactions/payments, payment transformation initiatives, and client matters. Its core mandate is to ensure sanctions and payment regulations are fully understood and adhered to, delivering clear, consistent, and informed advice.

Additionally, the team ensures that payment transformation projects are executed effectively, safeguarding the bank’s compliance obligations.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Regulatory Expertise: Staying current with all relevant sanctions laws and regulations and ensuring compliance across processes and initiatives.
• Team Leadership: Leading and developing the Level 3 Escalations and Payment Transformation Team, ensuring adherence to regulatory requirements and service level agreements while partnering with the business to manage expectations.
• Escalation Management: Overseeing Level 3 investigations for sanctions alerts identified as true risk following initial screening.
• Payment Transformation & Advisory: Providing subject matter expertise and guidance on payment-related initiatives and transformation projects to maintain compliance with sanctions regulations and payment scheme requirements.
• Transaction and Client Advisory: Reviewing transactions, payments, relationships, and trade finance deals to identify sanctions or payment concerns and implement appropriate measures to ensure compliance.
• Systems & Project Engagement: Ensuring MUFG systems comply with sanctions regulations and representing FCOE Sanctions as a subject matter expert in payment-related projects at regional and group levels.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Communicating with senior regional and global stakeholders, exercising delegated authority to make risk decisions, and representing EMEA Sanctions at governance forums.
• Case Oversight & Reporting: Managing investigations, escalating issues to senior management and Global Sanctions Advisory, and coordinating follow-up actions with compliance stakeholders across the region.
• Management Information & Continuous Improvement: Maintaining accurate MI on case status, providing updates on regulatory changes, policies, and processes, and driving continuous improvement and efficiency initiatives.

The role requires a high degree of autonomy and a strong understanding of sanctions regulations and associated risks. It also demands solid knowledge of sanctions, transactions, payments, and the broader banking and regulatory environment, including staying informed on developments and their potential impact on MUFG.

PERSONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Results driven, with a strong sense of accountability.
• Excellent communication skills.
• A proactive, motivated approach.
• Strong organisational skills.
• The ability to operate with urgency and to manage large workloads and tight deadlines.
• Excellent attention to detail and accuracy.
• Strong decision-making skills, the ability to demonstrate sound judgement.
• A structured and logical approach to work.
• A creative and innovative approach to work.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Works collaboratively with immediate colleagues, other teams in Financial Crime, across ECOD and the Bank and escalates appropriately.
• Effective operating in a team and matrix‑oriented environment, and ability to work with colleagues at all levels of seniority.
• A calm approach, with the ability to perform well in a pressurised environment.

MUFG is committed to embracing diversity and building an inclusive culture where all employees are valued, respected and their opinions count. We support the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion in recruitment and employment, and oppose all forms of discrimination on the grounds of age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy and maternity, race, gender reassignment, religion or belief and marriage or civil partnership.