Senior Financial Crime Compliance Specialist

We are seeking a highly capable and strategically minded Senior Specialist - Financial Crime Compliance to play a pivotal role in safeguarding our European businesses against financial crime risks. This role sits within the Anti‑Financial Crime function and carries significant responsibility for oversight, framework development, and cross‑functional influence.

Responsibilities

• Financial Crime Framework (Europe)
  • Help evolve and strengthen our AFC Framework, keeping it aligned with global standards and regulatory expectations.
  • Shape and refine our AFC policies, standards, procedures, and guidance materials.
  • Keep our governance engine running smoothly – from committee packs to escalation pathways and decision‑making records.
  • Provide analytical muscle for enterprise and product‑level financial crime risk assessments, including BWRA and thematic reviews.
  • Support oversight of ABAC and Anti‑Tax‑Evasion initiatives as we roll out a refreshed operating model.
  • Play a key role in AFC testing and assurance work: executing tests, spotting control gaps, and driving follow‑up actions.
• Regulatory & Business Partnership
  • Be a go‑to specialist for AML/CTF, Sanctions, ABAC, and Anti‑Tax‑Evasion across our European footprint.
  • Help translate regulatory changes into practical, business‑ready processes.
  • Deliver clear, actionable guidance to stakeholders navigating Financial Crime requirements.
  • Build strong partnerships with 1LoD and 2LoD teams, fostering transparency, risk awareness, and effective issue management.
• Control Environment & Operational Excellence
  • Support ongoing AFC testing and monitoring to identify gaps, emerging risks, and opportunities for uplift.
  • Maintain accurate, well‑governed documentation across all AFC activities and reports.
  • Track remediation actions and validate completion to ensure long‑term control improvement.
  • Work with precision and pace, championing consistency, quality, and continuous improvement.
• Programme & Change Delivery
  • Contribute to AFC change programmes, ensuring deliverables meet regulatory and business expectations.
  • Join cross‑functional working groups to embed Financial Crime considerations into new products, systems, and processes.
  • Prepare materials for AFC forums, board sessions, audits, and regulatory touchpoints.
  • Coordinate project milestones, documentation, and reporting to keep initiatives on track.

What it takes

• Strong understanding of AML/CTF, Sanctions, ABAC, Anti‑Tax‑Evasion, and wider financial crime frameworks.
• Experience in governance, policy, risk assessments, testing, or monitoring within Financial Crime or Compliance.
• Ability to interpret regulation and translate it into practical business processes.
• Sharp analytical skills with the ability to turn complexity into clear insights.
• Confident communicator with proven stakeholder management experience across teams and geographies.
• Highly organised, detail‑focused, and comfortable juggling priorities in a fast‑moving environment.

Desirable

• Experience working across multiple European jurisdictions or global AFC structures.
• Exposure to cross‑border regulatory frameworks.
• Familiarity with assurance, audit, or thematic review approaches.
• Professional certifications (ICA, ACAMS, Int. Dip AML or similar).
• Experience supporting AFC‑related transformation, technology, or data initiatives.

Special Factors

• This is a hybrid position and requires working in the office 3 days per week (Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday).
• This role encompasses activities that fall within the remit of UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulation. The successful candidate will therefore be subject to UK regulatory requirements in relation to conduct rules, regulatory references and the assessment of fitness and propriety, knowledge, experience and competence. Where appropriate, the role may also be subject to approval by the UK FCA.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Vanguard is an equal opportunity employer. Vanguard is committed to providing all crew members a working environment that is free from discrimination, prejudice and bias. Through this Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy, Vanguard reaffirms its commitment to equal employment opportunity for all applicants and crew members without regard to race, color, national origin or ancestry, religion, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital status, veteran or military status. In addition, Vanguard prohibits discrimination based on genetic information, as well as any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. Applicants with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act and certain state or local laws. A reasonable accommodation is a change in the way things are normally done which will ensure an equal employment opportunity without imposing undue hardship on Vanguard. Please inform careers@vanguard.com if you need assistance completing this application or to otherwise participate in the application process.