Group Financial Crime Manager

Role: Group Financial Crime Manager

Who are we?

Howden is a collective – a group of talented and passionate people all around the world. Together, we have pushed the boundaries of insurance. We are united by a shared passion and no-limits mind-set, and our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of 22,000 employees spanning over 100 countries.

Our people are our biggest asset as well as our largest shareholder group and are everything that makes us unique; our inclusive culture, the quality service we offer our clients, and our continued growth, all come from our people-first approach. There’s no such thing as individual success. We all need to play our part, contributing our skills and experience to make a true difference. That’s Howden.

Why work at Howden?

We have always been employee-owned and driven by entrepreneurial spirit. Right from the beginning, we've focused on employing talented individuals and empowering them to make a real difference to the company, whilst building successful and fulfilling careers at the same time. Simply put, we hire talented specialists and give them what they need to make a difference for clients. Always have, always will.

People join Howden for many different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. It’s what sets us apart, and the reason our employees have been turning down disappointed head-hunters for years. Whatever your priorities – work/life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering – you’ll find like-minded people driving change at Howden.

What is the role?

The Group Financial Crime Manager is responsible for supporting with the enhancement, delivery and implementation of the financial crime framework and controls across the Howden Group.

The role holder will be responsible for supporting the Group Financial Crime Team in providing Subject Matter Expert (SME) support across a range of financial crime subjects (including ABC, AML, Fraud and Economic Sanctions) to the group’s entities around the world. This also includes oversight and implementation of Group financial crime policies and the associated framework which ensures compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements.

What will you be doing?

Planning and Strategy:

• Act as a business partner providing support and advice to divisional and local management teams to deliver the Group’s strategy and minimum standards for sanctions and financial crime, as set out in the Group’s principles for business.
• Support the Group Financial Crime Director and Group Head of Financial Crime in preparing materials for divisional and Group level governance, including the annual financial crime plan and regular updates against planned activities.
• Deliver high quality advice to the business in a practical and commercially focused way in relation to financial crime and all relevant matters that reduce risk, resolve issues and maximise the opportunity for the local entity to deliver on its goal.
• Analyse and interpret issues in a timely fashion and advise the business how best to take account of them in its operations.

People Management/Personal Development:

• Actively undertake personal development to ensure up to date knowledge and understanding of best practice.
• Manage personal workload proactively and support both the central Financial Crime team and key stakeholders in the business in meeting agreed deadlines.
• Encourage essential behaviours and maintain a high level of personal and professional confidence.

Governance, Monitoring & Reporting:

• Act as business partner to regional and local management delivering and advising on Groupwide initiatives.
• Assist in collating MI on the design and delivery of Groupwide initiatives to report progress to the Group’s risk committee.
• Support the preparation and annual review cycle of Groupwide policies related to Financial Crime.
• Perform second line led assessments of financial crime arrangements at a local and regional level, including preparing recommendations for improvement where appropriate.
• Assist local management in addressing financial crime related second line of defence or third line of defence findings.
• Support internal record-keeping and filing internal and external reports where appropriate/necessary.
• Receive and evaluate internal reports of suspicious transactions or financial crime related alerts and, where necessary, to make the required internal notifications to senior management and make external reports to the National Crime Agency (NCA) or other relevant bodies.
• Perform horizon scanning for any financial crime related matters.

Key Regulatory Responsibilities:

• Support with the management of any financial crime related projects for the Group.
• Support the divisions with investigating any live issues related to financial crime.

Technical Knowledge:

• Manage assigned projects and contribute to other projects as required
• Respond appropriately to urgent issues as they arise
• Support the Group Financial Crime Team in identifying trends and Group requirements for financial crime advice and guidance
• Manage assigned projects and contributes to other projects as required
• Review internal controls and ensure they are adequate, implementing improvements as required

What are we looking for?

• Solid experience in financial crime roles, with a focus on 2nd line advisory
• Direct experience of working in at least one of ABC, sanctions, fraud or AML frameworks, ideally in the insurance industry
• Experience of designing and implementing internal and external financial crime controls
• Experience in performing enterprise-wide financial crime risk assessments
• An understanding of insurance business models (retail/wholesale/reinsurance etc.)
• Ideally has experience of financial crime controls in a UK and/or US listed environment
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
• Actively listens to the views of colleagues/business leaders/key stakeholders and building effective relationships but also has the strength of character to challenge where required to ensure operational excellence
• Ability to diagnose problems quickly and have foresight into potential issues
• A team player, able to contribute significantly to the successful functioning of the Group Financial Crime Team

What do we offer in return?

A career that you define.

Our business succeeds by allowing our people to make a mark in the areas they care about most: personal development, volunteering, and fundraising for charity, or creating new insurance products that address society’s greatest challenges. And we know that separate home and work lives don't really exist. If you're happy and healthy at home, you're more likely to be happy and fulfilled at work – and vice versa. That's why we do our best to support our people in every aspect of their lives.

Diversity and Inclusion

At Howden we value diversity - there is no one Howden ‘personality type’. Instead, we’re looking for individuals who share the same values as us:

• Our successes have all come from someone brave enough to try something new
• We support each other, in the small everyday moments and the bigger challenges
• We are determined to make a positive difference, at work and beyond

We consider our people our chief competitive advantage and as such we treat colleagues, candidates, clients, and business partners with equality, fairness, and respect – regardless of age, disability, race, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, or family circumstances.