Head of Financial Crime and Sanctions, Leeds, Manchester or London

Due to continued growth and an ever-evolving regulatory landscape, we are looking to hire a Head of Financial Crime and Sanctions to provide senior leadership across the firm’s financial crime function within our Onboarding team. This role is critical to maintaining robust compliance, effective risk management, and supporting our ambition to deliver best-in-class client and matter onboarding globally.

As the Head of Financial Crime and Sanctions you will lead a team managing all aspects of financial crime compliance across the firm. You will play a pivotal role in shaping and advancing our approach to financial crime compliance and policy implementation. You will provide strategic oversight of training initiatives and serve as a senior decision-maker on complex matters, directly contributing to the Firm’s commitment to service excellence and the achievement of our strategic objectives.

The Office of the General Counsel (OGC) Directorate focuses on strategic compliance and risk management advice and projects across AG's UK and international offices: drafting and agreeing firmwide policies and procedures; advising on regulatory issues; and assisting the Firm’s General Counsel and others in ensuring regulatory compliance by the Firm globally.

The group is also responsible for implementing, embedding, and monitoring compliance and risk practices (including Financial Crime compliance) across the firm, globally.

The Financial Crime and Sanctions function, made up of over 30 lawyers and analysts and is responsible for:

• Conducting CDD and client risk assessments on all new clients of the firm.
• Conducting periodic reviews and refresh exercises on the CDD approach and client risk assessment of existing clients of the firm.
• Supporting the firm’s MLRO community on assessing internal suspicious activity reports and, where applicable, assisting in the drafting of external disclosures.

What You'll Do:

• The successful candidate will be responsible for leading, motivating, and developing a high-performing team, fostering a cohesive team culture that encourages collaboration, shared accountability, and continuous improvement.
• The successful candidate will be responsible for taking a lead in developing the firm’s response to a changing regulatory landscape and driving the evolution of the firm’s approach to balancing the need for quick and efficient decision making against an increasing complex range of regulatory and compliance obligations.
• In addition to leading the Financial Crime and Sanctions function, the role involves working closely with the Firm's GC, MLRO and the Head and Deputy Head of Onboarding. The role is part of the leadership team within the Firm’s Onboarding function which has responsibility for all aspects of client and matter opening.
• The Financial Crime and Sanctions function operates across the firm’s London, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow and Dubai offices. As the leader of the function, the successful candidate will be expected to balance their time across these locations, maintaining a strong physical presence alongside the team, to provide visible leadership, proactive guidance and support. . The role also requires a commitment to building both personal and team profile by travelling to offices across the wider firm network, engaging and collaborating with senior stakeholders, and meeting with financial crime regulators as necessary.

Who We're Looking For:

• Exceptional knowledge and application of the financial crime regime in place in the UK and extensive experience in the application of equivalent regimes internationally.
• Demonstrated ability to understand and adapt to the requirements of financial crime regimes in new markets.
• Expertise in the development and implementation of effective and risk sensitive financial crime policies, controls and procedures which balance efficient decision making with robust regulatory compliance.
• Comfortable and accomplished in acting as a Senior decision-maker on complex financial crime issues, demonstrating strategic and commercial acumen and ensuring accurate and timely decisions.
• Excellent understanding of Onboarding systems and applications, and a commitment to embrace technology to enhance service delivery and create greater efficiencies, including but not limited to knowledge of Intapp, finance systems and third-party corporate information providers.

Why Choose Us?

Addleshaw Goddard is a place where you are not just valued but encouraged to reach your full potential. Our culture promotes improvement, growth, and collaboration, making us the natural choice for top-tier clients. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all our employees.

Interested? If this role sounds like your next career step, we'd love to hear from you. Click the Apply button to view the full role profile on our website and start your application!