Overview

AJ Bell Manchester, England, United Kingdom

Senior Financial Crime Analyst is a subject matter expert and escalation point within the Financial Crime team. Supporting the Financial Crime Manager and wider business, you will identify, investigate and mitigate financial crime risks, with a focus on money laundering and sanctions breaches. The role ensures compliance with regulatory obligations and internal policies, helping to protect AJ Bell and its clients from financial crime. The role also involves oversight of complex cases, mentoring junior analysts and contributing to the continuous improvement of controls and processes.

Responsibilities

• Lead on the identification, monitoring, and escalation of high-risk customers and transactions, including ownership of Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD), Customer Due Diligence (CDD), and Exit-Driven Reviews.
• Conduct investigations and complete reviews, signing off on complex investigations with clear rationale and documentation.
• Act as a second-line reviewer for Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) and other regulatory submissions.
• Prepare and submit reports to the National Crime Agency (NCA), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and other authorities as directed by the Financial Crime Manager or MLRO.
• Drive enhancements to financial crime processes, including development of workflows, process maps, and control reviews.
• Coach, shadow, and share knowledge to develop junior analysts; contribute to training plans and competency frameworks.
• Support the Financial Crime Manager in collating and interpreting management information (MI) and preparing reports for senior management.
• Collaborate with Operations, Risk, Legal, and Technology to ensure a joined-up approach to financial crime prevention; participate in cross-functional initiatives.
• Contribute to the delivery of financial crime training and awareness initiatives across the business.
• Respond to requests from law enforcement and regulatory bodies with timely and accurate information sharing.
• Ensure all duties are performed in full compliance with regulatory requirements, including consumer duty.

Qualifications and Experience

• Extensive experience in financial crime investigation/analysis.
• Proven ability to manage complex cases and make risk-based decisions.
• Experience of CDD, EDD, sanctions screening, and transaction monitoring.
• Strong working knowledge of UK regulatory requirements (e.g., POCA, MLRs, FCA Handbook).
• Experience in mentoring or coaching junior team members.
• Excellent analytical, communication, and report-writing skills.
• Ability to prioritise and manage multiple tasks under pressure; ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience with regulatory reporting and liaising with external authorities is desirable.
• Familiarity with case management systems and data tools (e.g., Comply Advantage, internal UIs).

About us

AJ Bell is one of the fastest-growing investment platform businesses in the UK offering an award-winning range of solutions that caters for everyone, from professional financial advisers to DIY investors with little to no experience. We have over 620,000 customers and assets totaling more than £96.1 billion. Having listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange in December 2018, AJ Bell is a FTSE 250 company. Headquartered in Manchester with offices in central London and Bristol, we have over 1,500 employees and have been named one of the UK's Best 100 Companies to Work For for six consecutive years and in 2024 named a Great Place to Work.

At AJ Bell you can expect a friendly working environment with a strong sense of teamwork and pride in what we do, reflected in our guiding principles.

What we offer

• Competitive starting salary
• Starting holiday entitlement of 26 days, increasing up to 31 with length of service; holiday buy/sell scheme
• Choice of pension schemes with matched contributions up to 7%
• Discretionary bonus scheme
• Annual free share awards scheme
• Buy As You Earn (BAYE) Scheme
• Health Cash Plan – provided by SimplyHealth
• Discounted private healthcare and dental plan
• Free onsite gym
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Bike loan scheme
• Sick pay+ pledge
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, and parental leave
• Loans for travel season tickets
• Death in service scheme
• Paid time off for volunteer work
• Charitable giving opportunities through salary sacrifice
• Social events and personal development programmes
• Ongoing technical training and professional qualification support
• Talent development programmes and peer recognition
• Casual dress code

Hybrid working

AJ Bell offers a hybrid working model with a minimum of 50% of working time per month in the office. For new team members, an initial period will be full-time in the office to help immersion and relationship-building.

Equal opportunity

AJ Bell is committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and employees are empowered to bring their whole self to work. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, pregnancy, religion, disability, marital status or any other characteristics protected by law. All hiring decisions are based on qualifications, merit and business need.

If you like the sound of the above, or want to know more about the company and the role, we'd love to speak to you.