Financial Crime Risk Manager - 12 month FTC

About Us at GoCardless

GoCardless is a global bank payment company. Over 100,000 businesses, from start-ups to household names, use GoCardless to collect and send payments through direct debit, real-time payments and open banking. 

GoCardless processes US$130bn+ of payments annually, across 30+ countries; helping customers collect and send both recurring and one-off payments, without the chasing, stress or expensive fees. We use AI-powered solutions to improve payment success and reduce fraud. And, with open banking connectivity to over 2,500 banks, we help our customers make faster, more informed decisions.

We are headquartered in the UK with offices in London and Leeds, and additional locations in Australia, France, Ireland, Latvia, Portugal and the United States.

At GoCardless, we're all about supporting you! We’re committed to making our hiring process inclusive and accessible. If you need extra support or adjustments, reach out to your Talent Partner — we’re here to help! 

And remember: we don’t expect you to meet every single requirement. If you’re excited by this role, we encourage you to apply!

The Financial Crime Risk Team 

We’re part of the Risk Organisation and are at the forefront of GoCardless’ global expansion.  We ensure that GoCardless adopts, implements and maintains innovative and appropriate processes and controls, paving the way for our company to deliver superb products in a compliant manner.

The Role

As the Second Line of Defence (2LoD) subject matter expert, the Financial Crime Risk Manager will report directly to the Group MLRO and will play both a regional and global role. In this role, you will be primarily tasked with building and maintaining effective AML/CTF, ABC, and sanctions systems and controls to ensure compliance with laws and regulations in various GoCardless locations.

This is a 12 month fixed term contract.

What excites you

• Executing the firm’s annual financial crime Enterprise-wide Risk Assessments, including risk identification, data analysis, inherent risk assessment and control evaluation; 
• Closely follow legal, compliance, and regulatory developments in relation to AML/CTF, ABC, and sanctions in the Fintech industry, to ensure our processes keep pace;
• Drafting annual external reports to regulatory authorities, and liaise with the FCA, NCA and other external agencies where applicable;
• New products, markets business partnerships/intiatives risk assessments and programme updates;
• Drafting financial crime management information and periodic reports to senior management, analysing trends and recommending enhancements to first line controls; 
• Delivering targeted financial crime training to the Compliance Operations team and Sales team on areas that are identified as requiring improvement;
• Advising on CDD escalations based on internal policies and procedures;
• Monitoring and responding to AML / Sanctions-related escalations in JIRA;
• Reviewing and approving of high-risk customers at onboarding (e.g. PEPs);
• Reviewing and approving of requests for waivers, dispensations and minor policy exceptions from the first line defence;
• Promoting a culture of good financial crime management across the firm;
• Covering MLRO annual leave / absences
• Supporting on the Financial Crime Risk roadmap projects to design and deploy controls over new products, new markets, and enhancements throughout the company;
• Support the wider Compliance based on capacity, need and expertise.

 What excites us

• You have 5+ years’ experience in financial crime within the 2 LoD of an FCA regulated financial services firm or within consultancy;
• You have strong working knowledge of regulatory frameworks, guidelines, and requirements across the UK, US, EU, New Zealand, Australia, and/or Canada, as well as bodies like the FATF, Wolfsberg Group, etc.;
• You have experience in designing internal controls from scratch and driving their implementation, including automation where feasible;
• You have worked within a fast growing, scale-up business;
• You have experience conducting AML/CTF and sanctions compliance monitoring reviews, including model calibration and validation;
• You have exceptional analytical, writing and presentation skills;
• You have a 'sleeves-rolled-up' approach to your work.

Base salary range: £46,400 - £69,600

Base salary ranges are based on role, job level, location, and market data.  Please note that whilst we strive to offer competitive compensation, our approach is to pay between the minimum and the mid-point (£46,400 - £58,000) of the pay range until performance can be assessed in role. Offers will take into account level of experience, interview assessment, budgets and parity between you and fellow employees at GoCardless doing similar work.

The Good Stuff!

• Wellbeing: Dedicated support and medical cover to keep you healthy.
• Work Away Scheme: Work from anywhere for up to 90 days in any 12-month period.
• Hybrid Working: Our hybrid model offers flexibility, with in-office days determined by your team.
• Equity: All permanently employed GeeCees get equity to share in our success.
• Parental leave: Tailored leave to support your life's great adventure.
• Time off: Annual holiday leave based on your location, supplemented by 3 volunteer days and 4 wellness days.

Life at GoCardless

We're an organisation defined by our values; We start with why before we begin any project, to ensure it’s aligned with our mission. We make it happen, working with urgency and taking personal accountability for getting things done. We act with integrity, always. We care deeply about what we do and we know it's essential that we be humble whilst we do it. Our Values form part of the GoCardless DNA, and are used to not only help us nurture and develop our culture, but to deliver impactful work that will help us to achieve our vision.

Diversity & Inclusion

We’re building the payment network of the future, and to achieve our goal, we need a diverse team with a range of perspectives and experiences. As of July 2024, here’s where we stand:

• 45% identify as women 
• 23% identify as Black, Asian, Mixed, or Other 
• 10% identify as LGBTQIA+ 
• 9% identify as neurodiverse 
• 2% identify as disabled 

If you want to learn more, you can read about our Employee Resource Groups and objectives here as well as our latest D&I Report 

Sustainability at GoCardless

We’re committed to reducing our environmental impact and leaving a sustainable world for future generations. As co-founders of the Tech Zero coalition, we’re working towards a climate-positive future. Check out our sustainability action plan here. 

Find out more about Life at GoCardless via X, Instagram and LinkedIn.