Job Summary

The CDD Subject Matter Expert (SME) plays a critical role in enabling safe, compliant, and efficient client onboarding and lifecycle management across Institutional Banking clients. Acting as the trusted advisor to Customer Due Diligence Execution Teams (CET), the role provides expert guidance on CDD, AML, and policy requirements, ensuring consistent interpretation and application of regulatory standards.

Working closely with stakeholders across Financial Crime Compliance, Policy, Client Management, and Transformation teams as part of Client Delivery Operations team - Client Enablement and Lending Operations (CELO) within Global CIB Operations, the CDD SME helps resolve complex due diligence challenges, supports the implementation of policy and system changes, and drives continuous improvement through knowledge sharing, training, and operational excellence. The role is pivotal in balancing client experience, risk management, and regulatory compliance while supporting the Bank's growth objectives

Key Responsibilities

Role Type: Lead SME in Individual Contributor with significant advisory, governance, and stakeholder management responsibilities. The role does not directly manage people but influences outcomes across CDD Execution Teams (CET), Client Management, Financial Crime Compliance (FCC), Policy, and Transformation teams. . It also acts as back up to the manager providing leadership support, decision making guidance and continuity across the team when required.

CDD Advisory and Subject Matter Expertise (SME)
•    Serve as the primary SME for CIB Customer Due Diligence (CDD) and AML requirements, providing expert policy, process, and procedural guidance to CIB CDD Execution Teams (CET). 
•    Resolve complex, high-risk, and non-standard CDD/KYC queries, ensuring consistent interpretation and application of regulatory requirements, Group policies, and internal procedures. 
•    Act as a trusted advisor to stakeholders on CDD-related matters to support sound risk-based decisions and high-quality client outcomes. 
•    Provide senior technical oversight and guidance on complex policy interpretations, emerging regulatory developments, and material CDD risk matters. 
•    Act as the escalation point for challenging cases and support consistent decision-making across teams and regions.

Process Excellence and Continuous Improvement
•    Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency, strengthen controls, and simplify processes while maintaining compliance with regulatory and policy requirements.
•    Perform root-cause analysis of recurring issues, quality review findings, and control gaps, driving sustainable remediation and process improvements.
•    Document and manage process changes, workarounds, and remediation activities to support operational effectiveness and consistency.
•    Drive standardisation, best practices, and process optimisation initiatives across the CDD domain.
•    Support identification and implementation of automation and digitisation opportunities that improve quality, efficiency, and user experience.

Knowledge Management and Capability Development
•    Own the development, maintenance, and governance of Departmental Operating Instructions (DOIs), job aids, and operational guidance materials. 
•    Deliver training, coaching, mentoring, and knowledge-sharing initiatives to enhance CDD/AML capability, improve quality, and reduce unnecessary escalations. 
•    Promote best practices and support consistent execution standards across global CDD teams. 
•    Act as a senior coach and mentor for CET teams, helping build technical expertise, critical thinking, and risk-based decision-making capabilities. 
•    Support onboarding of new team members and contribute to succession planning and capability uplift initiatives across the function. 
•    Foster a culture of continuous learning, accountability, and operational excellence.
Risk Management and Governance
•    Proactively identify, assess, and manage CDD-related risks, ensuring adherence to approved Risk Appetite, Group standards, and regulatory requirements. 
•    Provide independent SME oversight and credible challenge by identifying policy, procedural, and control weaknesses and supporting remediation through established governance frameworks. 
•    Ensure timely escalation and reporting of material risks, breaches, near misses, and emerging issues. 
•    Promote a strong culture of governance, compliance, accountability, and risk awareness across stakeholders and operational teams. 
•    Support management in responding to audit, assurance, regulatory, and quality review findings, ensuring timely remediation and sustainable control enhancements. 
•    Provide effective challenge where risks, policy interpretation, or control effectiveness may be compromised.

Stakeholder Management and Collaboration
•    Build and maintain strong partnerships with CDD Execution Teams, FCC, Policy Implementation, Client Management, Process Owners, Business Support Functions, and Transformation teams. 
•    Support delivery of client lifecycle and regulatory change initiatives by aligning business, risk, compliance, and operational objectives. 
•    Contribute to shared outcomes that enhance client experience, operational effectiveness, and regulatory compliance. 

•    Develop trusted relationships with senior stakeholders and represent the SME function in governance forums, project discussions, and business engagements. 
•    Influence outcomes through expertise, data-driven insights, and collaborative problem solving.

Leadership Support and Deputy Responsibilities
•    Act as deputy to the Manager, ensuring seamless leadership continuity, stakeholder engagement, governance oversight, and SME support during periods of absence. 
•    Support delivery of strategic priorities, overseeing team performance, key risks, escalations, capacity management, and execution against business and change objectives. 
•    Represent the function in governance and stakeholder forums, leading discussions, presenting MI and risk updates, and fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and risk excellence.

Key Outcomes
•    Consistent interpretation and application of CDD and AML requirements.
•    Strong governance, risk management, and regulatory compliance across client lifecycle activities.
•    Successful implementation of policy, process, and system changes.
•    Improved operational efficiency, quality, and control effectiveness.
•    Enhanced capability and knowledge across CDD execution teams.
•    Strong stakeholder engagement and collaboration supporting client experience, regulatory compliance, and business growth objectives. 
•    Delivery of sustainable transformation outcomes through SME leadership, coaching, and continuous improvement initiatives.

Skills and Experience

Must-have Skills
•    Action Oriented
•    Collaborates 
•    Decision Quality
•    CDD Policy, Process & Systems Knowledge, 
•    Cross-functional Collaboration
•    Business Process Design
•    Training, Knowledge Transfer & Capability Building
•    Change Management & Continuous Improvement
•    Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Motivations

This role is best suited to individuals who are energized by applying deep CDD/AML expertise to solve complex due diligence challenges and act as a trusted advisor across the client lifecycle. They thrive in environments where they can influence decisions through expertise and 

•    Thrives on being a trusted CDD/AML Subject Matter Expert, applying deep regulatory, policy, and client due diligence knowledge to solve complex and high-risk onboarding and lifecycle management challenges.
•    Energised by influencing decisions and outcomes through expertise, partnering with Client Management, FCC, Policy, Operations, and Change teams to provide guidance, challenge thinking, and drive consistent risk-based decisions.
•    Motivated by driving transformation and continuous improvement, supporting policy, process, and system change initiatives that simplify ways of working, strengthen controls, and improve operational effectiveness.
•    Finds purpose in delivering tangible business impact, enhancing client experience, improving quality and compliance outcomes, reducing operational friction, and enabling efficient client onboarding and lifecycle management.

Qualifications

Key Experiences
•    CDD & Regulatory Expertise: 10+ years of end-to-end CIB CDD experience, including onboarding, reviews, trigger events, and complex client lifecycle activities, with strong knowledge of KYC, AML, Sanctions, and Financial Crime requirements.
•     CDD SME / Advisory Experience: Proven experience in a CDD SME, Policy Implementation, Advisory, Quality, Governance, or Risk role, providing guidance on complex due diligence matters and policy interpretation.
•     Institutional Banking Knowledge: Strong experience supporting Corporate & Institutional Banking clients, including complex ownership structures, Financial Institutions, Funds, Financial Sponsors, Broker Dealers, Trusts, SPVs, and other high-risk client types.
•    Policy, Process & Systems Expertise: Deep understanding of CIB CDD policies, procedures, operating models, and systems, with experience translating regulatory requirements into practical operational guidance.
•    Change & Transformation Experience: Demonstrated experience supporting or leading policy, process, regulatory, remediation, or system change initiatives, including impact assessments and change implementation.

•     Stakeholder Management & Communication: Strong influencing and communication skills with the ability to engage effectively with FCC, Policy, Client Management, Operations, Change teams, and senior stakeholders.
•    Risk, Governance & Control: Experience identifying control gaps, conducting root-cause analysis, supporting remediation activities, and contributing to audit, regulatory, or quality review outcomes.
•    Leadership & Coaching: Proven ability to coach and mentor teams, deliver training, act as a senior technical resource, and provide deputy support to management when required.
•    Analytical & Delivery Excellence: Strong problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and ability to manage competing priorities while delivering high-quality outcomes in a complex regulatory environment.
Certifications/Qualifications
•    AML related (Eg ACAMS or equivalent certification would be preferred)
Languages
•    English

About Standard Chartered

We're an international bank, nimble enough to act, big enough for impact. For more than 170 years, we've worked to make a positive difference for our clients, communities, and each other. We question the status quo, love a challenge and enjoy finding new opportunities to grow and do better than before. If you're looking for a career with purpose and you want to work for a bank making a difference, we want to hear from you. You can count on us to celebrate your unique talents and we can't wait to see the talents you can bring us.

Our purpose, to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, together with our brand promise, to be here for good are achieved by how we each live our valued behaviours. When you work with us, you'll see how we value difference and advocate inclusion.

Together we:

• Do the right thing and are assertive, challenge one another, and live with integrity, while putting the client at the heart of what we do
• Never settle, continuously striving to improve and innovate, keeping things simple and learning from doing well, and not so well
• Are better together, we can be ourselves, be inclusive, see more good in others, and work collectively to build for the long term

What we offer

In line with our Fair Pay Charter, we offer a competitive salary and benefits to support your mental, physical, financial and social wellbeing.

• Core bank funding for retirement savings, medical and life insurance, with flexible and voluntary benefits available in some locations.
• Time-off including annual leave, parental/maternity (20 weeks), sabbatical (12 months maximum) and volunteering leave (3 days), along with minimum global standards for annual and public holiday, which is combined to 30 days minimum.
• Flexible working options based around home and office locations, with flexible working patterns.
• Proactive wellbeing support through Unmind, a market-leading digital wellbeing platform, development courses for resilience and other human skills, global Employee Assistance Programme, sick leave, mental health first-aiders and all sorts of self-help toolkits
• A continuous learning culture to support your growth, with opportunities to reskill and upskill and access to physical, virtual and digital learning.
• Being part of an inclusive and values driven organisation, one that embraces and celebrates our unique diversity, across our teams, business functions and geographies - everyone feels respected and can realise their full potential.