Job Summary

The position of Head, Sanctions Risk Analysis and Control, FCR, Sanctions, GCNA and GBS MY is a critical leadership role based in Kwun Tong, Hong Kong. Reporting directly to the Head of Sanctions in GCNA with a matrix reporting line to the Head of the Financial Crime Risks Programme Team, this role is central to safeguarding Standard Chartered's compliance with sanctions regulations across multiple regions.

As the Head of this function, you will oversee the Sanctions and Financial Crime Risk (FCR) analysis and control frameworks across the Greater China and North Asia (GCNA) region as well as the GBS Malaysia team. Your responsibility will include ensuring that robust and effective tools, processes, and system frameworks are in place, enabling accurate identification, assessment, and mitigation of sanctions-related risks.

This role demands sophisticated understanding and interpretation of a complex regulatory landscape, including but not limited to US, EU, UK, UN sanctions laws, as well as export controls. As a trusted advisor, you will provide comprehensive guidance to first and second line teams, resolving escalating complex queries with strategic insight while ensuring alignment with both internal Group policies and local regulatory requirements.

Ideal for a highly experienced professional with a strong compliance and risk management background, this position blends operational leadership with strategic oversight, fostering continuous improvement and risk mitigation in a dynamic and evolving regulatory environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the communication and dissemination of significant developments in sanctions laws, regulations, and industry standards across the GCNA region and within GBS Malaysia, ensuring timely and effective cascade of information aligned with group-wide communications.
• Collaborate closely with business units and support functions to guide risk-based decision-making grounded in current and anticipated sanction policies, fostering a proactive compliance culture.
• Monitor and interpret evolving regulatory expectations, providing clear, actionable advice on sanctions, financial crime risk, and relevant best practices to stakeholders at all organisational levels.
• Maintain meticulous oversight and provide critical analysis on sanctions investigations, including alerts and cases involving sanctions risk events, ensuring thorough risk management and operational control.
• Govern and support implementation of FCR policies and procedures within the GCNA and GBS Malaysia RA&C teams, maintaining rigorous compliance and adapting frameworks as regulations evolve.
• Oversee key risk and performance indicators (KRIs and KPIs) to assure effectiveness and efficiency in sanctions risk analysis and control activities.
• Champion continuous training and development initiatives related to sanctions compliance, ensuring business units and FCR teams are equipped with up-to-date knowledge and skills.
• Manage, mentor, and inspire a high-performing team, fostering an inclusive and engaging environment that promotes professional growth and accountability.
• Support risk assurance processes under the Operational Risk Framework, promptly identifying and escalating emerging risks or issues via established governance channels.
• Lead data-driven analysis to identify emerging vulnerabilities, directing timely mitigation strategies to protect the bank's financial, regulatory, and reputational integrity.
• Facilitate cross-functional projects involving customer due diligence (CDD), transaction monitoring, and product reviews, ensuring alignment with sanctions risk management objectives and seamless operational integration.

Skills and Experience

• Extensive experience working within Financial Crime Compliance environments, preferably within banking, legal, or consultancy sectors focusing on sanctions compliance and regulatory risk.
• Professional qualifications such as CAMS (Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist) and/or CGSS (Certified Global Sanctions Specialist) are strongly preferred to demonstrate proficiency and commitment to the field.
• Proven track record in managing complex projects and change initiatives in regulatory or compliance landscapes, demonstrating agility and resilience in fast-paced, rule-driven settings.
• Comprehensive understanding of sanctions-related legislations, including practical knowledge of their application to client reviews, transaction monitoring, and product assessment.
• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex compliance matters effectively across diverse stakeholder groups, including senior management and operational teams.
• High level of proficiency in English, both written and spoken; knowledge of Chinese languages is advantageous, supporting engagement with regional stakeholders but is not mandatory.
• Positive, solution-oriented approach with an ability to thrive in time-sensitive contexts, combined with a collaborative mindset conducive to team success.

Role Specific Technical Competencies

•    Sanctions Advisory
•    Compliance Policies and Standards
•    Investigations
•    Compliance Risk Assessment
•    Regulatory Liaison 

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.