Job Responsibilities

The Team Leader for FCC Investigations plays a pivotal role in ensuring the effectiveness and integrity of financial crime controls within the organisation. Key responsibilities include:

• Contributing to the design and ongoing refinement of the Country/Client Business operating models relevant to Financial Crime Compliance (FCC) and associated business processes, ensuring alignment with regulatory and organisational standards.
• Maintaining a robust and comprehensive support framework encompassing skilled personnel, efficient processes, state-of-the-art tools, and effective systems to facilitate strong and reliable FCC controls at the Country or Department level.
• Driving the vision, strategy, and direction for FCC activities within the department, reinforcing the Group’s overarching approach to mitigating financial crime risks and supporting sustainable business growth.
• Leading and guiding associates and analysts in the thorough analysis of alerts generated from transaction monitoring systems, as well as handling non-automated cases that raise potential money laundering or other financial crime concerns.
• Ensuring that all suspicious activities are investigated with due diligence and that Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) are accurately completed and submitted within prescribed timelines, maintaining compliance with regulatory obligations.
• Overseeing the quality and maintenance of case data within enterprise case management systems to ensure data integrity and traceability.
• Identifying and proposing improvements to controls, processes, and systems to enhance effectiveness, streamline operations, and mitigate potential risks.
• Collaborating with internal stakeholders and external partners to make informed decisions grounded in current policies and emerging trends related to financial crime compliance.
• Providing expert advice and guidance on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) matters, fostering strong working relationships with stakeholders and peer groups to promote a cohesive and informed approach.
• Participating actively in ad-hoc initiatives such as monitoring activities for unlicensed entities as per Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) guidelines and supporting the testing of system enhancements to maintain compliance and operational excellence.
• Keeping abreast of relevant updates to policies, procedures, and delegations of authority to effectively address evolving financial crime risks and regulatory requirements.
• Engaging with associated teams to ensure adherence to Group standards encompassing AML, Sanctions, and Anti-Bribery and Corruption (ABC) frameworks, reinforcing the organisation’s commitment to integrity and compliance.

Skills and Experience

The ideal candidate will possess a recognised university degree or professional qualification in Law, Finance, Accounting, Business, or closely related fields, demonstrating a strong theoretical foundation relevant to financial crime compliance.

• A minimum of three years’ experience in AML or transaction monitoring roles, particularly at an associate or team lead level, evidencing a practical understanding of financial crime risk management.
• Familiarity with local regulatory requirements and the ability to apply these in daily operations to ensure compliance with Hong Kong’s legal frameworks.
• A proficient understanding of the criteria involved in suitability assessments, with a demonstrated capacity to apply sound judgment when reviewing alerts and investigating suspicious activities.
• Strong analytical skills, enabling comprehensive case analysis and insightful reporting to support decision-making processes.
• Exceptional report writing abilities and methodical attention to detail, ensuring accuracy and clarity in documentation.
• Effective communication skills, both written and verbal, coupled with an aptitude for working collaboratively within cross-functional teams to achieve common objectives.
• The capability to exercise discretion and discernment when escalating cases, understanding the severity and implications of exceptions to manage risks appropriately.

Role Specific Technical Competencies

This role requires mastery of the following technical competencies that are fundamental to Financial Crime Compliance:

• Compliance Policies and Standards: Deep knowledge of compliance frameworks, policies, and regulatory standards that govern financial crime risk management.
• Compliance Advisory: Ability to provide clear, practical guidance and expert advice on FCC matters to internal stakeholders.
• Compliance Review and FCC Assurance: Skilled in conducting periodic reviews and assurance activities to validate the effectiveness of FCC controls and processes.
• Surveillance (Screening and Monitoring): Proficient in implementing and overseeing transaction monitoring, sanctions screening, and watchlist screening to detect suspicious activities.
• Investigations: Strong capability to lead complex, multi-faceted investigations into potential financial crime incidents, ensuring thoroughness and regulatory compliance.
• Compliance Risk Assessment: Competency in identifying, evaluating, and mitigating compliance risks associated with financial crime.
• Regulatory Liaison: Experience engaging with regulatory bodies and managing regulatory inquiries or audits related to FCC matters.
• Change Management: Effectiveness in managing and supporting change initiatives aimed at enhancing FCC controls and organisational compliance posture.
• Project Management: Ability to plan, execute and monitor projects that improve operational processes or implement regulatory requirements efficiently and effectively.

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.