UAT Analyst (Financial Crime / AML)

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Job Title: UAT Analyst (Financial Crime / AML)

Location: London HEX - Hybrid (2-3 days in office)

Contract: 9 months with possible extension.

Rate: £450 - £500 inside umbrella

Overview

This role sits within the Financial Crime function, with a strong emphasis on testing and system validation across sanctions and screening activities in EMEA. The successful candidate will play a critical role in User Acceptance Testing (UAT), system upgrades, and control validation, while maintaining a solid understanding of Financial Crime processes.

This is a high-priority, business-critical role supporting a major system upgrade, requiring strong attention to detail, structured testing experience, and the ability to work at pace.

Key Responsibilities

Testing & Change Delivery (Primary Focus)

• Lead and execute User Acceptance Testing (UAT) for financial crime systems, ensuring all functionality is validated and documented accurately
• Work closely with team members to perform structured testing cycles, including test case creation, execution, and defect tracking
• Support large-scale system upgrades and implementations, including participation in go-live activities (potential weekend support required)
• Gain a detailed understanding of existing BAU processes, systems, and workflows to effectively design and execute testing scenarios
• Validate system outputs across transaction screening, customer screening, and fraud screening processes
• Ensure all testing outcomes are recorded in line with governance and audit standards

Financial Crime & Screening (Supporting Focus)

• Conduct and support sanctions screening activity across EMEA, including transaction and customer screening
• Review and investigate system-generated alerts (e.g. Fircosoft)
• Ensure all items are processed within defined cut-off times and service levels
• Develop an understanding of financial crime regulations (AML, Sanctions, Fraud) and how they translate into system controls
• Support risk mitigation by identifying gaps or inconsistencies in screening logic or outputs

Process & Risk Improvement

• Identify weaknesses in testing approaches, workflows, or screening processes and recommend improvements
• Provide feedback from testing cycles to enhance system performance and control effectiveness
• Support updates to procedures and documentation to reflect system or process changes
• Engage with stakeholders across technology, operations, and compliance to ensure aligned delivery

Key Requirements

Experience

• Strong experience in testing / UAT / system validation (essential - core focus of role)
• Working knowledge of Financial Crime / AML / Sanctions frameworks (supporting requirement, not specialist level)
• Experience within banking environments, ideally exposure to both small and large institutions
• Understanding of payments and transaction flows, including cut-off timings and processing cycles
• Familiarity with SWIFT messaging formats and how they relate to screening processes

Systems & Tools

• Experience with Fircosoft (LexisNexis) - highly desirable
• Exposure to Actimize or similar financial crime platforms
• Comfortable working with screening and monitoring systems

Skills & Competencies

• Strong attention to detail and analytical mindset
• Ability to plan, execute, and document testing effectively
• Good understanding of risk and control frameworks
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to engage across business and technology teams
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, high-priority environment with shifting deadlines
• Proactive, adaptable, and collaborative approach

Additional Information

• Role supports EMEA coverage, including alignment to regional cut-off times
• May require flexibility around working hours, particularly during key delivery milestones
• High visibility role within the organisation due to the strategic importance of ongoing testing programmes

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