Head of Financial Crime

Head of Financial Crime

A growing, forward-thinking bank based in Manchester is seeking an experienced and commercially astute Head of Financial Crime to lead and evolve its Financial Crime function.

This is a senior leadership opportunity to oversee a well-established team of 30 professionals, with 4–5 direct reports, in a business that is committed to strengthening controls, embracing automation, and leveraging technology to enhance financial crime prevention.

The Role

As Head of Financial Crime, you will take full ownership of the end-to-end Financial Crime framework, ensuring robust governance, regulatory compliance, and operational excellence across the full suite of financial crime disciplines.

You will play a key role in modernising and optimising the function - driving automation initiatives, enhancing transaction monitoring capabilities, and exploring AI-driven solutions to improve efficiency, insight and risk mitigation.

This is a highly visible leadership role requiring strong regulatory knowledge, stakeholder engagement skills, and the ability to lead and inspire large operational teams.

Key Responsibilities Leadership & Oversight

• Lead, develop and mentor a Financial Crime team of 30, with 4–5 direct reports.
• Drive performance, accountability and continuous improvement across the function.
• Build strong succession planning and leadership capability within the team.

Financial Crime Framework

• Oversee the full financial crime suite including:

  • KYC & Customer Due Diligence

  • AML

  • Transaction Monitoring

  • Financial Crime Analytics & Reporting

• Ensure policies, procedures and controls remain robust, proportionate and aligned to regulatory expectations.

Automation & Innovation

• Drive automation initiatives across financial crime processes to improve efficiency and reduce manual intervention.
• Champion the use of analytics and technology to enhance detection and reporting capabilities.
• Explore and implement AI-led solutions where appropriate (experience in this area highly desirable).

Regulatory & Governance

• Act as a senior point of contact for regulators and internal audit.
• Ensure compliance with UK regulatory requirements and evolving financial crime standards.
• MLRO experience or prior SMF responsibility would be advantageous.

Stakeholder Management

• Work closely with Risk, Compliance, Operations and Executive leadership.
• Provide clear MI and reporting to senior stakeholders and board-level committees.

What We’re Looking For

• Significant experience leading Financial Crime functions within a banking environment.
• Deep expertise across KYC, AML, Transaction Monitoring and Financial Crime Analytics.
• Proven experience driving automation within financial crime operations.
• Exposure to AI-enabled financial crime solutions (highly desirable).
• Strong understanding of UK regulatory expectations.
• Prior MLRO experience or readiness to step into that responsibility (advantageous).
• A hands-on, engaging leader with the ability to manage and motivate a sizeable team.

Why Join?

• Opportunity to shape and modernise a key control function.
• Lead a sizeable, established team with strong executive visibility.
• Hybrid working 
• Play a strategic role within a growing and ambitious bank.

If you are a driven Financial Crime leader ready to make a tangible impact within a progressive banking environment, we’d love to hear from you.

Head of Financial Crime - Manchester