Job Description

The Manager of WM Compliance leads the Embedded Compliance Functional team of FTE and contractors covering the Private Banking, Mashreq Gold and Emirati segments of RBG, and the Wealth Management Product business lines, including Insurance, Mortgage Lending, and Investments (Asset Management, Structured Products, Securities and Funds brokerage).

The role establishes strategy for due diligence Wealth customers, ensuring quality, consistency, and regulatory compliance of all EDD reviews, and acting as the primary escalation point for complex risk assessments, PEP cases, and potential financial crime concerns from compliance analysts.

• Supervise and guide analysts through expert experience in performing EDD on high-risk clients including PEPs, HNWIs, offshore entities, trusts, foundations, and high-risk jurisdictions.
• Ensure EDD reviews across onboarding, trigger events, and periodic KYC refreshes are completed to high quality, and in line with internal standards and SLAs.
• Monitor case allocation, workflow, and team productivity to ensure efficient volume management.
• Review and validate assessments of customer risk factors, oversee and challenge Source of Wealth (SoW) and Source of Funds (SoF) assessments for adequacy and credibility.
• Ensure risk conclusions are consistent, well-supported, and documented to audit-ready standards.
• Oversee sanctions, PEP, watchlist, and adverse media screening outputs, ensuring appropriate use of tools and research methodologies.
• Validate alert dispositions and ensure proper escalation and handling of potential matches.
• Act as the primary escalation point for complex cases, including PEP linkages, adverse media, high-risk jurisdictions, and complex structures, giving informed consent for the case to proceed to AOC.
• Drive ever-improving 1LOD KYC completion, focusing on Right First Time, and escalating repeated challenges to senior leadership.
• Assess and escalate red flags relating to ML/TF, sanctions evasion, fraud, bribery, corruption, and reputational risk with clear recommendations.
• Ensure compliance with AML/CFT regulations, sanctions requirements, and internal policies, maintaining consistency across the team.
• Liaise effectively with AML Investigations, Sanctions teams, and internal stakeholders to resolve queries and manage escalations.
• Conduct quality reviews, provide feedback, and drive continuous improvement in processes, templates, efficiency, and turnaround times.
• Provide ongoing guidance, coaching, and technical support to analysts, including bringing real life examples back to the team for lessons learned assessments.
• Identify accounts with higher risk characteristics, or policy exceptions and raise to Head of TGM & WM Compliance or the Group Head of Compliance & MLRO as necessary (including Foreign PEPs, non-resident Russians, and other profiles with significant Russia linkages).
• Bachelor’s degree qualification at a minimum; Relevant professional qualifications an advantage.
• At least 10 years of experience in AML/KYC/compliance/financial crime operations
• Strong expertise in EDD, AML/CFT, sanctions, and customer risk assessment
• Ability to review and challenge analyst assessments expertly and effectively
• Strong understanding of PEPs, complex structures, SoW/SoF methodologies
• Practical experience in Private Banking type professional environments
• Excellent judgment and escalation capability
• Strong quality control and documentation standards
• Effective stakeholder coordination and team management skills