AML and Sanctions Compliance - Principal Associate

Capital One (Europe) plc; Nottingham; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Funding for external qualifications up

Up to £5,000 funding for external qual

Pension and bonus schemes

25 days annual leave

Private medical insurance

Parental leave support

Job summary

Capital One UK seeks an AML and Sanctions Compliance Principal Associate in Nottingham. This hybrid role blends financial crime expertise with strong stakeholder management to drive the UK AML Work Programme within the FCC team.

You will mentor investigators, set clear standards, and improve training for high-performance teams. You’ll ensure AML projects and reports are delivered on time, update policies, and support MLRO in audits.

Qualifications

• Understanding of the UK financial crime regulatory framework (Money Laundering Regulations, JMLSG, Proceeds of Crime Act).
• Proven experience leading teams through end-to-end financial crime investigations in high-volume consumer credit environments.
• Ability to document investigation decisions and ensure high-quality SAR submissions.
• Commitment to continuous professional development through accredited bodies (ICA, ACAMS).

Responsibilities

• Oversee the Financial Crime Delivery Team, providing leadership and advisory support for first-line investigators.
• Drive the AML work programme, ensure timely and accurate delivery of key projects and reports.
• Own updates to policies, procedures and annual training to keep them practical and fit for purpose.
• Perform assessments in audits and partner with the MLRO to address findings.
• Manage Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) with the MLRO and raise SAR quality through QA coaching.
• Strengthen the control environment, align AML requirements with UK standards, and close out audit findings.
• Lead complex cases, participate in complex reviews, and guide the team to confident decisions.
• Stay abreast of updated guidance and translate into actionable team guidance.

Skills

Regulatory knowledge

Leadership

SAR decisions

Professional development

ICA/ACAMS

Job description

Nottingham Trent House (95002), United Kingdom, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire

Job Title: AML and Sanctions Compliance - Principal Associate

Location: Nottingham - Hybrid

Working Pattern: 3 days in office (Tuesday-Thursday) and 2 days remote.

Our Mission

We’re on a mission to be a force for good in lending. Throughout our almost 30-year history, we’ve consistently been recognised as a great place to work; in 2026, Capital One was officially ranked 9th in the UK’s Best Workplaces list. Hear from our team about what it’s like working at Capital One UK.

About the Role

In the FCC team, Principal Associates blend their financial crime expertise with strong stakeholder management to drive our UK AML Work Programme. They are the driving force behind delivering change, keeping projects on track, and ensuring our reporting and controls actually work in practice. Our mission is to keep the bad guys out and make Capital One an unfriendly place for financial criminals.

What You’ll Do

Overseeing our Financial Crime Delivery Team

• Mentor and grow: Provide clear leadership, and advisory support for our first-line investigators.

• Set the standard: Define clear standards so everyone knows exactly what success looks like.

• Develop our best people: Actively support training and development for our first-line teams so we have the best performing, expert teams.

Driving the AML Work Programme

• Keep the wheels turning: Ensure key AML projects and reports are delivered accurately and on time.

• If it isn’t documented, it didn’t happen: Take ownership of updating policies, procedures, and annual training so they are practical and fit for purpose.

• Audit support: Run necessary assessments and partner closely with the MLRO to navigate AML/CTF audits.

Managing Suspicious Activity (SARs)

• Make the right call: Work alongside the MLRO to ensure all suspicious activity decisions are approved by the book.

• Raise the bar: Use Quality Assurance as a coaching tool, providing actionable feedback to improve our overall SAR quality.

• Stay ahead of the curve: Keep sharp on the latest NCA guidance and translate those updates into practical advice for the team and the wider business.

Strengthening the Control Environment

• Maintain the standard: Keep our AML requirements and test plans fully aligned with UK standards.

• Fix what’s broken: Take the lead on resolving risk events and making sure audit findings are properly closed out.

• Look at the big picture: Dig into first line functions to ensure their frontline AML checks are comprehensive and effective.

• Build trust: Foster the kind of relationships where stakeholders come to you proactively when a control isn’t working.

• Test the defenses: Execute 2nd-line assurance to catch vulnerabilities before they become actual problems.

• Find the bad guys: Oversee and provide credible challenge of our Customer Due Diligence processes

Handling the Complex Cases

• The final set of eyes: Perform secondary QA checks (QA on the QA) to maintain an exceptionally high standard.

• Provide clarity: Step into complex review meetings to help untangle difficult cases and guide the team to a confident decision.

The skills and experience you’ll need

• Know the landscape: Bring an understanding of the UK financial crime regulatory framework to set the compliance standard (knowledge of the Money Laundering Regulations, JMLSG, and the Proceeds of Crime Act are essential).

• Lead from the front: Proven experience conducting and leading teams through end-to-end financial crime investigations in high-volume consumer credit environments.

• Make defensible calls: Confidently execute well-documented investigation decisions to ensure consistent submission of high-quality SARs.

• Sharpen your edge: Maintain a strong appetite for continuous learning and professional development through accredited industry bodies (e.g., ICA, ACAMS).

Where and how you’ll work

This is a permanent position based in our Nottingham office.

We embrace a hybrid approach to work. You’ll spend three days a week in the office (Tuesday-Thursday), with Monday and Friday being dedicated work-from-home days.

Our offices are designed to inspire and support you. At our Nottingham head office, you’ll find an on-site gym, restaurant and dedicated Learning Loft.

What’s in it for you

We invest in the growth of our people alongside our business. You will have extensive opportunities to learn and develop your career, including access to up to £5,000 in funding for external qualifications.

In addition to career development, our comprehensive benefits package is designed to grow with you, ensuring your wellbeing is prioritised at every stage of your career:

• Wealth & Future: Competitive pension and performance-based bonus schemes

• Holidays: Start with 25 days of annual leave, increasing with tenure. Need more? You have the option to buy 5 additional days.

• Health: Access premium care through our private medical insurance.

• Family Support: We champion your milestones with enhanced parental leave.

A full list of our benefits is available here.

What you should know about how we recruit

We pride ourselves on hiring the best people, not the same people. Building diverse and inclusive teams is the right thing to do and the smart thing to do. We want to work with top talent: whoever you are, whatever you look like, wherever you come from. We know it’s about what you do, not just what you say. That’s why we make our recruitment process fair and accessible.

We value diversity, inclusion and belonging at our core. We empower our associates to do great work by creating an inclusive culture—one that values diverse perspectives, fosters collaboration and encourages innovative ideas—and a place where associates of all backgrounds can thrive by bringing their most authentic selves to work. We call this our Culture of Belonging, and it rests at the heart of our business.

Our associate-led Business Resource Groups were created to help support our diverse population and include over 10 groups across our offices. Because each Business Resource Group is as unique as the population it serves, they offer a range of activities, networking opportunities, special events and learning programmes to associates.

Capital One is committed to diversity in the workplace.

If you require a reasonable adjustment, please contact [e-mail] All information will be kept confidential and will only be used for the purpose of applying a reasonable adjustment.

Who We Are

At Capital One, we’re building a leading information-based technology company. Still founder-led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard Fairbank, Capital One is on a mission to help our customers succeed by bringing ingenuity, simplicity, and humanity to banking. We measure our efforts by the success our customers enjoy and the advocacy they exhibit. We are succeeding because they are succeeding.

Guided by our shared values, we thrive in an environment where collaboration and openness are valued. We believe that innovation is powered by perspective and that teamwork and respect for each other lead to superior results. We elevate each other and obsess about doing the right thing. Our associates serve with humility and a deep respect for their responsibility in helping our customers achieve their goals and realize their dreams. Together, we are on a quest to change banking for good.