Director, Sanctions Operations – AI-Enabled Global Compliance

BNY; Manchester; On-site; GBP 135,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Wellbeing programs

Generous paid leaves

Job summary

BNY is seeking a Director to lead the Global Sanctions Compliance Operations team in Manchester. The role requires strategic ownership of sanctions screening, quality assurance, training, and risk controls on a global scale.

Ideal candidates will have extensive sanctions experience in large banks, a track record of transforming operations with AI/automation, and strong leadership and stakeholder skills to influence cross‑functional partners across Compliance, Product, and Technology.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or the equivalent combination of education and experience is required; advanced/graduate degree preferred.
• Significant experience in sanctions roles in the first line or second line of defense of a large multi‑national bank.
• Proven track record running complex operations with significant daily volumes, tight SLAs, and high regulatory scrutiny in targeted markets.
• Experience in implementing new regulations, regulatory control frameworks and handling regulatory reviews.
• Deep understanding of operational risk, control frameworks, business continuity, and regulatory requirements across global jurisdictions
• Demonstrated success implementing AI/ML and automation in production operations, with measurable KPI improvements.
• Strong data literacy: ability to define data strategies, interpret analytics and challenge insights.
• Exceptional stakeholder management and executive communication skills; adept at influencing Compliance, Product, Technology, Risk.

Responsibilities

• Oversee sanctions compliance functions of 20–30 FTEs based in Manchester.
• Lead and own sanctions operations training and quality assurance for BNY globally.
• Accountability for sanctions delivery against KPIs, KRIs, objectives, and quality standards.
• Identify and implement process improvements to enhance efficiency, strengthen controls, and manage risk.
• Evaluate opportunities to leverage automation and AI within processes to improve effectiveness.
• Monitor operational performance, resource allocation, and workflow distribution to scale the function.
• Strengthen first‑line risk and control discipline: incident prevention, rapid issue resolution, root‑cause elimination, change control.
• Implement new regulations globally as mandated by regulators.
• Build relationships with operations and compliance leads; collaborate with Technology and Product teams to embed capabilities.
• Coach and develop a high‑performing sanctions operations team and manage succession.

Skills

Leadership

Sanctions screening

Operations management

AI/ML

Automation

Stakeholder management

Executive communication

Team leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

BNY is seeking a Director to lead the Global Sanctions Compliance Operations team in Manchester. The role requires strategic ownership of sanctions screening, quality assurance, training, and risk controls on a global scale.

Ideal candidates will have extensive sanctions experience in large banks, a track record of transforming operations with AI/automation, and strong leadership and stakeholder skills to influence cross‑functional partners across Compliance, Product, and Technology.