Financial Crime Manager

Grant Thornton UK; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading firm is seeking a Financial Crime Manager for their High-Risk Assessment Unit. The role involves managing financial crime risk and compliance, overseeing a team, and ensuring due diligence for high-risk clients. The ideal candidate will have strong analytical and communication skills, with a focus on compliance and stakeholder engagement. Flexible working arrangements are available to support work-life balance.

Benefits

Flexible working options

Opportunities for secondments

Charity work support

Qualifications

• Experience working within a financial crime role.
• In-depth understanding of legal requirements for enhanced due diligence.

Responsibilities

• Manage daily operations of the High-Risk Assessment Unit.
• Undertake enhanced due diligence and risk assessments on clients.
• Provide guidance and support to Assistant Managers and Analysts.

Skills

Analytical Skills

Communication

Research Skills

Education

Relevant professional qualification (e.g., ICA, CAMS)

Job description

More than you expected

The UK member firms of Grant Thornton are part of a global network of independent audit, tax, and advisory firms, comprising over 76,000 professionals in more than 150 countries. We're a team of independent thinkers who prioritize quality, inclusion, and integrity. Globally, we bring diverse experiences to our clients, delivering a better, personalized, proactive, and agile service. That’s Grant Thornton.

Job Description:

Financial Crime Manager

NEW GROUND WON’T BREAK ITSELF.

Every day, our teams help businesses and communities do what is right and achieve their goals.

The Financial Crime team supports the firm in managing financial crime risk and compliance effectively. This is a senior position, reporting directly to the Senior Manager of the High-Risk Assessment Unit (HRAU). The team is headed by the MLRO. The role involves managing daily operations of the HRAU, working closely with senior team members and managing a team of Assistant Managers and Analysts.

You will ensure higher-risk clients undergo appropriate due diligence, scrutiny, and approval during onboarding and ongoing monitoring. You will also advise and engage with stakeholders across the firm, providing guidance and training on financial crime risks. Monitoring, reporting, and investigations are key responsibilities, with decisions made by you or presented to senior management. The role requires a proactive, self-motivated individual with strong analytical and communication skills, capable of building and maintaining relationships.

Flexible working arrangements, including reduced hours and job sharing, are supported to help balance work and personal life.

A look into the role

As a Manager in the High-Risk Assessment Unit within our Financial Crime Team, you will:

• Undertake enhanced due diligence and risk assessments on clients, third parties, and insolvency payments at onboarding, event-driven, and periodic reviews to manage exposure to financial crime risks, ensuring compliance with laws and alignment with clients’ and the firm’s risk appetite.
• Provide guidance and support to Assistant Managers, Executives, and Analysts, including approvals in line with the risk matrix, especially concerning PEP and high-risk relationships.
• Manage reporting on Internal SARs (Suspicious Activity Reports), ensuring proper escalation and reporting of financial crime suspicions to authorities.
• Ensure efficient operation of the High-Risk Assessment Unit, collaborating with the Client Due Diligence (CDD) team and reporting issues to the Senior Manager.
• Review and risk assess high-risk screening matches, documenting risks, assessments, recommendations, and mitigations for decision-makers and client engagement teams.
• Engage with client teams on complex high-risk clients to ensure thorough understanding of risks. Provide training to the team on financial crime topics to support their development.
• Create and maintain process documentation for the high-risk escalation process in collaboration with the Senior Manager.
• Lead projects to implement new processes and technologies to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of due diligence and risk assessment procedures.

Knowing you’re right for us

The minimum criteria for joining as a Financial Crime Manager, High-Risk Assessment Unit include:

• Experience working within a financial crime role.
• In-depth understanding of legal requirements and best practices around enhanced due diligence and complex risk assessments.
• Experience reviewing and approving high-risk clients.
• Strong research skills, including experience with open source and structured databases, ability to analyze complex information, identify key issues, and make informed decisions and recommendations.

Additional skills that are desirable but not mandatory include:

• Relevant professional qualification (e.g., ICA, CAMS).

• High accuracy and attention to detail.
• Ability to comply with legal, ethical, and regulatory requirements, maintaining credibility as a senior team member.
• Ability to engage, motivate, and build networks across stakeholder groups.
• Self-motivation and ability to manage multiple deadlines while providing high-quality service.

Knowing we’re right for you

At Grant Thornton, we celebrate diversity and foster an inclusive culture that values difference and respects colleagues. We support our people to perform at their best and realize their potential by allowing them to bring their whole selves to work and pursue passions both inside and outside of work.

Beyond the job

We believe life extends beyond work. We offer flexible working options to help balance professional and personal commitments. Your impact here can extend beyond your daily role, including opportunities for secondments, charity work, and supporting entrepreneurs in developing countries. Our values—purposefully driven, actively curious, and candid but kind—guide us in doing the right thing.

We seek individuals eager to contribute, innovate, and exceed expectations—people who want to do what’s right for the firm, clients, colleagues, and themselves. That’s how it should be.