Economic Crime Model Validation & Assurance

BARCLAYS; Knutsford; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Barclays in the United Kingdom seeks an Economic Crime Tool & Model Validation Manager to provide independent oversight across Financial Crime tooling and models. You will lead assurance, governance records, and validation across a portfolio of tools, working with Risk, Compliance, Technology, and Operations.

You will assess control effectiveness, investigate issues, perform root cause analysis, and communicate findings to stakeholders, driving improvement across regulated environments.

Qualifications

• Deep Financial Crime knowledge and regulatory expectations in Financial Services.
• Experience with model governance frameworks, oversight, lifecycle management.
• Ability to independently assess control effectiveness and identify risks.
• Experience supporting testing/validation of Financial Crime tools and models.
• Ability to perform root cause analysis and recommend improvements.
• Excellent analytical and communication skills for complex information.
• Experience working in regulated environments with policies and governance.

Responsibilities

• Develop strategic direction for risk with up-to-date methodologies.
• Oversee risk department, governance, and performance objectives.
• Manage stakeholder relationships and third-party services quality.
• Ensure adherence to Risk policy and a robust control environment.
• Advise leadership, collaborate with other functions, and drive policy development.
• Lead complex tasks, set objectives, coach staff, and assess performance.
• Mitigate risk and develop new governance policies and procedures.
• Collaborate across business areas to align with strategy.
• Analyze data from multiple sources to solve problems creatively.
• Communicate complex information clearly to stakeholders and influence outcomes.

Skills

Financial Crime knowledge

Model governance

Assurance experience

Testing & validation

Root cause analysis

Analytical skills

Regulated environments

Job description

Join us as an Economic Crime Tool & Model Validation Manager, where you will play a critical role in providing independent oversight, assurance, and governance across the Financial Crime tool and model landscape. In this role you will be responsible for ensuring that tools and models operate effectively, are appropriately governed, and continue to meet business, regulatory, and risk management requirements.

You will lead assurance and validation activities, maintaining comprehensive inventories, documentation, and governance records across a portfolio of Financial Crime tools and models. Working closely with stakeholders across Risk, Compliance, Technology, and Operations, you will assess the effectiveness of controls, identify and investigate issues, and perform root cause analysis to understand underlying drivers of model or tool performance concerns.

To be successful as an Economic Crime Tool & Model Validation Manager, you must have the following essential skills:

• Deep Financial Crime knowledge, with an understanding of financial crime risks, controls, and regulatory expectations within the Financial Services sector.
• Proven experience operating within model governance frameworks, including model oversight, validation, lifecycle management, and governance activities.
• Demonstrable assurance experience, with the ability to independently assess control effectiveness, identify risks and provide constructive challenge.
• Experience supporting or conducting testing and validation activities to assess the effectiveness and performance of Financial Crime tools and models.
• Proven ability to identify issues, assess materiality, perform root cause analysis, and develop recommendations to enhance controls and mitigate risk.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to interpret complex information and communicate findings clearly to stakeholders.
• Experience operating within regulated environments, ensuring adherence to internal policies, governance standards, and regulatory requirements.

Some other highly valued skills may include:

• Experience challenging stakeholders with integrity, whilst maintaining positive and effective working relationships
• Knowledge of Transaction Monitoring, Screening, or Financial Crime Risk Assessment frameworks.
• Experience supporting regulatory reviews, internal audits, or remediation programmes.

You may be assessed on the key critical skills relevant for success in role, such as risk and controls, change and transformation, business acumen, strategic thinking and digital and technology, as well as job-specific technical skills.

This role will be based in our London, Knutsford or Northampton office.

Purpose of the role

To support the Risk Function in delivering it’s objective of safeguarding the bank's financial and operational stability by proactively identifying, assessing, mitigating, and monitoring risks across various business units and activities.

Accountabilities

• Development of strategic direction for risk, including the implementation of up-to-date methodologies and processes.
• Management of the risk department, including oversight of risk colleagues and their performance, implementation of risk priorities and objectives, oversight of department efficiency and effectiveness.
• Relationship management of risk stakeholders, including identifying relevant stakeholders, and maintenance of the quality of external third-party services.
• Adherence to the Risk policy, standards and frameworks, and maintaining a robust control environment.

Assistant Vice President Expectations

• To advise and influence decision making, contribute to policy development and take responsibility for operational effectiveness. Collaborate closely with other functions/ business divisions.
• Lead a team performing complex tasks, using well developed professional knowledge and skills to deliver on work that impacts the whole business function. Set objectives and coach employees in pursuit of those objectives, appraisal of performance relative to objectives and determination of reward outcomes
• If the position has leadership responsibilities, People Leaders are expected to demonstrate a clear set of leadership behaviours to create an environment for colleagues to thrive and deliver to a consistently excellent standard. The four LEAD behaviours are: L – Listen and be authentic, E – Energise and inspire, A – Align across the enterprise, D – Develop others.
• OR for an individual contributor, they will lead collaborative assignments and guide team members through structured assignments, identify the need for the inclusion of other areas of specialisation to complete assignments. They will identify new directions for assignments and/ or projects, identifying a combination of cross functional methodologies or practices to meet required outcomes.
• Consult on complex issues; providing advice to People Leaders to support the resolution of escalated issues.
• Identify ways to mitigate risk and developing new policies/procedures in support of the control and governance agenda.
• Take ownership for managing risk and strengthening controls in relation to the work done.
• Perform work that is closely related to that of other areas, which requires understanding of how areas coordinate and contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the organisation sub-function.
• Collaborate with other areas of work, for business aligned support areas to keep up to speed with business activity and the business strategy.
• Engage in complex analysis of data from multiple sources of information, internal and external sources such as procedures and practises (in other areas, teams, companies, etc).to solve problems creatively and effectively.
• Communicate complex information. 'Complex' information could include sensitive information or information that is difficult to communicate because of its content or its audience.
• Influence or convince stakeholders to achieve outcomes.

All colleagues will be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship – our moral compass, helping us do what we believe is right. They will also be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Mindset – to Empower, Challenge and Drive – the operating manual for how we behave.