Sanctions Screening Lead - VP

MUFG Americas; Greater London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial group is seeking a Sanctions Screening Team Lead in Greater London. The role involves monitoring investigations, ensuring compliance with sanctions regulations, and leading a team in a fast-paced environment. Candidates should have a strong knowledge of EMEA sanctions and experience in risk management. This position offers an opportunity to have a significant impact on the firm’s operations, working collaboratively within a diverse team to enhance effectiveness and reduce risks.

Benefits

Investing in talent and technologies

Collaboration towards innovation

Qualifications

• Comprehensive understanding of EMEA sanctions regimes, including UK regulatory requirements.
• Proven experience in financial crime risk management.
• Ability to manage teams and improve processes.

Responsibilities

• Monitor and investigate customer activity for sanctions compliance.
• Oversee daily operations and training of outsourced teams.
• Ensure compliance with global sanctions regulations.

Skills

Strong knowledge of sanctions regulations

Ability to oversee investigations

Effective communication skills

Experience in risk management

Education

Degree in Finance, Law, or related field

Job description

Do you want your voice heard and your actions to count?

Discover your opportunity with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), one of the world’s leading financial groups. Across the globe, we’re 150,000 colleagues, striving to make a difference for every client, organization, and community we serve. We stand for our values, building long-term relationships, serving society, and fostering shared and sustainable growth for a better world.

With a vision to be the world’s most trusted financial group, it’s part of our culture to put people first, listen to new and diverse ideas and collaborate toward greater innovation, speed and agility. This means investing in talent, technologies, and tools that empower you to own your career.

Join MUFG, where being inspired is expected and making a meaningful impact is rewarded.

OVERVIEW OF THE DEPARTMENT/SECTION

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG) is one of the world’s leading financial groups. Headquartered in Tokyo and with over 360 years of history, MUFG has a global network with around 3,000 offices in more than 50 markets. The Group has over 180,000 employees, and offers services including commercial banking, trust banking, securities, credit cards, consumer finance, asset management, and leasing.

MUFG aims to be the world’s most trusted financial group through close collaboration among its operating companies, and to respond to all of the financial needs of its clients, serving society, and fostering shared and sustainable growth for a better world.

MUFG’s shares trade on the Tokyo, Nagoya, and New York stock exchanges.

Please visit our website for more information - mufgemea.com.

The Financial Crimes Office for EMEA (FCOE) in London is part of the Global Financial Crimes Division (GFCD) headquartered in New York. FCOE works to ensure the organisation conducts its business in such a way that we protect our reputation, our business, and our clients within the regulatory and legal framework. It is responsible for the establishment and maintenance of effective systems and controls to protect clients’ assets and to mitigate the risk that MUFG might be used to further financial crime.

The Regional EMEA Sanctions Team is structured across three core pillars: (i) EMEA Sanctions Investigations, (ii) EMEA Sanctions Advisory, and (iii) EMEA Sanctions Programs. This role sits within the EMEA Sanctions Investigations pillar. The Sanctions investigation pillar is responsible for both a) Trade Finance Investigations and b) overseeing the sanctions screening and investigations processes which are operated by established teams. This role is responsible for the sanctions screening and investigations process the majority of which is outsourced. The role holder is responsible for overseeing the processes and providing subject matter expertise to ensure ongoing compliance with applicable regulatory requirements, internal policies, and the firm’s risk appetite.

Key responsibilities include monitoring and investigating customer activity and transactions to identify potential exposure to sanctioned parties, as well as overseeing Level 1 and Level 2 Sanctions Alert Review activities performed by outsourced operations teams. The role is accountable for ensuring effective risk management, appropriate decision‑making, and the overall effectiveness of sanctions screening and alert review processes. This includes day‑to‑day process oversight, governance and issue management, training and oversight of review teams, and the development, maintenance, and enhancement of sanctions alert review procedures and documentation. The role requires strong working knowledge of Japanese, U.S., and EMEA sanctions regimes, including UK regulatory requirements.

NUMBER OF DIRECT REPORTS

0 direct reports, overseeing processes operation regionally and by an outsourced team of 40+

MAIN PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

This role supports the execution of MUFG Bank’s financial crime risk appetite, policies, and regulatory obligations by overseeing sanctions screening and investigation activities across transactions and customers for EMEA. Operating within the EMEA Sanctions Investigations Team, the role holder is responsible for working with the outsourced screening and investigations teams to ensure ODC Teams identify, assess, and manage potential sanctions exposure arising from the sanction’s transaction filtering and name screening alert review processes.

The role provides hands‑on subject matter expertise through their oversight of the Level 1 and Level 2 Sanctions Alert Review Teams, ensuring alerts generated by sanctions screening systems are reviewed accurately, consistently, and in line with applicable sanctions regulations.

The role plays a key part in managing operational effectiveness, including operational and workflow oversight, KPI and KRI adherence, volume and SLA management, staff supervision, training, and the maintenance of robust alert review documentation. The role also contributes to system data integrity, watchlist and customer data updates, and the ongoing optimisation of sanctions screening and investigation processes, with a focus on reducing false positives and enhancing control effectiveness.

Through close collaboration with global and regional sanctions colleagues, relevant business lines and compliance stakeholders, the role ensures consistent application of sanctions requirements on behalf of the region and supports informed decision‑making on‑risk transactions and customer relationships. The role balances technical sanctions expertise with strong leadership and operational judgement, enabling effective risk management within a complex and evolving regulatory environment.

The role requires a high degree of autonomy and a strong understanding of sanctions regulations and associated risks. It also demands solid knowledge of sanctions, transactions, payments, and the broader banking and regulatory environment, including staying informed on developments and their potential impact on MUFG.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

In addition to the duties described above, you will contribute to the work of the GFCD department in any other ways reasonably expected, including participation in projects and working groups and assisting with other priorities in the department or group as a whole.

Sanctions Screening Team Lead: Key Responsibilities

• Ensure end‑to‑end monitoring and the effective investigation of customer activity and transactions to identify, assess, and manage potential exposure to sanctioned parties in line with applicable sanctions regulations. (e.g. Japan, US, EU and UK)
• Oversee the Sanctions Alert Review operations and processes, including day‑to‑day management, training, and supervision of screening staff, and the development and maintenance of sanctions alert review procedures and documentation.
• Oversee sanctions risk assessments on proposed transactions, payments, and customer relationships, ensuring appropriate escalation, documentation, and resolution.
• Collaborate closely with global and regional sanctions colleagues to review higher‑risk or complex transactions and ensure consistent application of sanctions standards across jurisdictions.
• Co-ordinate with the alert adjudication team leads to ensure process perfection, management of; workflows, alert volumes, and resource capacity to ensure all service level agreements are met while maintaining appropriate quality, consistency, and risk controls.
• Ensure sanctions screening systems and processes operate as intended and escalate any concerns to TEC teams for immediate resolution.
• Ensure compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act, JMOF, OFAC, EU, UK and EMEA local sanctions, Anti‑Boycott requirements, and other applicable global sanctions regulations, policies, and supervisory expectations.
• Resolve alerts and cases, coordinating with other departments and control functions as required, and ensuring appropriate escalation and communication of material sanctions risks.
• Identify and drive process improvement initiatives across investigations, decisioning, list management, and screening typologies to reduce false positives, address emerging risk patterns, and enhance operational effectiveness.
• Provide accurate management information and reporting on sanctions alert volumes, investigation outcomes, key risk