Senior AML Officer

Osborne Clarke; West of England; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Osborne Clarke is seeking an experienced Senior AML Officer for its Bristol-based New Business Intake function. The role is hybrid, with three days in the Bristol office, and focuses on technical AML expertise, mentoring junior staff and handling high‑risk, complex cases.

You will apply UK/Money Laundering Regulations and EU directives, manage CDD, PEPs and sanctions checks, and maintain strong stakeholder relationships across UK and international offices to support compliant client onboarding.

Qualifications

• UK Money Laundering Regulations and EU Directives knowledge and ability to apply them in a law firm setting.
• Experience with high-risk clients, sanctions screening and PEPs and escalating to senior stakeholders.
• Experience obtaining CDD information from clients and public sources.
• Excellent attention to detail and data integrity.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to exercise sound judgement and make timely decisions within policy.

Responsibilities

• Collect and review CDD evidence for new clients and matters.
• Prepare clear CDD reports and risk assessments and guide fee-earners on due diligence.
• Monitor ongoing CDD and periodic reviews for higher-risk clients.
• Undertake PEPs and sanctions checks using approved tools and public sources.
• Act as escalation point for AML Officers and mentor junior team members.
• Support Team Leads in managing AML workflow and prioritising high-risk matters.
• Develop internal client relationships across UK and international offices.
• Maintain awareness of AML and sanctions regulatory changes.

Skills

Attention to detail

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Interpersonal skills

Judgement and decision-making

Job description

Role profile

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Anti‑Money Laundering (AML) professional to join the New Business Intake (NBI) function. This is an excellent role for someone with existing experience in AML and Financial Crime who wants to operate as a senior practitioner - providing technical expertise, day‑to‑day support to junior team members and acting as a key escalation point on complex, higher‑risk matters - within a hugely supportive environment.

This is a permanent position, based out of our Bristol office on a hybrid working pattern with three days in the office.

The team

A positive and supportive team culture is a vital part of both the wider New Business Intake team and the firm as a whole. Working together is at the heart of everything we do. It enables us to deliver a professional, high standard of service to the business within a happy and enjoyable environment. We believe in nurturing each person's strengths, supporting them when they need it and encouraging them to progress through personal development and training. We are a progressive and ever‑adapting team where opinions are always valued and input is always welcome.

What you'll do

As a Senior AML Officer your main responsibilities will include:

• Collect and / or review CDD evidence required to meet the appropriate standards, in line with OC policy and procedures, for new clients and new matters for existing clients.
• Prepare clear, concise CDD Reports and risk assessments, documenting rationales and mitigating actions, and liaise with and provide guidance to fee‑earners where further or enhanced due diligence is required (including for higher‑risk clients, matters, jurisdictions or structures).
• Monitor the CDD evidence gathered and manage the ongoing monitoring required by OC policy, including periodic CDD Reviews and refreshes, in association with fee‑earners as appropriate and with a particular focus on higher‑risk clients.
• Undertake PEPs and sanctions checks using approved tools and public sources, interpret results and determine whether cases should be cleared, queried or escalated, including escalation to the AML Manager or MLRO as appropriate.
• Act as an initial escalation point for AML Officers and junior team members on day‑to‑day technical queries, providing day‑to‑day supervision, informal mentoring and technical guidance and reviewing work to help maintain quality and consistency.
• Support the AML Team Leads in managing workflow within the AML Team, including prioritising high‑risk, complex or time‑critical matters, helping to balance workloads and contributing to the maintenance of task logs and tracking mechanisms.
• Develop and maintain strong ‘internal client’ relationships with fee‑earners, partners and Business Services colleagues , across UK and international offices, to support efficient client and matter inception and effective AML compliance.
• Maintain good current awareness of AML and sanctions‑related regulatory changes and emerging risks and contribute to adapting procedures, guidance and best practice to ensure ongoing compliance and alignment with OC’s risk appetite.

Your skills

We are looking for someone who has proven AML experience. More specifically we need someone who:

• Is fully conversant with the requirements of the UK Money Laundering Regulations and the EU Directives on Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, with an understanding of sanctions legislation and its impact, and can apply these pragmatically in a law firm setting.
• Has good knowledge across a broad range of domestic and international legal entities, complex company and trust structures and beneficial ownership, and can identify potential red flags.
• Has prior exposure to high‑risk clients, sanctions screening and PEPs and can demonstrate having undertaken appropriate Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) and managed escalations to senior stakeholders.
• Has experience obtaining CDD information directly from clients and from a wide variety of public sources, including using AML / CDD and corporate information tools.
• Has excellent attention to detail and strong analytical and research skills, with a focus on data integrity and quality.
• Has strong interpersonal and customer service skills, able to interact with people at all levels and build trusted relationships with internal stakeholders.
• Has excellent communication skills, able to deliver clear, concise and actionable guidance on potentially complicated fact patterns and ownership structures to non‑technical audiences.
• Can exercise sound judgement and make timely, independent decisions within policy, and understands escalation thresholds.

Salary and benefits

• We offer competitive salaries and generousbenefits.
• We value the health and wellbeing of our people and our wide range of initiatives and benefits support this.

Our recruitment process

Please note that although we include closing dates for our roles as a guide, we review and progress applications on a rolling basis. At Osborne Clarke we do not make any recruitment decisions using automated decision-making.

We are committed to providing an environment where you can perform to the best of your abilities at every stage of your recruitment experience and beyond. If you require adjustments to be made during the application stage, interview process, or when working with us, please let us know in confidence.

About Us

Osborne Clarke is an international legal practice with over 330 Partners and more than 1,260 talented lawyers in 26 locations*. Our sector-based approach enables us to help our clients tackle the issues they are facing today, and prepare for the ones that they will face tomorrow. Advising them both comprehensively and commercially. We love working closely with our clients on new deals, products and solutions which will transform their businesses, markets and even sectors. And our unique approachable culture is not an added extra, it's fundamental to our success.

AtOsborne Clarkewe value difference and encourage applicants from all backgrounds. We want everyone to feel that OC is a place where you can be yourself and belong, and our range of interest groups and diversity networks - not to mention our great teams - are a part of making that a reality.

*Services in India are provided by a relationship firm