Senior Audit Manager - Compliance and Financial Crime

Ethica Consulting; London; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Senior Manager for their Internal Audit Group. This role offers the opportunity to lead audit projects, deliver impactful insights, and work in a collaborative, data-driven environment. You will engage with global stakeholders and leverage your expertise in audit methodology and data analysis to enhance the organization's compliance and financial crime audit capabilities. Join a diverse team committed to integrity and excellence, and be part of a forward-thinking company that values your contributions and supports your professional growth.

Benefits

Competitive base salaries

Bonus incentives

Comprehensive medical, dental, vision insurance

Flexible working model

Generous paid parental leave

Free access to wellness centers

Career development opportunities

Qualifications

• 5+ years of audit experience, ideally in financial services or financial crime.
• Strong understanding of risks and controls with effective communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Own audit tasks across all stages of the audit lifecycle.
• Draft and communicate audit objectives and findings to management.

Skills

Audit Methodology

Data Analysis

Communication Skills

Project Management

Critical Thinking

Education

Relevant Professional Certification (e.g. CIA, CPA)

Bachelor's Degree in Finance or Related Field

Job description

You Lead the Way. We’ve Got Your Back.

With the right backing, people and businesses have the power to progress in incredible ways. When you join Team Amex, you become part of a global and diverse community of colleagues with an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities and each other. Here, you’ll learn and grow as we help you create a career journey that’s unique and meaningful to you with benefits, programs, and flexibility that support you personally and professionally.

At American Express, you’ll be recognized for your contributions, leadership, and impact—every colleague has the opportunity to share in the company’s success. Together, we’ll win as a team, striving to uphold our company values and powerful backing promise to provide the world’s best customer experience every day. And we’ll do it with the utmost integrity, and in an environment where everyone is seen, heard and feels like they belong.

Join Team Amex and let's lead the way together.

The Internal Audit Group (IAG):

IAG is a worldwide function with 300+ team members and offices across nine countries. Our assurance and risk professionals have diverse backgrounds including internal controls, consumer compliance, privacy, financial crimes compliance, technology, operational risk, financial accounting, data analytics, banking operations, fraud & investigations, among others. Most IAG team members hold at least one professional certification. Our audit teams align to key risk areas and business units to ensure IAG can provide comprehensive and risk-based audit coverage. In addition, IAG has a Professional Practices group responsible for managing audit operations, quality, and standards; regulatory relations; reporting; training and professional development; and key internal capabilities and technologies.

We seek data and technology literate risk & assurance professionals to deliver impactful audit conclusions and insight. American Express’ IAG has reinvented our audit process and is leading the financial services industry with our Audit NextGen, Data-Driven Continuous Auditing, and Auditor of the Future initiatives. Each uniquely support our Winning Aspiration to be a world class internal audit function that:

• Provides data-driven and technology-enabled assurance
• Delivers timely risk insights that are business-aware and forward-looking
• Supports our colleagues with experiences that prepare them to be enterprise leaders

IAG’s innovative Data-Driven Continuous Auditing approach has led to patent-pending technology assets over our uniquely developed audit methodology and technology enablers.

Collectively, IAG’s strategic initiatives, combined with our greatest asset – our people – enable IAG to utilize advanced data analysis capabilities, provide greater and continuous assurance, and help ensure quality products and services are provided to American Express customers. We are looking for those who share our mission and aspirations and are passionate about the use of data and technology in a collaborative, people-focused environment.

Where is this role located:

This Senior Manager role is within the IAG International Compliance & Financial Crime Audit Team. This role requires hybrid working with our office based in London. Organizationally, this role will report to the Team Leader (Director) of International Compliance & Financial Crime Audit based in London.

While the role is based in London, it will involve working with fellow IAG colleagues and client stakeholders located in countries globally and operating with a global lens as you support activities across the global, including US and Sydney.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own audit tasks across all stages of the audit lifecycle working on concurrent core and integrated audit projects across multiple business areas.
• Draft, review and communicate audit objectives, risks, and findings articulately and with impact to individuals at various levels of IAG and Business Management.
• Participate, execute, and review walkthroughs with relevant stakeholders to understand, credibly challenge, assess, and document relevant financial crime related processes, risks, and controls.
• Execute and review testing of process and control design and operating effectiveness across global, US, and international market audits, across first and second line of-defense business functions, with particular focus upon financial crime risk domains.
• Efficiently manage routine IAG-internal & client status meetings, audit requests, and other administrative tasks.
• Perform validations of internal audit issues and/or regulatory issues / concerns and assist in performing root cause analysis, etc.
• Assist in documenting risk-based evaluation of audit observations and findings, and validate corrective actions taken by management to appropriately and sustainably address findings / audit observations.
• Develop familiarity of compliance and financial crime risks within American Express, across all lines-of-business globally, and across both 1st and 2nd lines-of-defense functions.
• Maintain audit proficiency through ongoing professional development including data literacy skills.

Required Qualifications & Experience:

• 5+ years of relevant experience in audit (ideally within financial services and / or financial crime roles)
• Proficient understand and experience with Audit Methodology within internal / external audit, with demonstrated experience in the assessment of risks and controls.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills that delivery quality, actionable and beneficial feedback to management on potential control issues and solutions to close gaps.
• Effectively works independently, within a team and across teams in a fast-paced environment to drive business results, utilizing related project management skills, employing creative & critical thinking, objective/credible challenge, and the ability to work on competing priorities.
• Data-driven mindset and experience in the manipulation, assessment, interpretation, and presentation of data to support a conclusion;
• Demonstrated integrity, innovation, teamwork, and excellence;
• Business process experience in the financial services industry, including an understanding of related products, services, features, economics, best practices, and key regulations.

Preferred/desirable qualifications & experience:

• Solid understanding of existing and evolving U.S. and International Financial Crime and Compliance laws, regulations, and regulatory guidance.
• Attained or working towards a certification in Financial Crime and / or Compliance.
• Other relevant professional certifications (e.g. CIA, ACA, ACCA, CISA, CPA, CISM, CAP, other technology-focused certification)
• Big-4 and/or large financial institution experience

We back our colleagues and their loved ones with benefits and programs that support their holistic well-being. That means we prioritize their physical, financial, and mental health through each stage of life. Benefits include:

• Competitive base salaries
• Bonus incentives
• Support for financial-well-being and retirement
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits (depending on location)
• Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need
• Generous paid parental leave policies (depending on your location)
• Free access to global on-site wellness centers staffed with nurses and doctors (depending on location)
• Free and confidential counseling support through our Healthy Minds program
• Career development and training opportunities

Offer of employment with American Express is conditioned upon the successful completion of a background verification check, subject to applicable laws and regulations.