Senior Financial Crime Operations Manager

Payments Recruitment Limited; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Our client, a global fintech specialist in payments, issues and processing, seeks a Senior Financial Crime Operations Manager in London. You will run day-to-day leadership of core FC controls, including Transaction Monitoring and Sanctions Screening, across global markets.

This hands-on, senior role focuses on AML/CTF effectiveness, scalable processes, and collaboration with Compliance, Technology, and Product.

Qualifications

• Experience leading transaction monitoring in financial services or payments.
• 1LOD experience managing transaction monitoring programmes.
• Experience with high-volume alert environments and complex investigations.
• Working knowledge of KYB/KYC onboarding and sanctions regulations in operations.
• Certifications such as CAMS or ICA are desirable.

Responsibilities

• Deputise to Head of FC Operations and provide leadership cover.
• Own global transaction monitoring effectiveness and quality.
• Ensure alerts are processed accurately within SLAs with QA.
• Lead root-cause analysis and remediation of issues.
• Support regulatory reviews, sponsor bank assessments, and audits.
• Drive continuous improvement across controls and processes.
• Collaborate with Product and Technology to enhance tooling incl. automation/analytics.
• Oversee handoffs with the Fraud function.
• Act as escalation point for complex cases and high-risk investigations.
• Develop KRIs, MI dashboards and board reporting.
• Lead and develop high-performing teams.

Skills

Transaction monitoring

1LOD experience

Stakeholder management

Regulatory knowledge

Analytical skills

Tools

AML platforms

Job description

• Location: London / Hybrid / minimum 2 days in office - City
• Job Type: Permanent

Our client is a global fintech operating within payments, issuing, and processing. We enable businesses to deliver secure, seamless and scalable payment experiences across multiple markets and channels.

Our Financial Crime Operations function sits at the core of our first line of defence.

The team is responsible for identifying, investigating and mitigating financial crime risks including money laundering, terrorist financing, fraud, and sanctions breaches across a global payments portfolio. Working at scale and speed, we monitor transactions, investigate complex behavioural patterns, and protect both our customers and the wider financial ecosystem.

The function brings together specialists across transaction monitoring, fraud, AML investigations, data analytics, and operations, working closely with Compliance, Technology, Product, and Commercial teams, as well as external stakeholders including regulators, sponsor banks, and vendors.

The Role:

The Senior Financial Crime Operations Manager will act as the right hand to the Head of FC Operations, taking ownership of the day-to-day leadership and performance of core financial crime controls globally. This includes primary responsibility for Transaction Monitoring, Sanctions Screening (payments and cardholders), and associated financial crime operational controls.

This is a highly operational leadership role with a strong focus on AML/CTF transaction monitoring effectiveness, control optimisation, and scalable process delivery. You will also support wider financial crime activities including KYB/KYC onboarding and screening processes where required.

Key Responsibilities:

• Act as deputy to the Head of Financial Crime Operations, providing leadership cover, escalation support, and decision-making authority
• Own the effectiveness, quality, and consistency of global transaction monitoring operations
• Ensure alerts are processed accurately, consistently, and within agreed SLAs, supported by strong QA frameworks
• Lead root cause analysis and remediation of control issues, missed alerts, and operational incidents
• Support regulatory reviews, audits, sponsor bank assessments, and assurance activities
• Drive continuous improvement across financial crime controls, processes, and operational frameworks
• Collaborate with Product and Technology teams to enhance financial crime tooling, including automation, AI, and analytics capabilities
• Oversee effective handoffs and escalation pathways with the Fraud function
• Act as escalation point for complex cases and high-risk investigations
• Develop and maintain key risk indicators (KRIs), MI dashboards, and board-level reporting
• Lead and develop high-performing teams, fostering a culture of accountability, curiosity, and operational excellence

What You’ll Bring:

• Proven experience leading transaction monitoring operations within financial services or payments
• Hands on experience in a 1LOD role, with a background in managing transaction monitoring programmes.
• Strong background managing high-volume alert environments and complex financial crime investigations
• Experience with financial crime tools and platforms, including tuning, optimisation, and performance oversight
• Working knowledge of KYB/KYC and customer onboarding processes
• Strong understanding of global AML, CTF, and sanctions regulations, applied in an operational context
• Experience driving control improvement, remediation, and operational transformation within a first-line environment
• Strong stakeholder management skills across Compliance, Technology, Product, and external partners (including sponsor banks and regulators)
• Commercial awareness of how financial crime controls impact customer experience, scalability, and operational efficiency
• Excellent analytical and written communication skills, with the ability to produce regulator-ready outputs
• Professional certifications such as CAMS, ICA or equivalent are highly desirable
• Confident delivery within a fast paced company, able to react to change positively and maintain standards in sometimes ambiguous environments.