Sanctions Officer

Gunvor Group Ltd; Singapore; On-site; SGD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Gunvor Group is actively seeking a Sanctions Officer to provide senior sanctions legal and compliance coverage for GSPL across the Asia time zone, including Singapore vessel screening and KYC escalations. You will strengthen regional coverage as sanctions complexity grows toward 2027 and beyond.

The role involves advising traders and cross-functional teams, conducting risk assessments, and delivering practical sanctions guidance and training in a fast-paced trading environment.

Qualifications

• The candidate should have a law degree and ideally be qualified to practise in a relevant jurisdiction.
• Professional certification in sanctions, AML, export controls, compliance or audit is advantageous.
• Strong experience in sanctions law and compliance, preferably in commodities, energy, shipping, trading or financial services.
• Experience conducting risk assessments, audits, self-audits or control reviews.
• Experience advising commercial teams on transaction-level sanctions risks, KYC escalations and screening.

Responsibilities

• Conduct periodic sanctions risk assessments and team self-audits across Group operations with policy and process implementation.
• Serve as the primary sanctions focal point for GSPL during Singapore working hours.
• Own and perform global sanctions vessel screening during Singapore working hours with escalation and documentation.
• Manage GSPL KYC sanctions escalations, and counterparty sanctions due diligence queries.
• Advise Traders, M&A, Trade Finance and Business Development on sanctions analysis in the relevant time zone.
• Prepare and deliver sanctions compliance training for newly hired commercial staff.
• Draft internal communications on Asia sanctions developments in line with the global team.
• Monitor sanctions developments in Asia-Pacific and coordinate guidance with the Geneva team.
• Support implementation, testing and improvement of sanctions controls and audit remediation actions.
• Maintain records of advice, escalations, screening decisions and risk outcomes.

Skills

Sanctions knowledge

Risk assessment

Audits & testing

Training delivery

Legal analysis

Stakeholder management

Cross-border trading

Education

Law degree

Sanctions/AML certification

Job description

Job Title:

Sanctions Officer

Contract Type:

Permanent

Time Type:

Job Description:

Summary of Company

Gunvor Group is one of the world’s largest independent commodities trading houses by turnover, creating logistics solutions that safely and efficiently move physical energy from where it is sourced and stored to where it is demanded most. With strategic investments in industrial infrastructure—refineries, pipelines, storage, and terminals—Gunvor further generates sustainable value across the global supply chain for its customers. Gunvor, founded in 2000, generated US $135 billion in revenues on volumes of 240 million MT in 2021. The company remains on track to meet its goal of cutting Scope 1 and 2 emissions 40% by 2025.

Gunvor has more than 1,500 employees and it maintains offices in Singapore, Amsterdam, Beijing, Dubai, Geneva, Houston, London, Shanghai, and Tallinn with new offices planned in strategically relevant markets.

Overview of Role

Provide senior sanctions legal and compliance coverage for GSPL and the Asia time zone, including Singapore working-hours vessel screening, KYC sanctions escalations, transaction advice, sanctions risk assessments and sanctions team self-audits. The role strengthens regional coverage and prepares the Group for increased sanctions complexity from 2027, including US-China-Taiwan escalation scenarios, Chinese countersanctions and conflicting compliance obligations.

Main Responsibilities

• Conduct periodic sanctions risk assessments and sanctions team self-audits across Group business operations, including implementation of policies, systems and protocols, together with Internal Audit and Trade Compliance teams.
• Serve as the primary sanctions focal point for GSPL and provide practical legal / compliance advice during Singapore working hours.
• Own and perform global sanctions vessel screening during Singapore working hours, including escalation, documentation and quality control.
• Manage GSPL KYC sanctions escalations, outgoing KYC sanctions questionnaires and counterparty sanctions due diligence queries.
• Advise Traders, M&A, Trade Finance and Business Development teams, including tender review support and transaction-specific sanctions analysis in the relevant time zone.
• Prepare and deliver face-to-face sanctions compliance training for newly hired commercial team members, including traders, business developers and operators.
• Draft and coordinate internal communications on Asia sanctions packages, including China, Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Australia, developments, in alignment with the global sanctions team.
• Monitor and assess sanctions and countersanctions developments relevant to China, and Asia-Pacific trading activity, and coordinate internal guidance with the Geneva core sanctions team.
• Support implementation, testing and improvement of sanctions controls, protocols, training materials and audit remediation actions.
• Maintain clear records of advice, escalations, screening decisions and risk assessment outcomes in accordance with governance and audit expectations.
• Escalate complex or high-risk matters to the Geneva core sanctions team for review and quality control.
• Perform other ad-hoc duties assigned by manager

Profile

The individual should have the following experience:

• Law degree required or strongly preferred; qualification to practise law in a relevant jurisdiction would be advantageous.
• Professional certification in sanctions, AML, export controls, compliance or audit would be advantageous.
• Strong experience in sanctions law and compliance, preferably in commodities, energy, shipping, trading, financial services or another high-risk international sector.
• Experience conducting risk assessments, compliance testing, internal audits, self-audits or control reviews.
• Experience advising commercial teams on transaction-level sanctions risks, KYC escalations, vessel screening, tenders and cross-border trading issues.
• Experience working with Asian, Chinese, US and European sanctions or countersanctions issues is strongly preferred.
• Excellent knowledge of Chinese, US and European sanctions laws and regulations.
• Strong understanding of conflicting compliance obligations, countersanctions risk and escalation management.
• Good understanding of sanctions controls, screening logic, ownership / control analysis, due diligence and audit-ready documentation.
• Knowledge of Singapore legal and regulatory expectations relevant to sanctions and trade compliance would be advantageous.
• Strong legal analysis, risk assessment, self-audit and control-testing skills.
• Ability to draft practical guidance, training content, escalation notes and senior-management-ready summaries.
• Strong written and oral communication skills; able to deliver effective face-to-face training.
• Comfortable working with compliance systems, screening platforms, case-management workflows and audit documentation.
• Sound judgment, independence and ability to challenge constructively in complex and time-sensitive commercial situations.
• Strong prioritization and execution skills across advisory, operational screening and assurance workstreams.
• Collaborative style with Legal, Compliance, Trading, M&A, Trade Finance, Business Development, Internal Audit and Trade Compliance stakeholders.
• High attention to detail and strong ownership of controls, documentation, quality assurance and follow-through.

Our people make all the difference in our success.