Sanctions & KYC Program Lead

Happen Bank; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) match

Parental leave

Flexible time off

Job summary

Happen Bank is seeking a Sanctions and KYC Manager to join our Financial Crimes Compliance team, owning escalated sanctions alert resolution, blocked property reporting, and KYC system improvements. You will make documented decisions within delegated authority and provide practical guidance to partners to strengthen controls.

Ideal candidates have 4+ years in financial crimes compliance with BSA/AML, OFAC, and KYC, including customer due diligence and enhanced due diligence.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of relevant financial crimes compliance experience with regulated financial institutions, including sanctions and preferably KYC
• Hands-on experience with customer identification, customer due diligence, enhanced due diligence, beneficial ownership, customer risk rating methodologies, and periodic reviews
• Experience investigating sanctions screening alerts, assessing ownership under OFAC’s 50 Percent Rule, evaluating payment activity, and preparing blocked property and rejected transaction reports
• Hands‑on experience using AI tools to improve efficiency and accelerate your work and improve output quality

Responsibilities

• Resolve escalated sanctions alerts and inquiries, including wire transactions and potential matches, documenting decisions within delegated authority and escalating matters that require additional approval
• Prepare accurate, timely blocked property and rejected transaction reports and support potential sanctions violation reviews and voluntary self-disclosures
• Translate regulatory and policy changes into clear procedures, training, and practical guidance that help business partners apply KYC and sanctions requirements consistently
• Maintain reliable dashboards, scorecards, and capacity models to track volumes, aging, quality, and emerging risks, and recommend actions to address gaps
• Partner with Quality Assurance, Compliance Testing, and business teams to identify control weaknesses, complete corrective actions, and provide documented evidence for audits and regulatory examinations
• Drive assigned screening and KYC system improvements with technology, data, and operations partners, including requirements, data validation, user acceptance testing, and implementation checks
• When required, support customer due diligence, enhanced due diligence, beneficial ownership, customer risk rating, and periodic review work, including quality review and escalated complex cases, ensuring timely and well-supported outcomes
• Improve team workflows through standardization, informal peer coaching, and appropriate use of approved AI tools, protecting sensitive information and validating outputs

Skills

BSA/AML

OFAC sanctions

KYC requirements

Analytical skills

Written communication

AI tools

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher

Tools

Bridger

Job description

Happen Bank is seeking a Sanctions and KYC Manager to join our Financial Crimes Compliance team, owning escalated sanctions alert resolution, blocked property reporting, and KYC system improvements. You will make documented decisions within delegated authority and provide practical guidance to partners to strengthen controls.

Ideal candidates have 4+ years in financial crimes compliance with BSA/AML, OFAC, and KYC, including customer due diligence and enhanced due diligence.