KYC Team Lead: AML & Onboarding Excellence

PwC; Johannesburg; Hybrid; ZAR 700,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

PwC South Africa Technology & Innovation Centre (SATIC) in Johannesburg seeks an experienced KYC Team Lead to lead a team of AML and onboarding analysts, ensuring right-first-time delivery and strong governance. You will manage workload, oversee escalations, and drive continuous improvement in a fast-paced, regulated financial services environment.

The role requires 3–5 years of leadership experience, AML/financial crime exposure, and excellent stakeholder management.

Qualifications

• Relevant tertiary qualification in Law, Compliance, Risk or related field.
• AML or Financial Crime certifications (CAMS, ACAMS or ICA) advantageous.
• 3–5 years' experience leading teams within a delivery-driven environment.
• Experience within regulated financial services or professional services environments.
• Strong leadership, coaching and stakeholder management skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a team of KYC Analysts delivering AML and onboarding activities.
• Oversee workload allocation, prioritisation and SLA delivery.
• Monitor quality outcomes and drive right-first-time performance.
• Manage escalations, risks and stakeholder communications.
• Conduct coaching, performance discussions and team development activities.
• Analyse operational trends and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives.
• Support governance reporting and management information requirements.
• Assign AML requests to Analysts and manage daily workload distribution.
• Prioritise urgent and high-risk onboarding requests from stakeholders.
• Monitor analyst throughput and progress against assigned work.
• Ensure AML cases are picked up and progressed within agreed SLAs.
• Monitor quality review outcomes and team Right-First-Time metrics.
• Provide guidance and support to Analysts to address quality issues.
• Review recurring errors and implement corrective actions.
• Ensure quality feedback is actioned and documented appropriately.
• Act as the primary escalation point for AML delivery and quality issues.
• Manage and track escalations on central trackers.
• Liaise with the Belfast Client Onboarding team on priorities, risks and delivery issues.
• Prepare and lead daily team huddles for the SATIC team.
• Conduct 1-1 meetings in line with SATIC performance objectives and maintain appropriate records.
• Provide day-to-day coaching and on-the-job support to Analysts.
• Manage formal performance processes where required.
• Support Analyst development and progression through the Route to Competency (RTC).
• Perform trend analysis on quality, throughput and escalations.
• Document actions taken in response to stakeholder feedback.
• Support governance pack creation and attend governance meetings where required.
• Contribute to process improvements and operational maturity initiatives.
• Ensure AML cases are allocated and picked up within 24 hours of submission.
• Ensure analyst queries are responded to within 24 hours.
• Manage team delivery against daily and ongoing throughput targets.
• Own and drive team RFT quality outcomes in line with RTC thresholds.
• Ensure timely and accurate timesheet submission and chargeability review.

Job description

PwC South Africa Technology & Innovation Centre (SATIC) in Johannesburg seeks an experienced KYC Team Lead to lead a team of AML and onboarding analysts, ensuring right-first-time delivery and strong governance. You will manage workload, oversee escalations, and drive continuous improvement in a fast-paced, regulated financial services environment.

The role requires 3–5 years of leadership experience, AML/financial crime exposure, and excellent stakeholder management.