Senior Client Lifecycle Specialist– AML/KYC

Rory Mackie & Associates; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,100,000; Full time

Job summary

Rory Mackie & Associates is seeking a seasoned CLM KYC/AML professional to lead onboarding and due diligence for both individuals and institutions in a centralised CLM team. You will engage with clients to understand structures, perform initial KYC, and coordinate with internal stakeholders to ensure regulatory compliance.

With 5–8 years of KYC/AML experience, you will handle ongoing due diligence, PEP approvals, and KYC refreshes while supporting audit readiness and regulatory reporting.

Qualifications

• An undergraduate degree in law, commerce, or a related field.
• 5-8 years relevant KYC/AML work experience at an asset manager or financial institution.
• Experience in client-facing roles with professional handling of sensitive conversations.
• Familiarity with CLM platforms and AI tools or low-code/no-code automation tools.
• Experience reviewing clients in FATF high-risk jurisdictions.
• Familiarity with FATCA/CRS classification and reporting requirements.

Responsibilities

• Ensure clients are onboarded by completing initial KYC due diligence on individual and institutional clients, supporting escalations and engaging with clients to understand corporate structures.
• Conduct KYC refreshes, ongoing due diligence (ODD) and politically exposed person (PEP) approval processes.
• Monitor and coordinate onboarding and due diligence processes involving third parties and internal stakeholders.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for complex KYC-related queries and communication.
• Manage query resolution from clients, third parties and internal teams like Client Group and Client Operations.
• Collaborate with Legal, Compliance, Onboarding, Fund Operations and transfer agents to ensure timely completion of KYC requirements.
• Monitor risks, trends and issues to ensure controls, escalating high-risk cases or anomalies and improving processes.
• Maintain accurate records to support audit and reporting requirements.
• Source, aggregate and present reportable information for fund committees, boards, investors and management.
• Stay informed on evolving KYC, AML and regulatory requirements and embed updated standards.
• Operate effectively within CLM platforms and coordinate with technology teams to streamline workflows and enhance automation and regulatory readiness.
• Develop and maintain strong working relationships across internal functions and external service providers.
• Share insights with less experienced team members to build capability and consistency.

Education

Undergraduate degree in law/commerce/related field

Job description

About the team:

The Client Lifecycle Management (CLM) Team is a newly formed, centralised function designed to support the investment activity of both individual and institutional clients across our clients

global fund ranges. The team plays a pivotal role in facilitating fund investment inflows and outflows

by managing key client lifecycle events, with a primary focus on executing Anti-Money Laundering

(AML) and Know Your Client (KYC) due diligence throughout the full client relationship. As a

dedicated centre of expertise, the CLM team ensures AML servicing is delivered with consistency,

efficiency and rigour. Acting as a professional interface with clients, the team is responsible for

requesting, collecting and sensibly assessing AML/KYC information to ensure full regulatory

compliance.

Operating in close partnership with Compliance, Legal, Fund Operations, Client Operations and

Onboarding, the CLM Team helps to ensure clients are appropriately managed and monitored

across all lifecycle stages. A critical enabler of the team’s effectiveness is a specialised client

lifecycle management system, which supports automation, reduces delays and strengthens

oversight. This technology allows the team to deliver a seamless, professional and compliant

experience for clients while ensuring regulatory compliance.

In this role you will:

• Ensure clients are appropriately onboarded by completing initial KYC due diligence on individual and institutional clients, supporting less experienced team members on escalations and engaging with clients to understand corporate structures and obtain required documentation
• Conduct KYC refreshes, ongoing due diligence (ODD) and politically exposed person (PEP) approval processes
• Monitor and coordinate progress of onboarding and due diligence processes involving third parties and internal stakeholders
• Serve as a primary point of contact for complex KYC-related queries and communication
• Manage query resolution from clients, third parties and internal teams like Client Group and Client Operations
• Collaborate with key internal and external stakeholders, including Legal, Compliance, Onboarding, Fund Operations and transfer agents, to ensure timely, policy compliant completion of KYC requirements
• Monitor risks, trends and issues to ensure effective controls are in place, proactively escalating high-risk cases or anomalies and adapting processes to support continuous improvement
• Maintain accurate records to support audit and reporting requirements
• Source, aggregate and present reportable information in formats required by fund committees, boards, investors and management
• Stay informed on evolving KYC, AML and regulatory requirements and assist the team in embedding updated standards and practices
• Operate effectively within specialised CLM platforms and work with technology teams to streamline workflows, reduce manual interventions and enhance automation, monitoring and regulatory readiness
• Develop and maintain strong working relationships across all relevant internal functions and external service providers
• Share insights and experience with less experienced team members to help build capability, consistency and sound judgement across the team

You should consider applying if you have:

• An undergraduate degree in law, commerce, or a related field
• 5-8 years relevant KYC/AML work experience at an asset manager (preferred), financial institution, bank or development finance institution
• Experience in client-facing roles, with the ability to manage challenging or sensitive conversations professionally
• Familiarity with client lifecycle management (CLM) platforms, as well as AI tools or low-code/no-code automation tools
• Experience in conducting reviews on clients in FATF high risk jurisdictions.
• Familiarity with the application of FATCA/CRS classification and reporting requirements

Some of the attributes we look for in a person are:

• A client focused and collaborative mindset
• Intellectual curiosity and a willingness to ask thoughtful questions
• The ability to ‘approach and own’ and continuously identifies opportunities to develop processes and controls
• Results-oriented and motivated by achieving meaningful outcomes
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Detail orientated, well organised and comfortable working in a challenging, dynamic environment