Senior Financial Crime Specialist

Bidvest Bank; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

Bidvest Bank Limited is seeking an experienced Fraud Risk Investigator to conduct incident management, investigations, and intelligence-driven operations to prevent and mitigate financial crime.

You will assess fraud patterns, prepare technical reports, testify in proceedings when required, and work with fraud ops, IT, compliance, and product teams to strengthen controls.

A Diploma or equivalent and a CFE are required, with 3-5 years in fraud. This role demands confidentiality and timely delivery.

Qualifications

• Experience in fraud investigations and financial crime.
• Knowledge of regulatory obligations and frameworks.
• Ability to translate technical findings into business insights.
• Proactive in identifying fraud trends and mitigation.
• Strong confidentiality and data protection practices.

Responsibilities

• Conduct incident management and investigations into financial crimes.
• Analyse fraud cases and identify gaps in controls.
• Prepare reports, affidavits, and testify when required.
• Collaborate with fraud ops, IT, compliance, and product teams.
• Liaise with law enforcement and national authorities.
• Support with FCU queries and risk assessments.
• Develop heatmaps and databases for prevention.

Skills

Fraud types knowledge

Fraud prevention frameworks

Translate findings to businessInsights

Trend anticipation and mitigation

Cross-department collaboration

Confidentiality and compliance

Deadline-driven delivery

Education

Diploma or equivalent (Forensic Investigation, Law, Crime Analysis, Criminology)

Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)

Tools

FCU platform

SABRIC reporting

Job description

PRIMARY PURPOSE

Conduct incident management, incident analysis, gap identification, enhance information to support investigations, Fraud Risk assessments, prosecutions and intelligence driven operations that will assist clients and stakeholder to prevent, detect crime and mitigate business risk.

TECHNICAL COMPETENCY REQUIREMENT

• Strong understanding of fraud types (payment fraud, identity theft, account takeover, etc.) and industry-specific risks.
• Knowledge of fraud prevention frameworks, tools, and regulatory obligations.
• Ability to translate technical findings into clear business insights
• Ability to anticipate fraud trends and proactively develop mitigation strategies.
• Ability to works effectively across departments (fraud ops, IT, compliance, product, etc.)
• Maintains high standards of confidentiality, data privacy, and compliance
• Delivers results within deadlines while maintaining quality

REQUIRED MINIMUM EDUCATION AND TRAINING

• Diploma or equivalent (Forensic Investigation, Law, Crime Analysis, Criminology)
• Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)

REQUIRED MINIMUM WORK EXPERIENCE

• 3-5 years' experience within Fraud Department handling different aspects of fraud and investigations

KEY PERFORMANCE AREA (KPA)

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

• Prevent and reduce financial losses by ensuring optimal adherence to processes and procedures.

CUSTOMER CENTRICITY

• Communicate investigation outcomes and emerging risks to management and relevant recipients as appropriate.
• Liaise with customers regarding financial crime-related concerns, inquiries, or investigations, ensuring professionalism and confidentiality.
• Partner with technology, risk, and operations teams to lead or contribute to financial crime prevention initiatives and system enhancements
• Maintain and enhance working relationships with clients (commercial and physical security), law enforcement agencies, national prosecuting authorities and other organisations who have a vested interest in addressing crimes of mutual interest
• Advise frontline teams, compliance, AML, legal, and operational stakeholders on financial crime matters.
• Assisting with FCU queries
• Provide and track recommendations for actions to reduce the client risks identified during the review
• Review, evaluate and provide recommendation of customer escalation
• Collaborate with business to define data required to address gaps identified to mitigate against financial crime risk

OPERTIONAL EXCELLENCE

• Conduct and oversee in-depth investigations into suspected money laundering, fraud, terrorist financing, sanctions breaches, and other financial crimes.
• Ensure timely escalation and documentation in line with regulatory requirements.
• Identify weaknesses in financial crime controls and propose improvements to policies, procedures, and monitoring systems to enhance risk mitigation.
• Evaluate complex customer profiles, transactional behaviors, and adverse media to assess risk levels and recommend appropriate remediation or exit strategies
• Utilize analytical tools and data sources to detect unusual patterns, support investigations, and generate actionable intelligence.
• Compile reports, affidavits and testify in court for bail opposition and aggravation
• Mitigate risk by generating pro-active information sourced via incident analysis and management
• Data base testing, data mining and interpretation data sets in the form of a report
• Deal with operational information and investigative analysis to support investigations and prosecutions
• Responding to summons, subpoenas and legal proceedings - this includes to testifying to findings in internal disciplinary hearings and properly constituted tribunals
• Conducting substantial research and guidelines on latest fraud syndicates affecting the strategic and operational functions of the Bank and its subsidiaries
• Develop a database detailing fraud syndicate and heatmaps for preventative measures to be put in place
• Investigate and register cases in terms of Section 34(1) of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act
• Ensure all matters are recorded on the FCU platform / system
• Adopt Fraud Risk Assessments
• Submit and or make contribution to reports required by management and court
• Reporting of fraud trends to SABRIC
• Draft for review and present Executive Summary and Factual Finding on systems and report feedback to management
• Deal with ad-hoc assignments
• Ensure all SLA's are adhered to
• Information collection and profiling of subjects to support AML initiatives
• Manage workgroups, projects, major investigation and conduct presentations

LEARNING AND GROWTH

• Support the development of junior team members by providing training, guidance, and quality assurance on investigations and decision-making
• Take ownership for driving own career development, as well as that of junior staff.
• Achievement of objectives/milestones set out in the development plan.
• Broaden skills to ensure greater marketability and value within the bank

This position is advertised in line with our commitment to Employment Equity.