Financial Crime and Compliance Analyst

Financial Services | Regulatory Compliance | Risk Management

Location: South Africa, Fully Remote
Working Hours: United Kingdom Business Hours
Department: Compliance and Operations
Salary: R28 000 per month

About the Opportunity

We are seeking an experienced and detail oriented Financial Crime and Compliance Analyst to join a growing financial services business operating within a highly regulated environment.

This fully remote opportunity is available to candidates based in South Africa who are comfortable working United Kingdom business hours.

The successful candidate will play an important role in supporting the organisation's regulatory compliance obligations and maintaining effective financial crime prevention controls.

Working within the 1st Line of Defence, you will form part of the Compliance Department and collaborate closely with the wider Operations Team.

A key responsibility will be supporting the Money Laundering Reporting Officer in maintaining and continuously improving the company's compliance framework.

The position involves a broad range of financial crime prevention activities including Customer Due Diligence, Know Your Customer verification, Enhanced Due Diligence, Source of Funds and Source of Wealth reviews, sanctions screening, Politically Exposed Person screening, adverse media checks and transaction monitoring.

You will also work with clients, internal stakeholders, affiliates, referring partners and banking partners to ensure compliance processes are completed accurately while maintaining excellent customer service standards.

This position requires a proactive professional who can apply sound risk based judgement, manage competing priorities and maintain a high level of accuracy.

Key Responsibilities

Financial Crime Prevention and Regulatory Compliance

• Support the Money Laundering Reporting Officer in ensuring the business meets its legal and regulatory obligations.

• Assist with the daily operation and ongoing improvement of compliance procedures and financial crime prevention controls.

• Conduct Customer Due Diligence and Enhanced Due Diligence reviews for new and existing clients.

• Verify and assess Source of Funds and Source of Wealth documentation in accordance with regulatory requirements.

• Perform live and retrospective transaction monitoring to identify unusual or potentially suspicious financial activity.

• Investigate transaction monitoring alerts and escalate concerns through the appropriate internal channels.

• Conduct Politically Exposed Person, sanctions and adverse media screening.

• Investigate potential screening matches and determine appropriate escalation requirements.

• Apply risk based judgement when reviewing compliance matters and identifying potential financial crime risks.

Client Verification and Ongoing Monitoring

• Manage compliance requirements throughout the client onboarding process.

• Communicate directly with prospective and existing clients to obtain and verify required Know Your Customer documentation.

• Ensure all client onboarding checks and supporting documentation are completed accurately and efficiently.

• Conduct periodic client reviews to ensure information remains accurate, complete and current.

• Support the onboarding of affiliates and referring partners by completing the necessary compliance checks.

• Process updates to existing client records and ensure information is correctly maintained across internal systems.

• Provide guidance to internal teams regarding client onboarding requirements and ongoing compliance monitoring.

Operations and Stakeholder Engagement

• Work closely with the Operations Team to support efficient processes and maintain high customer service standards.

• Liaise with external counterparties and banking partners regarding compliance matters.

• Coordinate and respond to Requests for Information received from banking partners as part of their monitoring procedures.

• Provide timely and practical compliance guidance to internal stakeholders.

• Manage competing priorities and operational deadlines while maintaining regulatory standards.

• Maintain accurate records of compliance activities, investigations and supporting documentation.

Reporting and Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to strengthen compliance controls and improve operational efficiency.

• Recommend improvements to existing procedures and financial crime prevention processes.

• Prepare compliance reports and management information for senior leadership when required.

• Support and lead compliance related projects across the organisation.

• Provide operational and compliance assistance during periods of team leave.

• Undertake additional responsibilities of a similar nature as the business continues to develop.

Essential Skills and Experience

• Previous experience in financial services operations, compliance, financial crime prevention or client onboarding.

• Practical experience conducting Customer Due Diligence, Know Your Customer and Enhanced Due Diligence checks.

• Experience reviewing and verifying Source of Funds and Source of Wealth documentation.

• Strong understanding of sanctions screening, Politically Exposed Person screening and adverse media investigations.

• Experience conducting transaction monitoring and escalating suspicious or unusual activity.

• Knowledge of anti money laundering requirements and regulatory compliance procedures.

• Excellent attention to detail and the ability to maintain accurate compliance records.

• Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple responsibilities and deadlines.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Confidence communicating with clients, internal stakeholders and banking partners.

• Ability to make informed risk based decisions and escalate concerns appropriately.

• Ability to work independently in a fully remote environment while collaborating effectively with colleagues.

Advantageous Experience

• Previous experience within a United Kingdom regulated financial services business.

• Familiarity with United Kingdom anti money laundering legislation and financial crime regulatory requirements.

• Experience working with banks, payment providers, foreign exchange businesses or other regulated financial institutions.

• Previous experience managing banking partner compliance requests and Requests for Information.

• Experience identifying and implementing improvements to compliance procedures and internal controls.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is an organised, analytical and detail focused compliance professional who understands the importance of protecting a financial services business from regulatory and financial crime risks.

You will be comfortable managing compliance reviews, investigating potential concerns and maintaining accurate documentation.

Strong communication skills, sound judgement and a proactive approach to problem solving will be essential.

We are looking for someone who takes ownership of their responsibilities, works effectively across teams and can balance regulatory requirements with excellent customer service.

If you have practical financial crime compliance experience and enjoy working in a fast paced financial services environment, we encourage you to apply.