VP - Compliance, Wealth Management.Injaz - Wealth & TGM Compliance.Compliance Group

Role Overview

VP - Compliance, Wealth Management at Mashreq, leading the Embedded Compliance Functional team within Injaz - Wealth & TGM Compliance, Compliance Group.

Role Purpose

Lead the Wealth Management Compliance team covering Private Banking, Mashreq Gold, Emirati segments, and Wealth Management Product business lines including Insurance, Mortgage Lending, and Investments. Establish strategy for customer due diligence, ensure quality and consistency of Enhanced Due Diligence reviews, and serve as the primary escalation point for complex risk assessments, Politically Exposed Person cases, and potential financial crime concerns.

Key Responsibilities

Due Diligence & Customer Risk Assessment

• Supervise and guide analysts through expert performance of Enhanced Due Diligence on high-risk clients including Politically Exposed Persons, High Net Worth Individuals, offshore entities, trusts, foundations, and high-risk jurisdictions.
• Review and validate assessments of customer risk factors, overseeing and challenging Source of Wealth and Source of Funds assessments for adequacy and credibility.
• Ensure risk conclusions are consistent, well-supported, and documented to audit-ready standards.
• Identify accounts with higher risk characteristics or policy exceptions and escalate to Head of TGM & WM Compliance or Group Head of Compliance & MLRO as necessary, including Foreign Politically Exposed Persons, non-resident Russians, and other profiles with significant Russia linkages.

Compliance & Quality Assurance

• Establish strategy for Enhanced Due Diligence of Wealth customers, ensuring quality, consistency, and regulatory compliance of all Enhanced Due Diligence reviews.
• Ensure Enhanced Due Diligence reviews across onboarding, trigger events, and periodic Know Your Customer refreshes are completed to high quality and in line with internal standards and Service Level Agreements.
• Ensure compliance with Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism regulations, sanctions requirements, and internal policies, maintaining consistency across the team.
• Strong quality control and documentation standards.
• Conduct quality reviews, provide feedback, and drive continuous improvement in processes, templates, efficiency, and turnaround times.

Screening & Sanctions Oversight

• Oversee sanctions, Politically Exposed Person, watchlist, and adverse media screening outputs, ensuring appropriate use of tools and research methodologies.
• Validate alert dispositions and ensure proper escalation and handling of potential matches.

Escalation & Complex Case Management

• Act as the primary escalation point for complex cases, including Politically Exposed Person linkages, adverse media, high-risk jurisdictions, and complex structures, giving informed consent for cases to proceed to Approval and Onboarding Committee.
• Assess and escalate red flags relating to Money Laundering/Terrorist Financing, sanctions evasion, fraud, bribery, corruption, and reputational risk with clear recommendations.

Team Leadership & Development

• Supervise a Embedded Compliance Functional team of Full-Time Employees and contractors.
• Monitor case allocation, workflow, and team productivity to ensure efficient volume management.
• Provide ongoing guidance, coaching, and technical support to analysts, including bringing real life examples back to the team for lessons learned assessments.
• Drive ever-improving First Line of Defence Know Your Customer completion, focusing on Right First Time, and escalating repeated challenges to senior leadership.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Liaise effectively with Anti-Money Laundering Investigations, Sanctions teams, and internal stakeholders to resolve queries and manage escalations.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree qualification at a minimum.
• At least 10 years of experience in Anti-Money Laundering/Know Your Customer/compliance/financial crime operations.
• Practical experience in Private Banking type professional environments.
• Strong expertise in Enhanced Due Diligence, Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism, sanctions, and customer risk assessment.
• Strong understanding of Politically Exposed Persons, complex structures, and Source of Wealth/Source of Funds methodologies.
• Relevant professional qualifications an advantage.

Skills & Competencies

• Ability to review and challenge analyst assessments expertly and effectively.
• Excellent judgment and escalation capability.
• Effective stakeholder coordination and team management skills.