Senior Principal

Sr. Project Manager - AML, KYC & Financial Crime Transformation

JobDescription

JobResponsibilities

• Lead end-to-end delivery of complex AML, KYC, Financial Crime Compliance and Regulatory Transformation programs for banking and financial services clients, from business case and requirements through implementation and transition to BAU.
• Drive large-scale KYC and Customer Due Diligence (CDD/EDD) transformation initiatives, including customer onboarding, KYC remediation, periodic reviews, client risk assessment, regulatory compliance and target-state operating model transformation.
• Partner with senior Compliance, Financial Crime, Risk, Operations, Business and Technology stakeholders to translate regulatory and business objectives into executable transformation roadmaps, delivery plans and technology solutions.
• Lead cross-functional delivery across multiple workstreams covering KYC, AML, sanctions/watchlist screening, transaction monitoring, fraud, regulatory reporting and financial crime risk management.
• Define and manage project scope, objectives, milestones, dependencies, budgets, resources, risks, issues, assumptions and change requests across multi-million-dollar transformation programs.
• Drive target-state architecture, business process transformation and operating model design for modern Financial Crime and KYC platforms, ensuring alignment with applicable regulatory requirements and enterprise technology strategy.
• Translate complex AML/KYC business and regulatory requirements into clear functional requirements, process designs, technology capabilities, product backlogs and actionable delivery outcomes.
• Lead solution discussions across business and technology teams covering financial crime platforms, data, integration, workflow, automation, analytics and decisioning capabilities, ensuring solutions are scalable and aligned to business and regulatory objectives.
• Manage technology implementation and transformation involving platforms such as NICE Actimize, including AML/Suspicious Activity Monitoring, Customer Due Diligence, sanctions/watchlist screening, fraud and related Financial Crime capabilities.
• Establish and operate effective program governance, including steering committees, working groups, status reporting, RAID management, executive escalation and delivery performance tracking.
• Manage internal teams, client stakeholders, technology partners and third-party vendors, ensuring clear accountability, effective dependency management and delivery against agreed outcomes.
• Drive Agile, Waterfall and hybrid delivery methodologies, including sprint planning, backlog prioritization, release planning, governance and delivery assurance.
• Lead business readiness, testing, data migration, implementation, deployment and post-production stabilization activities for regulatory and Financial Crime technology programs.
• Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency, data quality, control effectiveness, automation, customer experience and risk management through process and technology transformation.
• Provide consulting and advisory support to clients on Financial Crime operating models, KYC transformation, technology modernization, regulatory change and enterprise transformation roadmaps.
• Mentor project managers, business analysts, product owners and delivery teams while contributing to the development of Financial Crime and Compliance transformation capabilities within the consulting practice.

PersonSpecification

• 15+ years of experience in banking, financial services technology, consulting or transformation, with significant experience leading complex technology and business transformation programs.
• Deep domain expertise in AML, KYC, Customer Due Diligence (CDD), Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD), Financial Crime Compliance and Regulatory Transformation.
• Strong working knowledge of sanctions/watchlist screening, transaction monitoring, suspicious activity monitoring/reporting, fraud prevention, regulatory reporting and Financial Crime risk management.
• Proven experience delivering enterprise-scale KYC and AML transformation programs across business, compliance, operations, risk and technology functions.
• Strong understanding of banking regulatory and compliance environments, including MAS requirements and global AML/KYC standards.
• Hands-on experience with Actimize or equivalent Financial Crime technology platforms, with the ability to bridge domain requirements and technology implementation.
• Strong understanding of banking architecture, business processes, target operating models, technology modernization and enterprise integration.
• Proven experience managing multi-million-dollar programs, complex delivery dependencies, vendors, budgets, risks and senior stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to operate as the bridge between business/compliance and technology, converting regulatory and business requirements into practical technology and transformation outcomes.
• Strong experience with Agile/Scrum, Kanban, Waterfall and hybrid delivery methodologies.
• Experience leading geographically distributed, cross-functional teams and managing stakeholders across business, Compliance, Risk, Operations, Technology and external partners.
• Strong consulting mindset with the ability to engage clients at both strategic and delivery levels, facilitate decision-making and navigate competing stakeholder priorities.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, negotiation, problem-solving and executive presentation skills.
• Ability to operate effectively in complex, ambiguous and highly regulated environments while maintaining focus on delivery outcomes.
• CSM, CSPO, PMP, PRINCE2 or equivalent project/program management certification preferred.
• Exposure to emerging technologies such as AI/ML, automation, analytics and digital transformation applied to Financial Crime and Compliance use cases is advantageous.