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Date live: Jun. 06, 2025

Business Area: Operations and Control

Area of Expertise: Risk and Quantitative Analytics

Reference Code: JR-0000055206

Contract: Permanent

The MD, Head of Financial Crime for Business Banking has primary responsibility for the management of Financial Crime risk across the business unit and will have a direct reporting line into the Accountable Executive for Operations and Control across Business Banking.

The MD position is responsible for the strategic design, enterprise leadership, operation and continuous improvement of effective Financial Crime operational controls and the provision of technical expertise and guidance to Business Banking in its application of Financial Crime policies and standards. They are responsible for ensuring that the business effectively manages all risks including money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions, bribery & corruption and Mules as well as ensuring regulatory and policy compliance across all business processes.

Accountabilities (Key Criteria)

  • Provide enterprise leadership of the overall Business Banking Financial Crime strategy, focus on returning the Control Environment to Satisfactory, set the strategy for and delivery of a programme of Enhanced Risk Reduction plans and delivery of the independent review of findings  
  • Support the Accountable Executives for Financial Crime in respect of their accountabilities set out in the Financial Crime policy. 
  • Own and drive the delivery of the change and transformation plan for Business Banking relating to Financial Crime. Work with teams across BUK and the bank to define requirements and deliver against this plan. 
  • Provide ongoing management of the team with responsibility for managing prioritisation of resources and activity. A leader of leaders, developing an operating rhythm where everyone understands what is expected of them and how they are performing, and has the appropriate resources, skills and knowledge to be effective, efficient and compliant.
  • Identify and monitor activity required to ensure that Business Banking achieves Satisfactory (or better) outcomes in related risk assessments, assurance reviews and audits, identifying and resolving issues that may preclude this and responding appropriately to assessments that do not meet this target
  • Work collaboratively and strategically with Senior Leaders, other Business Banking stakeholders and relevant broader BUK teams as well as with external service providers, to ensure that risks and issues associated with Business Banking products, services and partnerships, are appropriately identified and mitigated throughout the Product Lifecycle.
  • Set the strategic design and operation of  Business Banking Financial Crime governance forums. Oversee collation and production of reports for these forums, both at a BUK, Group and external level as required, as well as the suite of BUK Financial Crime risk and operational MI. Champion greater use of data and analytics to drive risk insights.
  • Define the first line of control Financial Crime target operating model, and then provide overall leadership, strategic direction and ongoing management of the Business Banking Financial Crime team, including making prioritisation decisions, approving budgets and leading ad-hoc projects as required.
  • Oversee the analysis and assessment of customers who pose a Financial Crime risk. This includes high risk customers at onboarding, and following risk events/ reviews, complex cases from holistic monitoring and exits for Financial Crime reasons 
  • Represent Business Banking to a wide audience and in key forums and will regularly be asked to present externally to regulators and internally at senior management forums.
  • Provide strategic leadership, design and delivery of the on-going Business Banking Integrated Financial Crime Plan across Customer Onboarding, Product and Propositional Design and Life-cycle management to reduce Financial Crime risk across Business Banking
  • Lead programmes of work to reduce the inherent Financial Crime risk of BB, aligned to our top areas of identified risk (including the Integrated Financial Crime Plan).
  • Work closely in  delivering the BB Mules strategy to reduce the risk of Bad Actors on our books, which in turn will benefit us with the introduction of APP Scams regulation    


Required Experience

  • Strong Financial Crime strategic vision with proven ability to develop and execute strategy to drive major change and lead significant transformation in the business to drive critical enhancements to the Financial Crime control environment.
  • Significant experience at senior leadership level in a customer-driven organisation with detailed knowledge of the industry (including history, trends and future development), digital, data and/or marketing.  Proven network and experience of leading Financial Crime at other Financial Services firms.
  • Understanding of the different Barclays UK business segments and the associated Financial Crime  risks. 
  • Experience in working with senior internal and external stakeholders (including at ExCo/ board level) to ensure the right focus and resource to enable change across Consumer Product.
  • Experience of working at a senior level in an agile manner with technology teams and wider matrix programmes, to deliver tangible change to large scale businesses.
  • Experience of representing organisations with regulators, consumer groups and government 
  • Ideally an established member of external, Financial Crime industry bodies

Skills Attributes

  • Strong communication & Influential

    Managing Director

    • To manage a large, complex or diverse function and take accountability for the strategic direction of the function to significantly strengthen successful and efficient businesses and contribute to the strategic initiatives of the Barclays Group
    • Lead and mentor high performing teams and embed a performance culture aligned to the values of the business. Or for an individual contributor, they lead organisation wide projects, act as a profound technical expert and thought leader, Identifying new and innovative/ground breaking ways of working. They will train, guide and coach less experienced specialists and provide information affecting long term profits, organisational risks and strategic decisions.
    • Drive and achieve overall success and / or competitiveness of a business division by influencing senior leaders and committees.
    • Strategically assess and manage risks to protect the business division / function and growth.
    • Influence company policy and develop functional procedures in conjunction with senior leaders / strategic positions across the business.
    • Demonstrate interpretative thinking for innovative solutions in complex situations and conceptual thinking in completely new situations.
    • Exercise management authority to make significant / complex business and strategic decisions that impact the Barclays Group, business division or function.
    • Negotiate with and influence stakeholders at a senior level both internally and externally and foster growth for Barclays business.
    • Mandated as the business division/ functional spokesperson or representative to external bodies and shapes the public image of Barclays.
    • Demonstrate exceptional knowledge of how business divisions and functions integrate with the Group to achieve the overall business objectives alongside industry theories and practices within own discipline.
    • Maintain broad and comprehensive functional expertise and significant product knowledge.
    • Accountable for the control and governance agenda of the business division / function.
    • Focus on the external environment, regulators, or advocacy groups to both monitor and influence on behalf of Barclays.

    All Senior Leaders are expected to demonstrate a clear set of leadership behaviours to create an environment for colleagues to thrive and deliver to a consistently excellent standard. The four LEAD behaviours are: L – Listen and be authentic, E – Energise and inspire, A – Align across the enterprise, D – Develop others.

    All colleagues will be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship – our moral compass, helping us do what we believe is right. They will also be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Mindset – to Empower, Challenge and Drive – the operating manual for how we behave.

    More about working at Barclays