Sanctions Advisor

Sanctions Advisor 12 Month Fixed Term Contract

Join our Global Financial Crime Team as a Sanctions Advisor within OGC (Office of the General Counsel). The Sanctions Advisor is a specialist member of the global Financial Crime Team. The role supports the effective operation of the sanctions and export controls framework by providing practical, risk-based advice, leading the review of higher-risk referrals and overseeing lower-risk work allocated to other colleagues.

The Advisor works globally with business, Legal, Compliance, Operations and technology colleagues and escalates novel, high-profile, challenged or governance-sensitive matters to the Sanctions Director.

The Role

Sanctions advisory and case management 

• Lead and manage sanctions referrals in SMART, including complex or higher-risk matters involving trade sanctions, ownership and control, licensing, controlled goods, high-risk territories and multi-jurisdictional considerations. 
• Approve or decline referrals within delegated authority, documenting the analysis, rationale, conditions and required follow-up. 
• Review complex claims matters, including potential sanctioned-party involvement, blocked or frozen funds, licensing or derogation considerations, and sensitive marine or cross-border issues. 
• Review escalated payment-screening matters, true matches and high-risk-territory scenarios, with clear escalation of novel, challenged or material cases. 
• Handle escalations arising from Passfort, KYC WFT, Maxsight and other relevant screening or due-diligence processes. 
• Support investigations into suspected, alleged or actual sanctions or export-control breaches, including preparation of technical analysis, evidence and recommendations for corrective or remedial action. 

Advice, guidance and horizon scanning 

• Provide clear, practical sanctions and export controls advice to business, Compliance, Legal and Operations colleagues. 
• Monitor sanctions and export-control developments, assess potential business impact, report material changes to the Sanctions Director and support the implementation of agreed changes to policies, procedures, systems, controls, guidance and training. 
• Draft and maintain guidance, decision tools, standard wording and communications for the Sanctions Hub and other approved channels. 
• Identify unusual themes, control weaknesses or recurring referral trends and escalate them with recommended actions. 

Policies, procedures, training and assurance 

• Support the development, annual review and enhancement of global sanctions policies, procedures, SOPs, process maps and decision trees. 
• Contribute to tailored and annual sanctions training, including preparation of materials and delivery to relevant business and control-function audiences. 
• Support internal audit, monitoring and remediation activity by preparing evidence, technical analysis and training materials. 
• Perform or support quality assurance of reassigned sanctions work and help maintain clear, proportionate escalation standards. 

Operations, systems and management information 

• Support effective triage of the sanctions mailbox, ensuring routine matters are handled through approved playbooks and technical matters are escalated appropriately. 
• Help maintain SMART workflows and business rules, validate sanctions logic, and support testing, defect management and system enhancements with Technology and project teams. 
• Contribute to sanctions management information, dashboards and reporting, including the definition and documentation of appropriate metrics and limitations. 
• Maintain complete and accurate case records, decision logs and audit trails. 

Projects and stakeholder engagement 

• Support the Sanctions Director on strategic and operational projects, including discrete analysis, documentation, testing, implementation and change-management activities. 
• Build effective relationships across the business and with Compliance, Legal, Operations and other Financial Crime colleagues. 
• Prepare technical input, fact packs and briefing materials for complex matters, investigations, audit activity, committees or external legal advice as directed. 
• Support the Sanctions Director and Legal, as directed, with export-control or sanctions licence applications, licence administration, record keeping and related reporting obligations. 
• Support the preparation of briefing materials for regulatory, industry and committee engagement and represent the sanctions team at internal or external forums where authorised by the Sanctions Director. 
• Promote proportionate, consistent and commercially practical application of sanctions controls while protecting the organisation from legal, regulatory and reputational risk. 

Decision-making and escalation 

• Exercise delegated judgement on sanctions referrals and provide a clear, evidence-based recommendation or decision. 
• Escalate matters that are novel, high-profile, challenged, outside delegated authority or likely to require a policy, governance, regulatory, licensing or external-counsel decision. 
• Distinguish between technical sanctions advice and matters that should be owned by Legal, local Compliance, Operations, the business or another specialist function. 
• Apply approved procedures consistently while recognising when a case requires enhanced review or a bespoke risk assessment. 

What you’ll bring

• Relevant experience in sanctions compliance, financial crime, legal, regulatory or risk advisory work, ideally within financial services or insurance. 
• Ability to analyse, interpret and apply sanctions laws and regulations, particularly UK, UN, EU and US measures, to practical business scenarios. 
• Experience reviewing complex ownership and control, trade sanctions, payment screening, claims, due diligence or licensing issues is desirable. 
• Working knowledge of export controls is desirable, with the judgement to recognise when specialist legal or licensing support is required. 
• Experience using case-management, screening or due-diligence systems and maintaining clear decision records is desirable. 
• Strong analytical judgement and the ability to reach proportionate, defensible conclusions from incomplete or complex information. 
• Clear and concise written and verbal communication, including the ability to explain technical issues to non-specialists. 
• Accuracy, attention to detail and disciplined record keeping. 
• Ability to prioritise competing deadlines and manage a varied global workload. 
• Confidence to challenge constructively, set appropriate boundaries and escalate when necessary. 
• Collaborative approach, sound interpersonal skills and willingness to coach or oversee less experienced colleagues. 
• Continuous-improvement mindset and willingness to support process, data and technology enhancements. 
• Commercial awareness and the ability to provide pragmatic advice while maintaining appropriate legal, regulatory and risk boundaries. 
• Strong influencing and stakeholder-management skills, including the confidence to work independently and engage effectively at different levels of the organisation. 

Qualifications 

• A degree or relevant professional qualification in law, compliance, financial crime, risk or a related discipline is advantageous but not essential. 
• Relevant sanctions, export controls, compliance or financial crime training or certification is desirable. 

What we offer

Enjoy a benefits package designed to help you thrive, both professionally and personally. You'll receive 25 days of annual leave plus an extra WTW day to relax and recharge. Our comprehensive health and wellbeing offering includes private healthcare, life insurance, group income protection, and regular health assessments, all giving you peace of mind. Secure your future with our defined contribution pension scheme, featuring matched contributions up to 10% from the company.

We support your growth and balance with hybrid working options, access to an employee assistance programme, and a fully paid volunteer day to make a difference in your community. On top of these, you can opt into a variety of additional perks including an electric vehicle car scheme, share scheme, cycle-to-work programme, dental and optical cover, critical illness protection, and much more. Start making the most of your career and wellbeing with a range of benefits tailored for you.

Equal Opportunity Employer

We’re committed to equal employment opportunity and provide application, interview and workplace adjustments and accommodations to all applicants. If you foresee any barriers, from the application process through to joining WTW, please email [email protected].