Financial Crime Investigations & Exits Specialist

Job Description

The Financial Crime Investigations & Exits Specialist supports Shawbrook's first-line financial crime investigations and exits capability — managing cases from initial review through to outcome, preparing material for the Financial Crime Escalation Sub-Committee (FCESC), and supporting customer exits where financial crime risk is identified. The role provides practical financial crime advice to stakeholders across the bank and contributes to ongoing improvement in investigation standards and quality.

Key Responsibilities

Investigations & Casework

• Conduct financial crime investigations across fraud, money laundering, sanctions, terrorist financing and other adverse intelligence, reaching proportionate, well-evidenced conclusions.
• Review Internal Suspicious Activity Reports (ISARs) and escalations to determine the right investigative approach and outcome, including whether a matter requires a SAR, CIFAS consideration, customer exit or further monitoring.
• Prepare SAR referrals and support CIFAS filings in line with service levels, quality standards and evidential requirements.
• Maintain accurate case records and audit trails, and escalate complex or high-risk matters promptly.

FCESC Case Preparation & Customer Exits

• Prepare investigation summaries, exit recommendations and supporting documentation for FCESC, ensuring packs are complete, accurate and well-evidenced.
• Support FCESC preparation and post-committee follow-up, tracking agreed actions — including customer exits — through to completion.
• Liaise with Operations, Legal, Relationship Managers and Customer Services to progress agreed exits in line with conduct and legal considerations.

Stakeholder Advice & Engagement

• Provide practical financial crime advice to first-line stakeholders on escalations, customer risk and exit-related queries.
• Challenge incomplete or poor-quality referrals constructively, and build effective working relationships across Financial Crime, Operations, Legal and Customer Services.

MI, Quality & Continuous Improvement

• Contribute to MI covering ISARs, SAR referrals, CIFAS filings, exits and case outcomes, identifying emerging themes and trends.
• Support quality control activity, responding constructively to feedback and helping embed agreed improvements to processes, templates and guidance.

Qualifications

Essential Experience

• Experience in financial crime investigations, fraud investigations, AML investigations, SAR referrals, CIFAS or related disciplines.
• Strong understanding of financial crime risk within a banking environment, including AML, fraud, sanctions and customer risk.
• Ability to assess complex information, form balanced conclusions and document clear investigation rationales.

Analytical & Technical Skills

• Working knowledge of POCA, the Money Laundering Regulations and related financial crime obligations.
• Understanding of SAR/ISAR principles, CIFAS standards and common fraud typologies.
• Strong written communication, able to produce concise, evidence-based case summaries and committee-ready recommendations.

Behavioural Attributes

• Investigative and evidence-led — makes recommendations based on facts, not assumption or pressure to close cases quickly.
• Reliable and resilient under competing priorities and deadlines.
• Collaborative — able to challenge constructively while maintaining good working relationships.

Desirable

• Relevant professional qualification (e.g. ICA Certificate in AML, or equivalent).
• Experience preparing cases for a committee-style governance forum.

Additional Information

Your Wellbeing - We take your health and well-being very seriously by providing a range of benefits to give you and your family peace of mind. These include:

• Market leading family friendly policies such as access to our Maternity, Adoption and Paternity policies from Day 1 of your employment
• Free access to Headspace, a mindfulness & meditation digital health app
• Free access to Peppy digital health app that offers personalised support through fertility treatment becoming a parent or menopause
• EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) - Offering you support on a wide range of subjects including financial concerns, mental wellbeing and more general queries around family, work, housing, and health
• Cycle to work scheme
• Discounts on gym membership
• Contributory pension scheme & death in service

Your Lifestyle - It’s important you strike the right balance between your work and personal life. We provide benefits to support you when at work and when you’re enjoying your leisure time.

• Minimum of 27 days holiday per year
• Option to buy or sell holiday days through our flexi-holiday scheme
• Discounts on gym membership nationwide
• Access to discounts on a range of high street and online brands
• Community support and charitable giving

Your Contribution - We’re focused on rewarding those that go the extra mile in helping us achieve our goals.

• Participation in our annual discretionary bonus scheme designed to reward your contribution to our success
• Proudly Shawbrook recognition scheme focused on recognising our role models and thanking our colleagues for a job well done