Senior Director

About the Job:

The Enterprise AML Officer leads the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Team in Northwestern Mutual’s Enterprise Compliance Department and is responsible for leading the development, implementation, and maintenance of the company’s AML and sanctions compliance programs. The role currently serves as the AML Officer for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM) and its operating subsidiaries Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (registered broker-dealer), Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company (WMC) (limited purpose federal savings bank), and Northwestern Mutual Series Fund, Inc. (NMSF) (registered investment company).  The AML Officer ensures the adequacy and effectiveness of compliance policies, procedures, monitoring and controls established to comply with AML and sanctions obligations.   

What You'll Do:

• Coordinate and manage the enterprise AML policies, procedures and controls to ensure compliance by NM and its operating subsidiaries with applicable AML laws and regulations, including but not limited to Bank Secrecy Act, customer identification program (CIP), customer due diligence (CDD), OFAC sanctions and anti-terrorism funding, and other applicable laws and regulations.   

• Monitor applicable laws and regulatory trends to ensure the ongoing sufficiency of the AML and sanctions compliance programs.

• Review and assess compliance testing, audit and examination findings and oversee the implementation of changes, enhancements or best practices to address them.

• Evaluate enterprise-wide AML risk and advise on the proper allocation of AML resources. Oversee the investigation and resolution of AML matters.  

• Facilitate coordination of AML business and risk partners across the enterprise to ensure consistency and cooperation in assessing and addressing AML risk.

• Responsible for overseeing the monitoring of insurance and securities transaction activity, watch list screening, customer risk ranking, transaction monitoring threshold tuning, and data integrity testing to effectively identify suspicious activity and meet regulatory obligations. Implements corrective procedures and action plans to enhance controls.

• Ensure AML and sanctions-related reporting obligations are satisfied, including but not limited to suspicious activity reports (SAR), OFAC blocked property reports, and other required AML and sanctions-related regulatory reporting.

• Coordinate major cross-departmental projects that impact the organization and business processes to effectively implement project deliverables related to AML risk management.

• Responsible for ensuring the development and delivery of AML training content to manage AML risk and meet regulatory requirements for home office and field personnel.

• Oversee certain functions performed by NMIS’ clearing firm.

• Consult with NM and operating subsidiary personnel and the company’s field representatives regarding AML-related topics, training, updates and/or alerts.

• Review, assess and report on the AML and sanctions compliance programs of external asset managers hired by NM and affiliates to manage assets. 

• Respond to regulatory exam requests regarding the AML program, including interviews with the examiners.

• Prepare written annual compliance reports to applicable governance bodies regarding the operation and health of the AML and sanctions programs.  

• Chair the Enterprise AML Committee and the AML Executive Committee. Participates on various divisional, departmental, and enterprise-wide projects and committees as needed.

As a team leader, this position is responsible for managing a team to achieve company and department goals, supporting team development, and executing team responsibilities. Key duties include setting clear objectives, providing feedback, fostering a collaborative work environment, coordinating tasks, setting priorities and allocating resources, and ensuring team members have the necessary support.  The role also involves monitoring performance, addressing conflicts, and implementing continuous improvement strategies to build a motivated, high-performing team that consistently meets or exceeds expectations.

What You'll Bring to the Role:

• Bachelor's Degree

• Knowledge of the Bank Secrecy Act, USA Patriot Act, and related rules and regulations of FinCEN, the SEC and FINRA, federal banking regulators, and state insurance regulators, as applicable.  

• FINRA Series 7 and 9/10 or 24

• Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible work experience in securities operations and/or compliance.

• In-depth understanding of AML regulations and statutes relating to risk and investment products, investment management and trust services.

• Knowledge of insurance, securities, and advisory products, services and operations.

• Demonstrated strong leadership, decision-making and written and verbal communication skills.

• Demonstrated ability to design and implement systems to monitor transactions and trends to identify AML and sanctions risks.

• Demonstrated ability to use data analytics to make risk aware decisions.

• Ability to effectively communicate requirements to, negotiate with, and influence others across departmental lines within the organization and members of field management.

• Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) designation required or obtained within 6 months of hire.

Skills You Have:

• Project Management – Advanced

• Accountability – Advanced

• Attention to detail – Expert

• Cross-Functional Partnering & Planning – Expert

• Policy & Procedure – Expert

• Risk Assessment & Identification – Expert

• Business Influence – Advanced

• Continuous Improvement – Expert

• Decision Making – Expert

#LI-Hybrid

This position has been classified as a Registered Representative under NMIS guidelines and requires fingerprinting.Series 10 - FINRA, Series 24 - FINRA, Series 7 - FINRA, Series 9 - FINRA

Compensation Range:

$112,210.00

Pay Range - End:

$208,390.00

We believe in fairness and transparency. It’s why we share the salary range for most of our roles. However, final salaries are based on a number of factors, including the skills and experience of the candidate; the current market; location of the candidate; and other factors uncovered in the hiring process. The standard pay structure is listed but if you’re living in California, New York City or other eligible location, geographic specific pay structures, compensation and benefits could be applicable, click here to learn more.

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Northwestern Mutual is an equal opportunity employer who welcomes and encourages diversity in the workforce. We are committed to creating and maintaining an environment in which each employee can contribute creative ideas, seek challenges, assume leadership and continue to focus on meeting and exceeding business and personal objectives.