Head of Financial Crime Operations

Head of Financial Crime Operations Location: Southampton & Cardiff Reporting to: Director of Specialist Banking Operations Closing date: Friday, 6th November at 5pm About Starling At Starling, we are on a mission to provide people with a fairer, smarter, and more human alternative to traditional banks. We are building a leading digital bank, driven by fast technology, fair service, and honest values. Our vision is to create a banking industry that serves everyone, which we accomplish by developing best-in-class proprietary technology, offering an exceptional customer experience, and establishing a strong, sustainable business. Our five core values – Listen, Keep It Simple, Do The Right Thing, Own It, and Aim for Greatness – are at the heart of everything we do, guiding our strategy and shaping our culture. We're a branchless, largely paperless bank, committed to responsible banking, sustainability, and fostering an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive. Working Hours: You will work a 37.5 hour week, with shifts between 9am - 5:30pm Monday - Friday. Hybrid working: All Starling colleagues spend a minimum of 10 days per month in the office, with flexibility to work the rest from home. You will also be expected to travel to other office locations depending on business needs. The Opportunity: The Head of Financial Crime Operations holds end-to-end accountability for Starling's financial crime operational delivery across multiple teams, including Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Counter-Terrorist Financing (CTF), and Customer Due Diligence (CDD/EDD) As an Experienced People Leader in the First Line of Defence, this role leads a team of senior professionals and team managers, influences strategic direction, builds a shared sense of purpose, and ensures robust governance aligned with departmental strategy and the Bank's Risk Appetite. What You'll Do: AML, CTF & Due Diligence Operations • Oversee the end-to-end Operations performance and operational delivery for AML, CTF, CDD, and EDD across customer segments in line with agreed SLAs. • Ensure alert handling and case reviews are responded to in a high-quality, timely manner, maintaining resourcing to handle workload demand and manage operational KPIs, OKRs, and KRIs. • Lead the continuous improvement of the control environment to focus teams on taking a risk-based approach and reducing false-positive alerts. • Maintain awareness of specific financial crime typologies unique to SME customers and partner closely with SME leadership and commercial teams to build, develop, and align financial crime capabilities and operating models specifically for SME customers. Leadership & Stakeholder Management • Recruit, manage, and develop capacity/capability to deliver a highly engaged, skilled, and sustainable workforce. • Partner effectively across 2nd Line Risk, Compliance, Product, Engineering, and Data to embed new initiatives and regulatory updates Operational Leadership & Efficiency • Proactively identify opportunities to optimise processes, drive continuous improvements, and improve customer outcomes across Financial Crime Operations. • Deliver consistent communication across teams and engage with operational managers to create an empowered problem-solving culture Budgeting & Functional Governance • Identify direction based on departmental strategy, set functional goals, and hold accountability for functional results, budgeting, and full resourcing decisions. • Navigate complex organisational challenges, including change management, and resolve significant team or functional conflicts while making risk decisions with departmental impact. Requirements What You'll Bring: • Deep subject matter expertise in UK Financial Crime regulatory guidelines, MLRs, JMLSG, PEPs, and Sancti