Head of Financial Crime - International Law Firm

A leading international law firm is seeking a Head of Financial Crime to provide strategic leadership across its financial crime compliance function. This is a high-profile opportunity to shape policy, lead a sizeable specialist team, and play a central role in ensuring the firm maintains a robust, commercial and forward-thinking approach to financial crime risk across its UK and international offices.

Why Apply?

• Senior strategic influence: The successful candidate will have the opportunity to shape the firm’s financial crime framework, influence policy and act as a senior decision-maker on complex and high-risk matters
• High-visibility leadership role: This position sits at the heart of the firm’s risk and onboarding function, working closely with senior leadership, the General Counsel, MLRO community and key stakeholders across the business
• Genuine scope to drive change: The role offers the chance to improve processes, enhance service delivery, embed best practice and help the firm respond effectively to an evolving regulatory landscape

The Head of Financial Crime will lead a team responsible for financial crime compliance across the firm, including client due diligence, risk assessments, sanctions, AML, anti-bribery and corruption, fraud prevention, tax evasion controls, internal reporting support, policy ownership and regulatory engagement. The role will combine technical leadership, people management, stakeholder influence and operational oversight, ensuring the function delivers clear, commercial and risk-based advice while supporting efficient client and matter onboarding.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, develop and support a high-performing financial crime team across multiple offic
• Provide senior oversight on complex financial crime, sanctions and high-risk client or matter issues.
• Own and enhance the firm’s financial crime policies, controls and procedures.
• Oversee client due diligence, risk assessments, periodic reviews and escalations.
• Support internal reporting processes, including suspicious activity reports and external disclosures where required.
• Drive improvements across workflows, service levels, reporting, training and use of technology.
• Build strong relationships with senior stakeholders across risk, compliance, onboarding, legal and partnership groups.
• Support regulatory, audit and wider compliance projects across the firm’s international network.

This role would suit an experienced financial crime leader with strong technical expertise, sound judgement and the confidence to operate as a trusted senior adviser in a complex professional services environment. The successful candidate will bring excellent knowledge of the UK financial crime regime, experience of international frameworks, and proven ability across AML, sanctions, anti-bribery and corruption, fraud prevention and risk-based compliance controls. They will be commercially minded, resilient, persuasive and comfortable challenging senior stakeholders where required, while providing clear, practical and timely recommendations. Previous experience leading a team, developing policy, managing escalations and improving financial crime processes will be essential as well as familiarity with onboarding, CDD and compliance systems.

This is an outstanding opportunity for a senior financial crime professional to take ownership of a broad and influential function within a growing international law firm. With hybrid working available from Leeds, Manchester or London, the successful candidate will be expected to spend three days per week in the office and maintain strong visibility across the wider office network.