We are seeking an experienced Financial Crime Manager to support the delivery of the accountabilities and core activities of the Financial Crime Operations Manager and ultimately the Head of Financial Crime. The successful candidate will bring strong expertise in anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorist financing (CTF), and financial crime operations, along with proven experience leading and developing teams of investigators and analysts. You will have a solid understanding of regulatory frameworks and financial crime risk, combined with the ability to make sound, risk-based decisions and provide clear recommendations.

You will be a confident leader with the ability to coach, mentor, and performance manage a team, ensuring high standards of quality and compliance. Strong knowledge across a range of financial products, including credit cards, mortgages, savings, current accounts, business and corporate products, and investments, will be essential. Acting as a subject matter expert, you will support both your team and the wider business, ensuring alignment with regulatory expectations, internal policy, and Treating Customers Fairly principles.

We are happy to consider flexible working approaches to help you perform at your best.

The working hours (per week) for this role can be between 28 and 35 hours.

At Nationwide, we offer hybrid working wherever possible. More rewarding relationships are supported through our hybrid approach, bringing colleagues together across our UK-wide estate, whilst also supporting generous access to home working. We value our time in the office to solve problems, to learn, and to feel connected.

For this job, you'll be assigned to our nearest regional hub. There will be a need to regularly connect with colleagues for collaboration events in one of our office sites. This is anticipated to be quarterly in our Glasgow or Gosforth hub. If your application is successful, your hiring manager will provide further details on how this works.

Nationwide is committed to the redeployment of our employees impacted by change, as such applications for redeployment candidates will be prioritised in this recruitment process.

If you’re a colleague on long-term absence (for example, on parental leave) or a temporary worker, please use your personal email address to submit an application.

What you’ll be doing

In this role, you will lead a team of Financial Crime Investigators and Senior Investigators within the first line of defence, responsible for delivering AML operational activity across all products. The team’s remit includes client screening, transaction monitoring, sanctions control board activity, police liaison, customer risk assessments, and the management of high-risk customers. You will also oversee training and development, complex referrals and escalations, intelligence gathering and dissemination, system and SLA performance, and overall team effectiveness.

A key part of the role is to ensure that escalations are comprehensive and consistent, resulting in appropriate and timely recommendations to senior management, including the Financial Crime Operations Manager and Head of Financial Crime. You will ensure that all recommendations are well-reasoned and aligned to regulatory requirements, product policies, and customer outcomes. Through a robust quality assurance framework, combined with coaching and mentoring, you will identify and address any gaps in decision-making to mitigate the risk of regulatory breaches, financial penalties, or reputational damage.

You will manage the operation of preventative and detective financial crime systems, controls, and processes, ensuring compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing obligations. This includes overseeing the reporting of suspicious activity and positive matches to relevant external agencies, as well as vendor management responsibilities. The role also supports key regulatory controls and approvals, including sanctions control board decisions, medium-risk customer approvals, and high-risk customer four-eye checks.

As part of the wider contribution to the department, you will support the delivery of core objectives by providing expert guidance across a broad product suite, ensuring consistent and effective financial crime risk management across the business.

About you

You will have/be:

• Proven experience managing teams of Financial Crime/AML investigators in a 1st line environment, with clear accountability for performance, quality, and KPI delivery
• Demonstrable hands-on experience in AML operations, including transaction monitoring, client screening, sanctions, SAR/DAML reporting, and high-risk customer management
• Strong track record of making and overseeing complex AML decisions and escalations, ensuring regulatory compliance and robust audit/QA outcomes
• Experience working with regulators and external bodies (e.g. law enforcement, NCA, other financial institutions), including police liaison and legal order handling
• In-depth knowledge of UK financial crime regulations, including AML, CTF, POCA, sanctions frameworks, and FCA expectations, applied in a practical operational setting
• Proven ability to lead, coach, and develop teams, including performance management, training delivery, and building subject matter expertise across departments
• Holds ICA Certificate in Anti-Money Laundering (or equivalent) with evidence of continued professional development in financial crime compliance

Our customer first behaviours put customers and members at the heart of how we work together. They are the set of behaviours that every colleague needs to display, in every role:

• Feel what customers feel - We step into our customers’ shoes, using their feedback and insights to empathise with them and to understand their needs, so that every decision we make starts and finishes with our customers in mind

• Say it straight - We are brave in speaking out and saying what we think – we’re honest and direct with good intent, openly sharing diverse perspectives to reach the best conclusions and using language everyone can understand

• Push for better - We don’t settle for mediocrity, we challenge the status quo, taking responsibility for continuous improvement and personal development

• Get it done - We prioritise what will have the greatest impact, we are decisive, and we take accountability for delivering brilliant customer outcomes

You can strengthen your application by showing how our customer first behaviours resonate with you, and where you may have already demonstrated these.

The extras you’ll get

There are all sorts of employee benefits available at Nationwide, including:

• 25 days holiday, pro rata

• Access to private medical insurance

• A highly competitive pension to help you build a strong foundation for retirement

• Access to an annual performance-related bonus

• Training and development to help you progress your career

• A great selection of additional benefits through our salary sacrifice scheme

• Life assurance to provide peace of mind for you and your loved ones in the event of your death

• Wellhub – access to a range of free and paid options for health and wellness

• Up to 2 days of paid volunteering a year

Banking – but fairer, more rewarding, and for the good of society

We forge our own path at Nationwide.

As a mutual, we’re owned by our members - those customers who bank, save or have a mortgage with us. We challenge the financial sector status quo. We don’t see customers as the engine of our own profit. We share our profits with them and put their needs first. Always there when they need us. Supporting them and their lives.

If you’re inspired by fairer finances, passionate about making a meaningful impact, and truly care about our customers, you’re one of us.

At Nationwide, you are challenged to grow and rewarded for doing so. Valued. Recognised. Inspired to be your best. As a community, we want our working lives to count. As a team, we celebrate what we achieve. As a standard-setter, we work for the good of customers, communities, and broader society.

We are purpose-driven. Uncompromisingly customer. Unstoppably Nationwide.

What to do next

If this role is for you, please click the ‘Apply Now’ button. You’ll need to attach your up-to-date CV and answer a few quick questions for us.

We respond to everyone, so we will be in contact shortly after the closing date to let you know the outcome of your application.

The hiring manager for this role is Michelle Begley, and the main recruitment contact is Sameena Rehman.