Location
London

Hours
Full Time

Salary
Negotiable

About the Role
Ready to take your career global? Make your mark at one of the biggest names in payments. We’re looking for a Customer Due Diligence (CDD) Operations Manager - High Risk Vertical to join our ever-evolving Enterprise Customer Due Diligence team and help shape the future of global commerce.

Leadership & Team Management: Develop and mentor a high-performing team specialising in end-to-end customer due diligence across complex verticals including payment facilitators, marketplaces, cryptocurrency, gambling and money transmission services. Establish clear performance frameworks, measurable objectives, and structured career development plans to support capability growth and succession planning. Set the tone for a strong culture of risk awareness, accountability and collaboration, balancing regulatory compliance, risk appetite and customer experience. Implement effective capacity planning and workload allocation aligned to risk profiles, operational demand and team capability. Proactively monitor workflows to ensure timely throughput, effective prioritisation and appropriate escalation of issues. Identify capability gaps, emerging risks and improvement opportunities, developing targeted training programmes to enhance expertise.

Stakeholder Management: Build and maintain strong, trusted relationships with internal and external stakeholders to drive collaboration and alignment. Represent the CDD function in internal and external forums, advocating for robust due diligence practices and building industry relationships. Influence and negotiate with stakeholders to deliver CDD objectives while balancing business priorities and operational needs. Partner with cross-functional teams to improve processes, enhance productivity, drive cost-effectiveness and strengthen the customer experience.

Global Due Diligence and Financial Crime Programme: Lead day-to-day execution of the Global Due Diligence programme, ensuring adherence to relevant regulations, policies and standards. Maintain oversight of emerging risks and issues, proactively managing them through identification, escalation and resolution.

Continuous Improvement: Promote a continuous improvement mindset across the CDD Operations team to achieve optimal efficiency, quality and productivity. Identify and implement process optimisation opportunities to reduce customer friction, enhance user experience and deliver operational efficiencies. Support and embed change initiatives effectively, guiding teams through transitions to ensure sustainable improvements. Stay informed on industry trends, regulatory developments and best practices to ensure processes remain current, scalable and effective.

Governance and Oversight: Oversee day-to-day team performance, ensuring accurate execution of CDD processes and timely issue resolution. Produce and analyse management information to support decision-making and identify key trends and risks. Ensure effective oversight of team pipelines, controls and success metrics.

Experience
- Minimum of 5 years’ direct experience managing a CDD/KYC team, including performance management, mentoring and operational oversight.
- Demonstrable understanding of high-risk verticals and their associated risks, including payment facilitators, marketplaces, cryptocurrency, gaming and gambling, and money service businesses.
- Strong understanding of AML/KYC regulatory frameworks across EMEA and their practical application within CDD operations.
- Familiarity with key regulatory bodies such as central banks, financial intelligence units (FIUs), AML enforcement agencies, and international frameworks like FATF and EU AML Directives.
- Proven experience leading CDD/KYC operations within a financial institution, ensuring due diligence processes align with local and international best practices.
- Ability to assess customer risk, oversee enhanced due diligence (EDD) cases, and ensure efficient execution of CDD processes.
- Experience working closely with compliance, risk, and front-office teams to align CDD with regulatory expectations and business objectives.
- Strong stakeholder engagement skills with effective communication across internal teams, regulators and external partners.
- Experience using AML/KYC systems and tools such as Actimize, Orbis, Fenergo and leveraging data-driven insights to improve operational efficiency.
- Ability to manage high workloads, competing priorities and evolving regulatory expectations in a fast-paced environment.

About you
You are a proactive leader with a strong risk awareness and a passion for continuous improvement. You thrive in dynamic environments and excel at balancing regulatory compliance with customer experience. You communicate effectively with diverse stakeholders and inspire your team to deliver excellence.

Qualifications
- Relevant professional qualifications such as CAMS, ICA or equivalent financial crime qualifications are a bonus.
- Experience in payment services is advantageous.
- Familiarity with transaction monitoring, sanctions screening, and risk-based approaches to CDD.
- Experience handling regulatory audits or internal reviews related to customer due diligence.