Vice President, Wealth Management Compliance

About the role

The Manager of Wealth Management Compliance leads the embedded compliance team serving Private Banking, Mashreq Gold and Emirati segments, as well as the Wealth Management product lines including insurance, mortgage lending and investment services. Reporting to senior compliance leadership, the role defines due‑diligence strategy, ensures high‑quality Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) reviews and acts as the escalation point for complex financial‑crime cases.

Key responsibilities

• Define and implement the due‑diligence strategy for wealth‑management customers, guaranteeing consistency and regulatory compliance across all EDD reviews.
• Supervise analysts performing EDD on high‑risk clients such as PEPs, HNWIs, offshore entities, trusts, foundations and high‑risk jurisdictions.
• Oversee sanctions, PEP, watch‑list and adverse‑media screening, validate alert dispositions and manage escalations.
• Review and challenge Source of Wealth (SoW) and Source of Funds (SoF) assessments, ensuring audit‑ready documentation.
• Monitor case allocation, workflow and team productivity to meet service level agreements.
• Drive continuous improvement of 1LOD KYC completion, focusing on “right first time” outcomes.
• Liaise with AML investigations, sanctions teams and internal stakeholders to resolve queries and manage escalations.
• Identify high‑risk accounts and raise exceptions to senior compliance leadership, including profiles with significant Russia linkages.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s degree minimum; professional qualifications (e.g., CAMS, CFE) are an advantage.
• At least 10 years of experience in AML/KYC, financial‑crime compliance or related operations.
• Deep expertise in Enhanced Due Diligence, AML/CFT regulations, sanctions and customer risk assessment.
• Strong understanding of politically exposed persons, complex corporate structures and SoW/SoF methodologies.
• Proven ability to review and challenge analyst assessments and to make sound escalation decisions.
• Excellent judgment, quality‑control standards and stakeholder‑management skills.