Job Description:
About the Position
As a Director – Data & Analytics in our Advisory team you will primarily be responsible for leveraging your subject matter expertise and partnering with other Financial Crimes Advisory leadership team members to successfully deliver complex projects/engagements for clients, identify and execute strategic initiatives designed to grow the Advisory team, be active in the market identifying new clients and new projects, and oversee the work performed by Data & Analytics resources to ensure quality and timely delivery of client deliverables. As a result, a successful candidate is an experienced professional who is considered a subject matter expert in AML, Sanctions, and Fraud, inclusive of being knowledgeable about regulations, regulatory guidance and industry best practices in these subject matter areas. They must be experienced in successfully leading advisory projects, delivering on time, within budget and meeting client expectations. Being able to effectively navigate sensitive conversations and high pressure, fast paced engagements is key to this role. They must also be experienced in mobilizing a team often constructed of cross functional team members and coaching resources to successfully deliver on their responsibilities, all while fostering an inclusive and supportive environment. The ideal candidate will be proactive and be highly accountable. In addition to client delivery, Directors will be engaged in growing our Advisory business and being active in our sales efforts. As a result, a successful candidate will possess strong communication and presentation skills, a strategic mindset, be comfortable identifying business opportunities, and contributing to the growth of the Advisory team.
Primary Responsibilities
Engagement Delivery
Successfully lead the delivery of multiple AML, Sanctions and Fraud (collectively "financial crimes") engagements that are delivered to our clients across their three lines of defense. Projects include but not limited to those focused on model validations, model tunings, data lineage reviews, lookbacks, risk assessments, methodology and procedure review and development, training development and delivery, system implementations, and coverage assessments.
Effectively serve as the lead point of contact (i.e., engagement leader) for engagement teams and clients, providing day-to-day direction to engagement teams and coaching/ mentoring team members.
Establish yourself as a trusted advisor to clients.
Provide strategic oversight and expert evaluation of clients’ financial crimes programs, especially in the realm of financial crimes technology, assessing alignment with regulatory requirements, supervisory expectations, and industry-leading practices. Provide value added insights and practical recommendations that are commensurate to the client’s risk profile, IT and operational capabilities.
Review and/or prepare reports and written documents utilizing Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, writing in a clear, concise and articulate manner.
Utilize effective project management and quality assurance practices to ensure deliverables meet client expectations, while the project stays within agreed budgets and timelines.
Proactively identify, escalate, and manage risks and issues throughout the engagement lifecycle. Serve as a key escalation point for junior team members, engaging with senior leadership and clients to communicate concerns and drive resolution.
Navigate complex or sensitive conversations with professionalism and empathy, strengthening client relationships while ensuring risks are effectively managed to closure.
Maintain composure and professionalism in high-pressure, fast-paced engagements, instilling confidence in both clients and team members. Effectively manage challenging situations with empathy and clarity, fostering trust and strengthening relationships.
Lead key client meetings and ensure the appropriate team members attend.
During engagements, identify opportunities for additional work to be delivered to existing clients.
Sales and Go-To-Market
Identify opportunities (leads) to provide services to existing and prospective clients.
Independently and by partnering with the sales team, manage opportunities through to closure. Lead proposal and SOW development efforts, prepare budgets.
Stay up to date on emerging regulatory requirements and guidance, as well as industry trends such as AI and Machine Learning use cases and applications.
Develop, maintain and nurture a network of board and senior management-level relationships throughout the business community, in particular with financial crime services buyers
Enlist more junior resources to support sales and go-to-market efforts
Consistently establishes themselves as a subject matter expert in financial crimes risk management and technology.
Internal Initiatives and People Leadership
Lead by example and provide leadership to ensure that the mission, core values and strategy of the company are put into practice.
Demonstrate support in advancing company revenue and profitability objectives.
Collaborate with members of the Advisory leadership team to execute on an effective growth strategy for the Advisory practice. Take a leadership role on internal initiatives.
Recruit, train, mentor and develop Advisory team members, with a particular focus on
Data & Analytics resources.
Provide balanced, periodic performance reviews to team members.
Serve as an effective People Leader.
Required Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree preferred in Mathematics, Statistics, Information System Management, and Data Science (or equivalent). If not available, equivalent years of relevant AML/Sanctions/Fraud experience are required. Relevant experience includes time spent providing financial crimes data analytics focused consulting advice to the financial services industry or equivalent time in a financial crime data analytics focused industry role.
A minimum of twelve (12) years of relevant AML/Sanctions/Fraud experience working in industry or at professional services / management consulting firms in an advisory consulting role.
A minimum of eight (8) years in a managerial or leadership role, with experience leading, mentoring and coaching diverse teams.
A minimum of 10 years of experience in writing/reviewing advanced SQL Code (windows functions, dynamic SQL, looping logic).
A minimum of 8 years of experience in writing Python scripts or equivalent for data wrangling / cleaning, web scraping, and analytical visualization.
Strong knowledge of Machine Learning, AI, and LLMs.
Strong analytical and quantitative skills to be able to explain a story based on data analytics (trend analysis, A/B Testing, reconciliation, Regression Models, etc.)
Strong entrepreneurial spirit - highly collaborative, able to express ideas readily, manage change fluidly, able to influence and identify opportunities for improvement
Subject matter expert in anti-financial crime program concepts, including rules and regulations, as well as regulatory and industry trends, as well as the vendor solutions utilized to fight financial crime
Candidates must have a network of financial services industry contacts and be able to articulate examples of how they have contributed to selling advisory services in the past
Ability to communicate effectively with financial crimes program leaders and senior executives
Able to deliver cross-functional collaboration across both Data and Advisory teams, and lead and mentor a team of data analysts
Ability to quickly diagnose issues and to develop and successfully oversee the execution of action plans
A strong self-starter who takes initiative and is highly accountable
Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities effectively, working both independently and collaboratively.
Exceptional interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills, with strong capabilities in project management.
Skilled in building cooperative working relationships and navigating conflict or escalations with professionalism and tact.
Expert in Microsoft Office, with a focus on Word, Excel and Powerpoint
Experience working with diverse teams
Ability to travel as needed
Preferred Qualifications
Experience implementing, reviewing and validating AI and Machine Learning capabilities and models
CAMS, CFE, ICA or similar certification
Experience and/or knowledge in: (i) non-traditional financial services organizations (e.g., payments, fintech, crypto, etc); and (ii) understanding and/or knowledge of
North American, European and Asia Pacific financial crimes laws and regulations.