Director - Financial Crime Advisory

About the role

We are looking for an exceptional Director to lead and grow a Financial Crime Compliance (FCC) Advisory practice based in Saudi Arabia, with reach across the wider GCC region. This is a senior, client-facing role that combines deep regulatory expertise with hands-on delivery and entrepreneurial business development.

The successful candidate will be a self-driven practitioner with a proven track record of winning and delivering significant FCC advisory mandates for banks and financial institutions in the GCC. You will be passionate about building a thriving FCC advisory practice for the long term, and will bring equal parts commercial drive, technical depth, and delivery discipline.

The role is a 50/50 split between business development and project delivery. You will be expected to manage and grow a team while personally overseeing the quality and execution of client engagements.

Key responsibilities

Business development & practice growth (50%)

• Own and drive the end-to-end business development lifecycle for FCC advisory services across Saudi Arabia, with visibility across the GCC.
• Build, maintain, and expand a strong network of C-suite, CCO, CMLCO, and senior compliance relationships at local and international banks, payment firms, and financial institutions.
• Proactively identify, pursue, and close new advisory mandates across the full spectrum of FCC services, including: gap assessments, AML/CFT programme reviews, sanctions and transaction monitoring (TM) model validation, KYC/CDD/EDD remediation, financial crime risk assessments, monitorships/Skilled Persons Reviews, and technology selection and implementation.
• Develop compelling client proposals, presentations, and thought leadership content aligned to regional and international regulatory priorities.
• Build and commercialise innovative, technology-enabled FCC advisory solutions and take them to market.
• Achieve and exceed annual revenue targets of USD 1 million and above from managed client accounts.
• Represent the firm at industry forums, conferences, and regulatory engagement events across the GCC.

Project delivery & quality assurance (50%)

• Lead delivery of complex, multi-workstream FCC advisory engagements across GCC clients, ensuring on-time, on-budget, and high-quality outcomes.
• Serve as senior engagement lead and subject matter expert across core FCC domains.
• Provide expert guidance on the selection, implementation, and configuration of leading sanctions screening and transaction monitoring technology platforms.
• Review and quality-assure all deliverables before client submission, ensuring analytical rigour, regulatory accuracy, and professional presentation.
• Mentor and develop junior and mid-level team members, fostering a culture of excellence and client focus.

Team building & leadership

• Recruit, build, and manage a high-performing FCC advisory team, setting clear performance expectations and development pathways.
• Foster an inclusive, accountable, and high-energy team culture.
• Act as a role model for quality standards, client service, and ethical conduct.

Core FCC domains

You will act as senior engagement lead across the following areas:

• Gap assessments against SAMA, CBUAE, FATF, and internal standards
• AML/CFT programme design, remediation, and framework transformation
• Sanctions and transaction monitoring model validation (design, parameters, thresholds, output quality)
• Sanctions and TM system tuning and optimisation
• KYC / CDD / EDD remediation and look-back programmes
• Monitorship / Skilled Persons Review (SPR) support
• Financial crime risk assessments (enterprise-wide, product, channel, customer segment)
• Regulatory examination readiness and response

What we're looking for

Experience (all mandatory)

• 15+ years of total professional experience
• 10+ years in FCC advisory / consulting
• 5+ years selling FCC advisory projects to banks and financial institutions
• 10+ years delivering FCC engagements end to end
• Proven experience working with local GCC banks
• Track record of building and managing a team
• Demonstrated management of client accounts generating USD 1 million+ per annum
• Technical & domain expertise

Deep, hands-on expertise across all FCC domains listed above, plus:

• Sanctions screening systems (e.g. Fircosoft/Accuity, Oracle OFAC) — selection, implementation, configuration, and tuning
• Transaction monitoring systems (e.g. SAS AML, NICE Actimize, Oracle FCCM, Temenos, FIS MANTAS)
• At least one full system selection and one implementation/configuration engagement (mandatory)

Regulatory knowledge

• Saudi Arabia: SAMA AML/CFT Framework, Rules Governing AML/CFT, Sanctions Rules, CDD Requirements
• UAE: CBUAE AML/CFT Regulations, SCA Requirements, UAE Cabinet Decisions on AML/CFT
• GCC: working familiarity with CBB (Bahrain), CBK (Kuwait), CBO (Oman), QCB (Qatar)
• FATF: 40 Recommendations, Mutual Evaluation Reports, and Guidance Papers
• Global reference context: EU AML Directives, OFAC, UK Sanctions, Wolfsberg Principles

Digital & data science

• Must have built at least one digital/technology-enabled FCC advisory solution and taken it to market
• Strong understanding of how RegTech, AI/ML, and automation are transforming financial crime risk management
• Knowledge of data science concepts and tools (Python preferred) applied to FCC analytics: network analysis, transaction analytics, model performance testing, alert optimisation
• Ability to articulate, demo, and sell data-driven FCC solutions to both C-suite and technical buyers

Who you are

• Highly motivated, self-driven, and proactive — you set your own agenda and hold yourself to the highest standards
• Genuinely passionate about building and scaling a financial crime advisory practice, not just delivering projects
• Quality-conscious with exceptional attention to detail
• Commercially savvy — you know how to originate, shape, price, and close consulting mandates
• A trusted relationship builder with a credible personal brand in the GCC banking and regulatory ecosystem
• A confident communicator at all levels, both written and verbal
• A natural leader who mentors others and invests in their team's growth
• Resilient and energised by the challenges of a fast-moving regulatory environment

Nice to have

• Arabic language proficiency (professional/business level) — a significant advantage for client engagement in KSA
• Python skills applied to FCC analytics (transaction monitoring analysis, model performance testing, alert threshold optimisation, network analytics)
• Background from a Big 4 firm, global management consultancy, or specialist FCC advisory firm
• Prior experience at or with an FCC technology vendor (e.g. Accuity, SAS, Actimize, Oracle)