First Line Financial Crimes Risk and Client Onboarding Head of Production

Company Profile

Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services.  The Firm’s employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, and individuals from more than 1,200 offices in 43 countries.

As a market leader, the talent and passion of our people is critical to our success.  Together, we share a common set of values rooted in integrity, excellence, and strong team ethics.  Morgan Stanley can provide a superior foundation for building a professional career – a place for people to learn, to achieve and grow.  A philosophy that balances personal lifestyles, perspectives and needs is an important part of our culture.

Department Profile

The ISG Financial Crimes Risk (“FCR”) Team is embedded within the Firm’s business line.  It is responsible for identifying, assessing, and escalating potential money laundering and reputational risk issues associated with higher risk client types. The FCRCO Team is considered the first line of defense and supports the onboarding and enhanced due diligence processes for Morgan Stanley.

Background on the Team

The Production Team is closely partnering with the Regional Financial Crimes Risk Advisory Heads in each major region (US / EMEA / APAC) to proactively conduct client reviews, resolve and answer queries from regional Financial Crimes Risk Teams (and / or other related functional groups such as Global Financial Crimes and / or Onboarding Teams). The team is geographically diverse, consisting of production teams centered in India and Glasgow as “shared utility teams” and regionally aligned production teams in US, EMEA and APAC.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Production Management:
  • Oversee regionally diverse teams (India, EMEA, US, APAC) and ensuring timely completion of client refresh and client onboarding duties and related ancillary tasks
  • Design, develop, implement, monitor, and refine ongoing production processes and procedures as appropriate in a standardized manner while adjusting for regional nuances
  • Ensure timely completion of defined book of work within Firm thresholds and SLAs
  • Identify, address, and resolve any production-related blockers or concerns impacting velocity, quality, or consistency in the process
  • Instill and reinforce a culture of excellence, natural curiosity, and urgency across all production teams in terms of financial crimes risk management and mitigation
• Capacity Management & Planning
  • Working with the COO office and Metrics Leads, review and define the required capacity (staffing levels) per region and team function to ensure adequate resourcing levels and skillsets given current and anticipated volumes and business environment
  • Ensure adequate risk buffers to anticipate and absorb eventualities and remain within thresholds
  • Identify, hire, and develop production team talent commensurate with job requirements and experience levels
• Metrics
  • Working with the Metrics Lead, define and refine the appropriate metrics related to Production
  • Continuously monitor production metrics and articulate respective metrics as required by external parties, Firm Management or Regional Heads (such as case status, case completions, particular blockers, velocity, quality, etc.)
• Continuous Improvement / Continuous Refinement
  • Working with the COO office, define and implement ongoing continuous improvement and continuous learning processes and procedures
  • Review quality trends and identify actionable improvement opportunities (process, procedures, training, coaching)
  • Collaborate with appropriate teams to update and implement such continuous improvement initiatives and monitor / quantify their effectiveness and efficacy
  • Work with related business units or other teams to standardize and/or implement “best-of-breed” processes firmwide

Skills Required

Candidates must have:

• Extensive experience working in Financial Services / Consulting or Banking environment
• Experience with Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)/Anti-Money Laundering Regulations within the financial services industry, or at a financial services regulator (e.g., Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Reserve Bank, Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)
• An undergraduate degree in Business, Finance, or other related field
• Strong knowledge of Know Your Customer, Customer Identification Program, and customer due diligence requirements, including Enhanced Due Diligence processes and functions
• Demonstrable prior experience in standing up, hiring, overseeing, and improving large-scale delivery teams across different regions and time zones
• Ability to identify and hire key talent and provide guidance on performance management, performance metrics and performance improvement plans
• Experience in managing regionally diverse teams (including offshore and nearshore) and experience working and leveraging external vendor resources (such as staffing agencies, consulting firms and others)
• Experience with vendor and technology management with good knowledge of business products, operations, systems, and organization
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing
• Strong leadership qualities with the ability to manage teams and evidence a strong work ethic as well as a high degree of integrity
• Excellent interpersonal skills necessary to work effectively and collaboratively with colleagues and stakeholders across regions and business units
• Willingness to travel nationally and internally up to 20%

Skills desired

• Relevant technology and/ or project management certifications preferred (i.e., PMP Certification, Prince2)
• Expertise in managing programs focused on ensuring quality within AML programs
• Certified as an Anti-Money Laundering Specialist by ACAMS or equivalent AML certification/license is a plus

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM MORGAN STANLEY:

We are committed to maintaining the first-class service and high standard of excellence that have defined Morgan Stanley for over 89 years. Our values - putting clients first, doing the right thing, leading with exceptional ideas, committing to diversity and inclusion, and giving back - aren’t just beliefs, they guide the decisions we make every day to do what's best for our clients, communities and more than 80,000 employees in 1,200 offices across 42 countries. At Morgan Stanley, you’ll find an opportunity to work alongside the best and the brightest, in an environment where you are supported and empowered. Our teams are relentless collaborators and creative thinkers, fueled by their diverse backgrounds and experiences. We are proud to support our employees and their families at every point along their work-life journey, offering some of the most attractive and comprehensive employee benefits and perks in the industry. There’s also ample opportunity to move about the business for those who show passion and grit in their work.

Certified Persons Regulatory Requirements:
If this role is deemed a Certified role and may require the role holder to hold mandatory regulatory qualifications or the minimum qualifications to meet internal company benchmarks.

Flexible work statement
Interested in flexible working opportunities? Morgan Stanley empowers employees to have greater freedom of choice through flexible working arrangements. Speak to our recruitment team to find out more.

Morgan Stanley is an equal opportunities employer. We work to provide a supportive and inclusive environment where all individuals can maximize their full potential. Our skilled and creative workforce is comprised of individuals drawn from a broad cross section of the global communities in which we operate and who reflect a variety of backgrounds, talents, perspectives, and experiences. Our strong commitment to a culture of inclusion is evident through our constant focus on recruiting, developing, and advancing individuals based on their skills and talents.