Sanctions & Commercial Advisory Specialist

Job Description

At M&G our vision is: to become the best loved and most successful savings and investment business and were looking for people who are excited about joining us on our journey. Were digitally transforming and investing heavily in technology and innovation to develop new and improved customer propositions that really raise the bar for our customers.To help us achieve our vision were looking for exceptional people who live our values and behaviours and who can inspire others; embrace change; deliver results and keep it simple. We know that an inclusive environment makes us more accessible and ensures we attract, engage, promote and retain exceptional people. We welcome applications from all individuals regardless of age, gender/gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity/nationality,disability, or military service and welcome those who have taken career breaks. We will consider flexible working arrangements or home working arrangements for any of our roles and also offer work place accommodations to ensure you have what you need to effectivelydeliver in your role. What you can expect from us:We are committed to creating an environment where you can be exceptional at all you do. To help us deliver this, we promise to:

• Challenge Your Limits by creating a stimulating working environment and providing opportunities for you to be involved in meaningful and challenging work
• Support Your Aspirations with a commitment to learning and development that helps you achieve and build your experience with people who want you to succeed
• Value Your Input whereby leaders and managers will involve you in key decisions, listen to your thoughts and recognise the important contribution you make
• Balance Your Life through a work life partnership that focuses on making this an inclusive, diverse and friendly place to work and offers the flexibility and support that enables everyone to be at their best

How do we support our employees: All M&G plc employees will be supported in the workplace through our M&G Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). If you need counselling, confidential financial or legal advice. The service is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and offers access to qualifiedprofessionals who can provide specialist information, advice and support on many issues. It offers a broad range of services, including help with family issues, maintaining work/life balance and mental health support. The Role:The Sanctions and Compliance Advisory Specialist will be a member of the Risk Assessment Unit which forms part of M&Gs 1st Line of Defence, supporting all M&G Businesses in their management of Anti Money Laundering (AML), Financial Crime Risk and providingFCC advisory support to the business areas. The Risk Assessment Unit oversees, manages escalations and provides approval for new onboarding and ongoing Know Your Client (KYC) due diligence cases (individual and corporate) that are deemed to be of a higher level of risk, and require subject matter expertiseand decision making to support completion. The RAU also provides guidance on financial crime risk considerations to the business areas across M&G and this role will be a key part of that. Key Responsibilities Include:

• Support KYC analysts and M&G business areas in assessing, escalation and decisioning of Sanctions risk. Offer guidance, support and feedback to investigators and other Operations team members dealing with customers that have been identified on a Sanctionslist, and those linked to Sanctions compliance investigations.
• Analysing comparative data, preparing and presenting regional and global reports related to sanctions risk assessments, monitoring of sanctions related issues and escalations / communications with 2nd Line and business Senior Management.
• Support the Head of 1st Line FCC, Head of Risk Assessment Unit and the UK MLRO in assessing the potential Sanction risk and managing the impact/ communications with the relevant business area.
• Perform an in-house control function to validate that all relevant M&G entities comply with norms for Sanction regimes in-scope, including management of processes and procedures, regulatory horizon scanning, training in relation to Sanctions issues, andreferrals to the 2nd Line for policy guidance/ updates.
• Assess KYC due-diligence profiles of Sanctioned individuals/ entities identified as part of screening at onboarding and/or on an ongoing basis.
• Participate in the identification and management of Sanction de-categorisations and ensure changes in sanctions details are updated in a timely manner.
• Liaise with M&G Senior Management, reporting any suspicions or unusual significant activities in relation to Sanctions hits to the local Money Laundering Reporting Officer.
• Perform an advisory role for the provision of FCC guidance to the business for new commercial ventures, including but not limited to, entry into new markets/ jurisdictions, new product launches, new distribution channels, etc.
• Provide advisory support to business teams to identify potential FCC concerns for new deal/ client/ customer (prospect) opportunities, and work with 2nd Line Risk and Compliance teams for interpretation of local laws/ regulations.

Other accountabilities required as part of the Risk Assessment Unit:

Represent the 1st Line of Defence within in Client Due Diligence Risk Committees, and other internal AML related forums and plays an active role by presenting key AML analysis and articulating clear guidance to inform opinion and reach consensus on howbest to identify and respond to financial crime risk.

Support KYC analysts with the completion of new onboarding and ongoing KYC due diligence cases that are deemed to be of a higher level of risk, and require a level of subject matter expertise and decision making.

Identify any additional outreach required to obtain information and documentation to complete higher risk due-diligence reviews.

Ascertain and communicate reasons why certain documents are required (i.e. must be experienced in KYC requirements impact assessment, advanced customer verification and complex organisation structure reviews)

Provide support and manages escalations related to resolution of screening related queries and incidents raised by KYC analysts, ensuring problems get resolved and issues are addressed within a timely manner.Review and provide AML guidance on assessmentof Associated Parties required within M&G deal-specific arrangements, identifies options to mitigate identifiable risk (in consultation with other financia