Assistant Vice President, Investigative Reporting

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HSBC is one of the largest banking and financial services organizations in the world, with operations in 64 countries and territories. We aim to be where the growth is, enabling businesses to thrive and economies to prosper, and, ultimately, helping people to fulfil their hopes and realize their ambitions.

We are currently seeking an experienced professional to join our team in the role of Assistant Vice President, Investigative Reporting.

Why join us?

Investigative Reporting is one of four investigative teams within FCI. It is responsible for high volume investigations, including transaction monitoring generated cases, true match cases generated from name screening alerts, referrals from Fraud Operations, as well as cases resulting from Financial Crime – Unusual Activity Reporting (FC-UARs), production/court orders and other referrals where FCI Triage has assessed that the case is appropriate for referral to Investigative Reporting. Transaction monitoring generated cases includes Dynamic Risk Assessment (DRA) cases, where implemented, or scheduled to be implemented as well as classic transaction monitoring cases. Designated team members or points of contact located in-market are responsible for final decisioning, coordination with the MLRO, and filing of all SARs.

The Opportunity:

Responsible for managing a team of investigators (generally between 8-12 investigators) tasked with conducting investigations in accordance with the Investigative Reporting Instructions.
Direct the teams to ensure processes are implemented in accordance with procedures and quality decisions and written products are produced in a timely manner.

What you’ll do:

Principal Accountabilities: key activities and decision making areas

Effective and timely investigation into assigned cases in accordance with agreed standard for reporting requirements and service level agreements. These cases may include:
Cases generated by transaction monitoring systems, including the DRA;
FC-Unusual Activity Report raised from various parts of the bank, and referred, as appropriate, by Triage to Investigative Reporting;
Escalated cases identified by true matches to screening lists by Name Screening teams;
Cross-border referrals; and
Escalated cases from Fraud Operations.
Ensure that the correct review recommendations are made as appropriate, which may include referral to the MLRO or designated in-market Investigators as to whether a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) should be filed; referrals to other Investigations teams (Complex Investigations or Major Investigations); or to seek advice from Subject Matter Experts (e.g., AB&C, Sanctions Advisory and Tax Transparency etc.), where appropriate.
Ensure that appropriate referrals for action are identified and completed, including but not limited to recommendations for exit, and KYC/CDD refresh referrals.
Ensure where appropriate, interaction with relevant stakeholders, including other Investigations team as well as Customer Selection Exit Management (CSEM) Secretariat or other representatives to manage financial crime risk is done in accordance with procedures.
Conduct regular team meetings and huddles with team as well as individual 1:1s sessions to cover performance, provide feedback and facilitate personal development planning.

Typical Targets and Measures

Continuous improvements in the efficiency and quality of the Investigative Reporting teams.
Team production capacity in line with relevant SLAs.
Team quality performance within QA standards.
Prompt escalation and remediation of identified root causes affecting production capacity or quality performance.

Impact on the Business/Function across the region
Responsible for managing the follow activity across a team:

Appropriate pro-active use of media reports and relevant websites, where appropriate, to gather intelligence and identify customers of HSBC involved in financial crime, including money laundering and terrorism.
High quality case file including a comprehensive narrative and recommendation as to whether or not a SAR is appropriate with onward escalation for disclosure to the relevant authorities in accordance with procedural standards.
Appropriate escalation to other Investigations teams, taking care to evaluate appropriately against relevant escalation criteria.

Typical Targets and Measures
o Internal and external feedback on production capability and quality.

Customers / Stakeholders

Deal with enquiries from colleagues of other HSBC business areas in a professional, responsive manner, giving them appropriate guidance, referring to management where necessary.
Deal with external enquiries, if required, in a professional manner, providing appropriate information, referring to management, where necessary

Typical Targets and Measures
o Adequate and timely escalation of Compliance matters.

Leadership & Teamwork

Ensure compliance across team with regulatory requirement and bank policies and principles. Maintain records, and update case histories.
Work closely with Investigators to develop personal capability and develop career goals.
Build capability across Investigative Reporting and embed a “One Team” ethos across locations.
Pro-actively support Senior Managers on various tasks, and projects.
Use Quality Assurance metrics to enhance team quality.

Typical Targets and Measures

Demonstration of regulatory and bank Values in all behaviours
Evidence of an engaged and positive team culture.
Ensure no gaps in covering core functions as team members are demonstrably assisting each other in order to prioritize cases on a risk basis with minimal delay.
Demonstrate sound knowledge of financial crime and promote continuous learning and sharing culture in the team.

Operational Effectiveness & Control

Ensure performance meets the requirements of any relevant service level agreements and at all times, adheres to Market, Group and Regulatory policies.
Generate ideas to improve team and process efficiencies.
Monitor and assess performance and level of resourcing.

Typical Targets and Measures

Performance against Service Level Agreements and quality measurements
Contribution to a continuous improvement culture

What you will need to succeed in the role:

3-5 years of experience in managing teams.
Universal banking experience across Retail, Commercial and Banking and Markets
Money Laundering investigations experience
Familiarity and experience with the case management system (Universal Case Management (UCM))
Experience with banking core customer data management systems applicable to the relevant market
Experience of identifying activity indicative of financial crime risk, i.e., money laundering, terrorist financing, etc. risk
Strong critical thinking and analytical skills. Ability to make informed risk-based decisions with robust supporting rationale.
Experience in undertaking investigations/analysis into customer activity with the ability to draw inferences from noted behavior, including transactional profile, against expectation established from KYC/CDD data
Experience in writing reports
Proven high quality spoken and written communication skills with the ability to draft reports and communicate conclusions effectively, in a clear, concise, and professional manner.
Consistently achieve objectives set and take action to improve own performance
Strong organizational skills
Strong communication with good inter-personal and influencing skills
Receptive to accepting and effecting change
Be able to work effectively in a time pressured environment
Creative thinking and effective decision-making skills
Leadership skills and proven track record in managing and motivating staff

What additional skills will be good to have?

ACAMS or International Compliance Association (ICA) certificate/diploma, or equivalent qualifications
Collaborative working style with colleagues and broader stakeholders within a cross-border and LoB matrix organization
Prior regulatory or law enforcement investigations experience

If interested, please apply for this position attaching a copy of your CV

Due to the urgent hiring need, candidates with immediate right to work locally and no relocation need will be prioritized.

You’ll achieve more when you join HSBC
HSBC is an equal opportunity employer committed to building a culture where all employees are valued, respected and opinions count. We take pride in providing a workplace that fosters continuous professional development, flexible working and, opportunities to grow within an inclusive and diverse environment. We encourage applications from all suitably qualified persons irrespective of, but not limited to, their gender or genetic information, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, social status, medical care leave requirements, political affiliation, people with disabilities, color, national origin, veteran status, etc., We consider all applications based on merit and suitability to the role. Personal data held by the Bank relating to employment applications will be used in accordance with our Privacy Statement, which is available on our website.

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