Senior Manager

Senior Manager – Financial Crime – Cheadle – 12 months FTC

Job description

We are recruiting for a Senior Manager to join BDO, an accountancy and business advisory firm, in their Compliance and Financial Crime team. This is a fixed term contract opportunity, offering an excellent day rate.

About the role:
Seeking a Senior Manager for an initial 12 months to design and lead delivery of a financial crime strategy and next generation Enhanced Defence & Governance (EDGE) program. The appointed secondee will operate as an embedded senior leader, partnering with executive and functional stakeholders to define the strategy, mobilise delivery, strengthen governance, and drive measurable outcomes across financial crime prevention, detection, response, and regulatory requirements.

The organisation’s objective is to establish a clear, risk-based, business-aligned financial crime strategy and translate that strategy into a practical, prioritised, and executable next generation improvement.  This is expected to include strategic assessment, target state design, programme mobilisation, governance, stakeholder alignment, delivery planning, and early implementation of priority initiatives in line with evolving regulatory expectations and industry practice.

Key responsibilities include;
Undertake a rapid current-state assessment of the financial crime framework, operating model, governance, data, technology, controls, MI, and change landscape.
Design a financial crime strategy that is risk-based, outcome-focused, proportionate, and aligned to business strategy, regulatory obligations, and the external risk profile.
Define the target state for the for EDGE, including operating model, governance, decision rights, capability requirements, data and technology enablers, and implementation principles.
Develop a prioritised EDGE roadmap covering workstreams such as AML, sanctions, fraud, KYC/CDD, transaction monitoring, screening optimisation, case management, training, quality assurance, and management information.
Mobilise and lead the programme, including workplan creation, governance forums, RAID management, stakeholder engagement, status reporting, dependency management, and benefits tracking.
Lead delivery of priority initiatives including audit and self-identified issues and establish the foundations for sustained execution beyond the secondment term.
Support executive and board-level communications, including strategy papers, investment cases, steering materials, and regulatory-readiness messaging where required.
Build internal capability through coaching, knowledge transfer, and practical embedding of tools, methods, and governance disciplines.
About you:
Proven experience leading financial crime strategy, transformation, and change programmes within a regulated financial services environment.
Strong working knowledge across key financial crime disciplines, including AML, KYC/CDD, sanctions, fraud, transaction monitoring, screening, and governance.
Demonstrated experience delivering operating model, data, and technology-enabled transformation initiatives.
Able to balance strategic thinking with hands-on delivery, influencing senior stakeholders and driving tangible outcomes.
Supported by a robust team structure, with access to Director-level oversight, specialist expertise, quality assurance, and additional capacity when required.
Available to commit to the full secondment period, subject to agreed leave arrangements.
Desirable experience includes:
Deep financial crime subject matter expertise.
Application of AI and emerging technologies within financial crime programmes.
Target Operating Model (TOM) design and implementation.
Business case development and investment justification.
Leading large-scale transformation and change initiatives.
Additional Information:
Location: Cheadle
Duration: 12 months