Specialist: Forensics (3S) - Johannesburg at Absa Group Limited (Absa)

Job Summary

• AGL Financial Crime are responsible for ensuring that the Bank manages the risks of money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions, bribery, and corruption and, in so doing, protects the Bank, its customers and its employees, as well as society at large, from the negative effects of financial crime. The Financial Crime function implements a Financial Crime Risk framework to meet the requirements of anti-money laundering, anti-terrorism, anti-bribery & corruption, and economic sanctions laws and regulations.

Job Description

• The successful candidate will be responsible for all aspects of monitoring, surveillance analysis and reporting as well as for the identification and assessment of new and emerging threats (including, but not limited to, Illicit Financial Flows, Terror Financing, Human Trafficking, Ponzi Schemes, and Corruption) against the Bank making use of existing typologies, use case and indicators to detect the existence thereof in the Bank. Also, assist in the formulation of the strategic direction and appropriate intelligence led activity across Africa to ensure that we have a top in class capability that enables the firm to appropriately manage financial crime and terrorist financing risk and ensures we are compliant with all related regulatory requirements and expectations.
• A key requirement of the role is to build out a robust, firm-wide capability to enable a data driven approach to managing risk which also drives a top-class analytics and intelligence capability to enhance and strengthen the firm's management of financial crime and terrorist financing.

The key specific accountabilities of this role would be the following:

•  Being actively involved in delivering a robust FIU capability that meets the requirements and expectations of all regulatory stakeholders.
• Being actively involved in the development of intelligence products that are both strategic and operational in nature.
• Assessing the impact of Financial Crime threats and risks on a global scale, breaking down jurisdiction and business silo barriers – applying a risk-based approach to business units, customers, jurisdictions, and products.
• Taking the outcomes from intelligence led investigations and ensuring these are embedded in the business.
• Working closely with analytics in the development of a data acquisition strategy and deployment of supporting toolsets.
• Actively seek to enhance the profile of the FCIU by adding value to business in regular engagements.

Key Accountabilities:

Accountability Operational Support and Coordination

• Assess all data, trends and indicators and escalate all issues of a significant nature to the appropriate stakeholders on a timely basis through interactions and submission of reports (content presentation, accuracy, quality and completeness are important).
• Be able to identify relevant legal-, reputational-, concentration-, regulatory and credit-risks and to verbalise same in an appropriate manner to enable the relevant business unit to manage its client-relationships accordingly.
• Capture appropriate, accurate and reliable data on the relevant case management system to allow effective MI being communicated.
• Evaluate and add value to information received from internal- and external-stakeholders with the objective of turning the information into intelligence, thereby enhancing the profile of the FCIU and improving the unit’s value proposition.
• Make meaningful and appropriate recommendations in any communications/reports/interactions becoming a relevant trusted advisor and business enabler.

Accountability: Monitoring

• Utilise the rich sources of Customer, Transactional and Geospatial data to develop flexible rule based profiling  models  to monitor  and  detect  on-going  Financial Crime red flags.
• Be actively involved in the delivery of the next generation of analytics-based monitoring capabilities through the development of statistical based detection models.

Accountability: Stakeholder Management

• Be actively involved in engagement with key stakeholders to ensure effective partnership both internally and externally.
• Provide guidance to the Business because of outcomes and outputs from intelligence driven activity.
• Lead by example, appreciates their role in providing guidance and education and training to others.
• Able to clearly navigate and articulate the importance of the FC Control Environment to the business that is because of intelligence activity, whether internally or externally driven.
• Able to educate colleagues and skillfully provide simple explanations, real world case studies.
• Able to effectively present/ facilitate FC training if required.
• Embraces change and sponsors improvements as a consequence of the outputs of intelligence led or driven activity.
• Technology & Change – Work closely with Technology & Change functions to build an industry leading analytics capability.

Accountability:  Risk and Control

• All AGL colleagues have to ensure that all activities and duties are conducted in full compliance with regulatory requirements, Enterprise-Wide Risk Management Framework and internal Absa Policies and Policy Standards.

Education and Experience Required

• Relevant B-degree in Law or Risk Management, with LL.B an advantage.
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in the field of Risk Management/Financial Crime (AML/ ABC/Sanctions/IFF)/Financial Crime Intelligence or Data analytics.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Specialist knowledge of AML policies and procedures
• Experience in AML or investigations
• Advanced user of Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Word, Outlook email, Internet. Good understanding of the banking products and services
• Strong working knowledge of relevant operational areas which interface with this role
• Awareness of cultural differences and varying legal/regulatory environments
• Innovative thinking
• Relationship building
• Communication skills
• Experience of working within a highly regulated environment along with a sound understanding of the current environment and key issue within financial services
• Ability to contextualize and articulate findings in a logical and coherent manner enabling stakeholders to make an informed decision

Education

• Bachelor`s Degrees and Advanced Diplomas: Law, Military Science and Security (Required)

End Date: July 23, 2025