Head of Compliance - Financial Crime and Advisory Services

Head of Compliance - Financial Crime and Advisory Services

Working hours: This role is available on a part-time, job-share or full-time basis

Location: London (with travel to Swindon and Fareham)

Closing date for applications: 31st October 2025

The opportunity: 

As Head of Compliance - Financial Crime and Advisory Services, you will be responsible for managing a team who support the business with understanding and adhering to potentially complex regulatory requirements.  This team will include all of the financial crime technical experts with a team of compliance advisors as well. You will oversee the delivery of technical financial crime expertise and regulatory services and expertise to relevant business areas, as well as supporting your colleagues within Compliance. You will help to embed financial crime technical expertise and oversight processes as well as regulatory discipline within the business, manage and review compliance risks and advise on the design of appropriate controls and monitoring.

You will lead interaction with the first line financial crime team and embed a robust financial crime oversight framework, key outsourcers, supporting the Head pf Compliance with the Compliance plan, creating reports for boards and committees and interaction with Swiss and European colleagues.

Many of our employees work flexibly in a variety of different ways, including part-time, flexible hours, job share, an element of working from home or compressed hours. This is because we want the best people for our roles, and we recognise that sometimes those people aren’t available full-time. Please talk to us at the interview about the flexibility you may need.

What will you be doing? 

The key accountabilities of the Head of Compliance, Financial Crime And Advisory Services role are:

• Ensure the Financial Crime team improve compliance standards by the provision of clear guidance and fair challenge
• Put regulatory requirements and the customer at the heart of everything we do
• Oversee the development and maintenance of appropriate second line Financial Crime governance, policy and controls
• Oversee the team delivering impactful and accurate Financial Crime reporting and MI
• Oversee engagement with Financial Crime Regulators, Trade Bodies and Law Enforcement including input to and implementation of new regulatory/legislative Financial Crime developments
• Oversee the operationalisation and execution of Financial Crime activities e.g. provision of advice, regulatory reporting, stakeholder management, investigations.
• Operational management and direction of the second line Financial Crime team
• Support the Head of Compliance with and influence internal Senior Management and external third parties
• Keep abreast of regulatory and business change
• Share expertise and knowledge both internally and within the business
• Escalate any identified issues to the Head of Compliance and Senior Management
• Establish, enhance and implement relevant Compliance procedures
• Deputise for the Head of Compliance as necessary
• Set, agree and review annual objectives for direct reports
• Provide clear strategy, training and governance to the Financial Crime team and any relevant advisors
• Ensure the Financial Crime Team and Advisors provide support to the business in respect of identified regulatory issues, adhoc queries and through change programmes (e.g. business developments or regulatory change)
• Oversee the effective operation of the External Change Review Group (ECRG) process on behalf of Legal, including identification, allocation and tracking of in-scope legal and regulatory change
• Organise and oversee an effective Relationship Management model
• Act as or delegate the appointed Advisor on propositional developments and other project work
• Allocate support for internal projects assessing the compliance risks for each project
• Create, develop and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders across the business

What are we looking for?

You should have at least 5 years’ experience in a similar Compliance related role within the Financial Services Industry. You will have excellent technical knowledge and experience of financial crime including an understanding of AML, economic sanctions and fraud.  Ideally you will also either hold a qualification in a relevant field (e.g. Diploma in Financial Planning or Insurance) or be willing to work towards this.

You will have a broad knowledge of the Insurance and Investment Industry, the UK regulatory and governance framework and Financial Crime regime is essential. Knowledge of the EU passporting regime is also useful.  In particular you should have good knowledge of the FCA Handbook and the Financial Services & Markets Act and good working knowledge of the PRA Handbook and other relevant legislation.

You will be a competent and experienced compliance advisor with strong communication, problem-solving, interpretation, decision-making and judgment skills are a must. You will need to be able to work with a high degree of autonomy.  You will need to have first class interpersonal and communication skills with a strong ability to work collaboratively and in a team. You will have excellent commercial and business acumen and ability to build and maintain strong working relationships with all stakeholders and inspire confidence as a trusted compliance advisor and collaborator.  You will need to understand business drivers in order to focus Compliance input appropriately and influence Senior Management accordingly. You will need strength in management and leadership and be able to inspire and transform a team.

As an inclusive employer, we want to ensure that all candidates feel comfortable and can perform at their best during the interview. You’ll have the opportunity to let us know of any reasonable adjustment or practical support needed when you apply.

What will you get in return?

Everyone’s different. That’s why at Zurich, we offer a wide range of employee benefits so our people can choose what fits them and their life. Our benefits provide real flexibility so our people can make considered choices and tailor their benefits throughout the year. Our benefits include 12% defined non-contributory pension scheme, annual company bonus, private medical insurance and the option to buy up to an additional 20 days or sell some of your holiday.

Follow the link for more information about our benefits - Employee benefits | Working at Zurich Insurance UK

Why UK Compliance?

Across the Financial Services industry, demand for Compliance professionals is increasing as firms wrestle with their regulatory risks. To give some scale, the FCA levied over £176m in fines during 2024 alone.

UK Compliance is a second line assurance function responsible for supporting Zurich's UK management in promoting a culture of compliance and providing assurance that compliance risks are appropriately identified and managed. 

Our vision is to build a strong relationship with the business, based on clear guidance and fair challenge, so that they seek out our insight and expertise, to protect our business and deliver good outcomes for our customers.  This desire to deliver good customer outcomes is what drives our vision as we seek to foster a culture of continuous improvement and improved customer experience.

You’ll have to think on your feet as you manage regulatory risks big and small.  It’s a big challenge, but you’ll have a truly diverse network helping you. As part of an established team, every day will provide opportunities to learn, grow and share ideas. We make every effort to address your career development needs and facilitate your future success.

Our Culture:

At Zurich, our sense of community is strong and we’re particularly passionate about diversity and inclusion, which we’ve won numerous awards for. We want our people to bring the whole of themselves to work and ensure everybody is made to feel welcome, regardless of their background, beliefs or culture. We want our employees to reflect the diversity of our customers, and so are committed to treating all of our applicants fairly and with respect, irrespective of their actual or assumed background, disability or any other protected characteristic.

We’ve an environment that places a real importance on our people’s wellbeing from a physical, mental, social and financial perspective. We work with our wellbeing partners and industry experts to provide the best advice and access to a wealth of lifestyle support. We’re also committed to continuous improvement, and we offer access to a comprehensive range of training and development opportunities.

We’re passionate about supporting employees to help others by getting involved in volunteering, charitable and community activity. Our charitable arm, Zurich Community Trust, is one of the longest-established corporate trusts in the UK. In that time, we’ve awarded grants and volunteered time to deserving causes in the UK valued at over £90 million.

So make a difference. Be challenged. Be inspired. Be supported, Love what you do. Work for us. #LI-Hybrid

SMFs

‘This role is a Senior Management Function (SMF) role under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR), which is subject to regulatory approval. The successful candidate will be offered the position subject to the successful completion of Regulatory Reference requirements’.

Certified Persons

‘‘This role is a Certification Regime role that is subject to Fitness & Propriety standards under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR). The successful candidate will be offered the position subject to the successful completion of Regulatory Reference requirements’