The Financial Crime Apprentice will provide overall support to the Risk & Compliance Team, specifically assisting the Financial Crime sub-team and the Financial Crime Senior Manager on a range of projects. The role will be focused on gaining experience in four core functions – Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Sanctions, General Financial Crime, and record keeping.
This role offers an impressive opportunity for someone wanting to start a career in AML/Financial Crime compliance. There will be ample opportunities to enhance your knowledge across AML regulations in the UK, as well as across jurisdictions that the firm operates in.
In this role, you will report to the Financial Crime Senior Manager based in London. As a member of the Financial Crime Team, you will regularly liaise with our lawyers and other teams including Conflicts and the wider Risk and Compliance teams.
As part of the apprenticeship, you will also study towards the Level 3 compliance and risk officer apprenticeship and can choose to also take the International Compliance Association (ICA) Certificate.
Summary of Duties include but are not limited to:
Financial Crime Team Support:
Assisting with client due diligence (“CDD”) analysis on a variety of corporate structures.
Coordinate and help the Financial Crime Analysts maintain the AML and Financial Crime work streams and diligently recording tasks allocated to the analysts.
Supporting adverse press research, assessing its relevance, and excluding false positives using bespoke research tools and open-source intelligence techniques.
Helping with research to identify whether a client is a politically exposed person (“PEP”) and escalating as required.
Assisting with matter and client risk assessments on new clients and matters.
Reviewing existing client and matter records to check they meet Dechert’s CDD requirements and are filed appropriately within the IntApp system.
Regulatory Audit Support:
Assisting in creating Excel spreadsheets with updated list of clients and matters for review for different regulatory audits.
Maintaining records to meet audit requirements.
Support the Financial Crime Senior Manager in extracting and presenting AML data when information needs to be provided to regulators or to feed into Firmwide AML Risk Assessments.
General Support:
Building effective working relationships with the analysts and wider Risk & Compliance team.
Maintaining an up-to-date knowledge of changes to legislation and regulations.
Taking a keen interest to understand the structure of the firm, its practice groups, and our clients.
Other ad-hoc projects as required.
Knowledge, Skills and Competencies
IT skills in Excel, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
Able to record data and effectively report on the data collected.
Attention to detail when working with large volumes of data.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to think critically and analytically.
Ability to handle confidential information in a discreet manner.
Education and experience
No prior experience required; however, a strong interest in Financial Crime or AML compliance is essential.
Minimum 5 GCSEs, including 9-6 in Maths & English (or equivalent).
Minimum 3 A Levels with a minimum of B obtained (or predicted).
Working Schedule
As this is an apprenticeship role, the apprentice will be provided with a minimum of six hours of learning or study time during working hours on a weekly basis.
The role will be 5 days in the office (Monday – Friday). The role will be a fixed-term contract for the duration of the apprenticeship.
