AML Screening Manager

We are currently seeking a candidate to be a part of the Mumbai AML Screening team. The position is based in Mumbai. These are client facing positions. This team is directly responsible for providing AML/KYC services which involves reviewing of KYC documents, identification of red flags, verifying the source of wealth and source of funds of investors, performing sanctions/negative media screenings, and conducting appropriate due diligence based on the risk score of investors. The role entails a wide range of responsibilities related to investor relations, transactions, compliance, risk mitigation, reporting and communications. It requires attention to detail, strong analytical skills, and the ability to work in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.

The successful candidate will play a key role in overseeing the day-to-day operations related to Screening function, ensuring the efficient and accurate processing of investor AML reviews, reporting, and the delivery of exceptional client service. The role requires a deep understanding of hedge fund operations, AML expertise, Screenings, and strong leadership skills to manage a team while collaborating with various internal and external stakeholders.

This role is pivotal to ensuring the smooth and efficient operation of the Investor Services Operations, requiring a combination of leadership, operational expertise, and client management skills.

• Shift Timing: 5:30 PM to 3:30 AM (Night Shift working hours)

Background on the Team

The AML Screening team is responsible for performing following functions:

• Negative News [NNS] and Politically Exposed Persons [PEP] Screening - the process of screening investors, their directors & beneficial owners against news media articles / politically exposed person (PEP) lists on regular basis to negate any potential AML / franchise risk associated with doing business with them.
• Sanctions Screening - the process to identify whether the investors, their directors & beneficial owners is prohibited under trade or economic sanctions lists, and / or may pose money laundering or any related risk to the firm.

Here is a breakdown of key tasks and responsibilities typically associated with this role:

1. Operational Management:

• Part of the AML - Screening team, ensuring efficient processing of investor transactions, fund subscriptions, redemptions, and transfers.
• Performance of detailed screening and or ongoing sanction, adverse news & PEP reviews utilizing available tools, various third-party and internal databases
• Perform name screenings [NNS, PEP, Sanction] of real time hits for potential sanctions matches to designated sanctions targets and prohibited persons lists, violations as per the internal and external watchlists.
• Effectively investigate, document, and write dispositions with clear rationale substantiating the decision about the match being positive or false.
• Identify anomalies, use judgment for to determine if case needs to be escalated for further investigation and querying additional details, in order to make a more informed decision about the match.
• Ensure accurate, complete, and up-to-date internal documentation to provide evidence of decisions and reasoning based on the facts and the potential ML/FT risk identified.
• Ensure that the alerts processed are accurate and completed within the specified time period.
• Follow operational procedures on sanctions alert handling for all alert types, including documenting the decision rationale. Speed and accuracy of decision making is essential.
• Escalate alerts that may raise any potential reporting requirements and/or to the Morgan Stanley Global Financial Crimes team (GFC).
• Communicate with clients/investors when further information is required as part of reviewing against sanctions lists.
• Provide inputs in order to refine automated sanctions screening risk methodology, reduce false positives, mitigate sanctions risks and improve customer experience.
• Produce and review MIS and other internal operational reports that assist in the effective operation of the team.
• Oversee the day-to-day operations, ensuring timely and accurate processing of investor screenings, inquiries, and requests.
• Identify and implement process improvements to increase efficiency, reduce errors, and enhance the investor experience.
• Manage the investor onboarding screening process, including the setup of new accounts and verification of investor information.
• Maintaining effective, professional operational relationships with management and colleagues in other functional teams to ensure that we deliver a unified service to our clients.
• Foster a positive and productive team environment to meet organizational goals.
• Keeping management in Mumbai, Westchester and Dublin appraised of operational issues in a timely manner.
• Work closely with senior management to ensure high impact client delivery is produced in day-to-day operations and keep them apprised of any issues.
• Ensuring that line management are made aware of any HR or individual performance issues in a timely manner.

2. Client Relationship Management:

• Act as a primary point of contact for institutional clients, regarding AML - Screening inquiries, ensuring their needs are met and address any escalated issues.
• Ensure high levels of client satisfaction by delivering consistent, high-quality services.
• Manage the resolution of complex investor inquiries or disputes, working closely with other departments as needed.
• Maintaining confidentiality of client information provided due to the nature of their role.
• Maintain effective, professional operational relationships with clients.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders, including investors, fund managers, and internal teams.

3. Compliance and Risk Management:

• Ensure all AML - Screening operations comply with relevant regulatory and legal requirements.
• Monitor operational risks and take proactive steps to mitigate any issues related to compliance, accuracy, or fraud.
• Ensure that line management, risk team/senior management are made aware of any AML/KYC - Screening issues in a timely manner.  This will include escalating for action as well as escalating for outcome.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of clients, industry regulations, compliance standards, and market trends.
• Reviewing procedure documents and updating it with any new regulatory changes.
• Take ownership for the effective communication and resolution of issues.
• Ensure that line management are made aware of any operational issues in a timely manner.  This will include escalating for action as well as escalating for information.
• Play a central role in the resolution of the specific issue, drafting of incident reports and in reporting to the line management.
• In conjunction with line management, communicate the initial issue and ongoing status to the risk team/senior management.
• Play a role in ensuring that appropriate actions are taken to prevent a recurrence (e.g. employee training, procedural changes, system enhancements, etc.)

4. Process improvement and Operational Efficiency:

• Drive continuous improvement initiatives within the AML/KYC team to enhance operational efficiency reduce errors, enhance the investor experience and service quality.
• Work closely with technology teams to automate and streamline processes where possible.
• Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and provide reports on operational performance to senior leadership.
• Ensure that all activity is processed in line with the fund documentation, anti-money laundering requirements, statutory regulations and company policies and procedures.
• Act as a contact point and escalation to the Vice President for AML/KYC related activity.
• Ensure that KYC records of the investors are maintained in a complete and organized manner.
• Produce and review internal and external AML/KYC reports that assist in the effective operation of the team.
• Manage the investor onboarding process, including the setup of new accounts and verification of investor information.
• Ensure that each work product is supported with work instructions and other guidance material to make deliverable both efficient and reliable in quality.
• Maintaining effective, professional operational relationships with management and colleagues in other functional teams to ensure that we deliver a unified service to our clients.
• A strong knowledge of our internal policies and procedures.

5. Team Leadership and Development:

• Lead, train, motivate, mentor, and develop a team of AML professionals.
• Communicate team objectives, demonstrate sense of ownership and accountability.
• Ensure that individual team members are aware of the policies, controls and procedures that apply to their role.
• Foster a positive and productive team environment to meet organizational goals.
• Identify areas for skill development.
• Building AML process instructions for each topic that help new hires understand the process faster.
• Work closely with senior manager to ensure high impact client delivery is produced in day-to-day operations.
• Managing the delivery of services to clients against a pre-agreed service level agreement.
• Providing oversight and guidance to their team.
• Providing AML expertise and help to resolve issues arising from AML process.
• Should be able to determine risk-based approach and accordingly advise the team to process AML reviews.
• Ensuring that their team delivers services in a timely, accurate and compliant manner.
• Ensuring that the team has appropriate cover in place to cope with annual and ad-hoc leaves.
• Develop and maintain rapport with peers, colleagues, and offshore counterparts.
• Providing a point of escalation to team leaders and other team members as appropriate.
• Keeping management appraised of operational issues in a timely manner.
• Ensuring that line management are made aware of any HR or individual performance issues in a timely manner.

6. Reporting and Analytics:

• Prepare and present detailed reports on AML - Screening operations to senior management, highlighting key performance metrics and any issues that may require attention.
• Analyze operational trends and provide insights to enhance service delivery and reduce inefficiencies.
• Provide regular reports on team performance, AML assignments, client/investor feedback and satisfaction, and other key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Drive data cleansing to ensure all the data and reports are accurate, complete & consistent.
• Analyze operational data to identify trends and areas for improvement.
• Ensure timely and appropriate follow ups on pending items and update systems accordingly.
• Investigate fully, and where necessary ask probing questions to ensure that the issue is understood, and guardianship maintained.
• Preparation of various MIS/ PPT reports for internal monitoring and reporting the MIS to senior management.
• Daily Status presentation along with relevant backups and action plan.
• Drive efficiency through excel based functions and data tools, for Auto Allocation of activities based on the priority, SLAs, and capacity of each team.
• Preparing and reviewing, timesheet, labor studies, FTE Utilization across teams and clients for better staffing.
• Analyze operational data to identify trends and areas for improvement.

7. Collaboration with Cross-Functional Teams:

• Work closely with other departments (e.g., IT, AML/KYC, Investor Relations, Documentation, Global Financial Crimes, Risk, Accounting) to resolve issues and optimize service offerings.
• Collaborate with the client facing, accounting, conversion, IT teams to address client concerns and ensure the smooth onboarding of new investors.
• Assist in the development of new tools, frameworks & services for enhancing AML systems by providing operational insights.

8. Qualifications, Technical Skills & Experience:

• Master’s Degree / MBA in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related field. Preferably in a business or numerical discipline.
• Certification in a professional association such as the Association of Certified Anti- Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) would be helpful.
• 6-8+ years of AML/KYC - Screening experience within a regulated financial services firm / Fund administration, or a similar operational role within financial services.
• A strong knowledge of global AML regulations (as it pertains to funds would be advantageous).
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with ability to build strong client and investor relationships.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, and other data management tools; experience with financial software is a plus.
• A strong knowledge of global AML regulations (as it pertains to funds would be advantageous).
• Good administrative and organizational skills with a particular focus on accuracy and attention to detail.
• Good team player and ability to work independently with little supervision but also knows when to seek help and escalate issues where necessary.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with ability to build strong client and investor relationships.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, and other data management tools; experience with financial software is a plus.
• An ability to work under pressure and an ability to cope with increased workloads at month-end.

9. Skillset:

• Strong leadership, interpersonal, and communication skills.
• Experience with process automation and efficiency improvement initiatives.
• Good administrative and organisational skills with a particular focus on accuracy and attention to detail.
• An ability to work and lead under pressure, lead as part of focused globally team and an ability to cope with increased workloads at month-end.
• Prior experience in hedge fund operations, AML/KYC, Screening, or a similar financial services role is preferred.
• Well verse with KYC documentary requirements as per Simplified Due Diligence (SDD), Client Due Diligence (CDD), and Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) standards.
• Knowledge of financial regulations (e.g., AML/KYC) is preferred.
• Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills with a focus on process optimization, ability to understand complex client exceptions, offerings, transactions.
• An ability to work as part of a virtual team that is spread across different time zones and geographies.
• Ability to use key financial systems and other IT tools.
• Strong knowledge of financial products, markets, and AML/KYCs operations.
• Proven leadership skills and experience managing a team.
• Excellent problem-solving, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• In-depth knowledge of regulatory requirements related to AML/KYCs (e.g., SEC regulations, anti-money laundering).
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data and generate reports.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite and experience with AML/KYCs platforms or CRM tools.

0. Work Environment:

• The role is typically office-based, with potential for flexible work arrangements depending on the company’s policy.

Good to Have:

• Excel basics - Must have
• Advance excel skills - Fundamentals of VBA - Must have
• VBA coding - Good to have
• Any Digital tool experience (Alteryx , Tableau, Xceptor, Power BI, etc)- Good to have
• Comfortable with Microsoft office: Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio, Share point, Access