Financial Crimes Risk Program Governance Oversight, VP

Morgan Stanley • Town/Village of Harrison, NY

2d • Onsite

About The Position

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm. The First Line Financial Crimes Risk department supports the business in managing financial crime risk. The WM, IM and U.S. Banks Financial Crimes Risk Team is embedded within the Firm’s business line and is responsible for identifying, assessing, and escalating potential money laundering and reputational risk issues associated with higher risk client types. This team acts as the first line of defense, supporting onboarding, enhanced due diligence, and negative news processes. The Financial Crimes Governance and Program Management function is a component of this team, focusing on program governance, risk appetite, procedure management, training, communication, and project management. The Financial Crimes Governance & Program Management Office manages program management and governance activities impacting first-line financial crime processes. Its core responsibilities include assessing regulatory, policy, and technology changes, establishing effective governance, overseeing risk appetite and assessment disciplines, providing oversight to remediation activities, monitoring initiatives, communicating emerging risks, coordinating remediation of issues, facilitating regulatory examination deliverables, and developing training and communications. They also develop relationships with business units, technology, and other stakeholders.

Requirements

• 7+ years of risk management, compliance, control, and/or audit experience in a Bank or financial services institute with a demonstrated record of success and/or growth.
• Have a bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, or other related fields.
• Superior organizational skills, with proven ability to successfully manage multiple and concurrent priorities while working independently or with little supervision.
• Self-motivated with a passion for establishing and maintaining a culture of control within the business while keeping the client experience in mind.
• Demonstrated relationship management skills with ability to deepen relationships and build partnerships across the business and key functional support areas with a strong ability to influence a group of diverse stakeholders and drive accountability and ownership with key business partners and process owners.
• Detail oriented, with proven ability to question and identify opportunities within existing processes and business practices by leveraging previous experiences and knowledge of the business.
• Pragmatic problem-solver, forward thinker with independence of thought and strong critical thinking skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to handle highly confidential information with appropriate discretion.
• Ability to direct and drive senior stakeholders towards a common goal.

Nice To Haves

• Certified as an Anti-Money Laundering Specialist by ACAMS or equivalent AML certification/license is a plus.
• Working knowledge of MS Office (Microsoft Excel/PowerPoint/Word/Access).
• Exceptional knowledge of AML regulatory requirements and expectations (domestic and international).
• Strong time management and planning skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.
• Strong leadership qualities with the ability to manage teams and evidence a strong work ethic as well as a high degree of integrity.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a senior risk manager for 1L Financial Crimes responsible for establishing procedures, processes, and programs to prevent violations of law, rule, or regulation and design and deliver a risk management framework that maintains risk levels within the firm's risk appetite and protects the franchise.
• Provide comprehensive oversight of risk and strategic initiatives, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and maintaining accountability for the successful execution of key deliverables.
• Work closely with leaders across Financial Crimes and second line to drive end-to-end solutions by managing root cause analysis in close partnership with the front office, business risk managers, Compliance, Operations and Technology partners and leading them through to execution.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to analyze, deconstruct, and map current state processes and identify improvement opportunities, including the creation of target operating models.
• Establish in-business control programs and oversee the execution and health of the Financial Crime program across all business lines, ensuring that the business program, systems, procedures, and controls meet regulatory and industry expectations.
• Manage oversight of the Program Framework, Issues and Action Plans, which includes establishing and managing action plan milestones, timelines, and the timely follow-up and coordination between multiple stakeholder groups to bring each Issue to closure.
• Provide oversight and guidance over the assessment of complex issues, structures potential solutions, and drives effective resolution with other stakeholders including Financial Crimes Management, Risk, and KYC Office as well as internal audit staff.
• Oversee the identification and assessment of Morgan Stanley's key Financial Crimes risks, ensuring those risks are effectively identified, measured, monitored, and controlled, consistent with the bank's risk appetite statement and all policies and processes established within the risk governance framework.
• Serve as the primary point of contact representing the governance and oversight office in business and compliance forums, strategic/project working groups, exams, audits, etc.
• Champion and draft project requests to address identified gaps, with the objective of retiring manual workarounds and driving operational efficiency.
• Partner with stakeholders to prioritize changes impacting the Financial Crime Program; Risk, Customer Experience and Execution, applying the principle that 'not all risks are created equal' by focusing on high-impact areas.
• Develop and implement clear, coherent communication strategies that detail the scope, progress, and outcomes of projects, ensuring transparency and stakeholder engagement at all levels.
• Provide regular updates to senior management and other stakeholders on the status, risks, and outcomes of strategic projects, ensuring that all communications are concise, transparent, and actionable.
• Operate with confidence and comfort in high-paced and high-profile environments.

Benefits

• Ample opportunity to move about the business for those who show passion and grit in their work.
• Attractive and comprehensive employee benefits and perks in the industry.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior