GFC Officer (Legal and Compliance) : Job Level - Executive Director

Morgan Stanley•Addison, TX

About The Position

In the Legal & Compliance division, we assist the Firm in achieving its business objectives by facilitating and overseeing the Firm's management of legal, regulatory and franchise risk. This is an Executive Director level position within the GFC Strategy Group, you will drive initiatives within the newly formed Forensic Analysis and Surveillance Tuning (FAST) Team and support the Head of GFC Strategy in advancing the GFC strategy program. This role focuses on improving both the effectiveness and efficiency of the Firm's global financial crime program through innovation, horizon scanning, and strong partnerships across the Firm. As a member of the FAST Team, you will play a critical role in shaping and executing Morgan Stanley's financial crime risk mitigation strategy. This high-impact position requires deep financial crime compliance expertise, advanced data analytics capabilities, and experience in one or more of the following domains: transaction monitoring, customer screening (e.g., sanctions, PEP, negative media), and customer risk rating. Since 1935, Morgan Stanley is known as a global leader in financial services, always evolving and innovating to better serve our clients and our communities in more than 40 countries around the world. Global Financial Crimes (GFC) coordinates the day-to-day implementation of the Firm's enterprise-wide financial crime prevention efforts. GFC includes several legal and compliance disciplines and is responsible for the governance, oversight, and execution of the Firm's Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Sanctions, Anti-Corruption, Anti-Tax Evasion, and Government and Political Activities Compliance programs.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Engineering, Data Analytics, Business Administration, or a related field; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
10+ years of relevant experience, preferably in financial crime compliance, risk management, or a related discipline within a global financial institution.
Proven track record of developing and executing successful financial crime strategies.
Strong knowledge of AML, sanctions compliance, and other applicable financial crime regulations.
Experience with leading monitoring, screening, customer risk scoring, and case management platforms (e.g., Actimize, SAS, Oracle, Compliance Link, Bridger, RDC).
Demonstrated expertise in data analytics, including surveillance tuning, optimization, and the use of third-party data sources.
Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to interpret complex data and deliver strategic recommendations.
Innovative mindset with a willingness to challenge the status quo and leverage new technologies to enhance financial crime risk management.
Strong ability to convene and influence stakeholders to drive execution of GFC's forward-looking strategy.
Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment while managing multiple priorities effectively.
Highly motivated self-starter capable of working independently while collaborating across a global program.

Nice To Haves

Professional certifications such as CAMS, CFE, or equivalent are preferred.

Responsibilities

Develop and implement comprehensive financial crime strategies aligned with Firm objectives and regulatory requirements.
Design and execute data-driven forensic analyses to identify suspicious activity patterns and complex financial crime typologies.
Conduct in-depth investigations of forensic findings and escalate suspicious activity as appropriate.
Design and recommend new automated surveillance controls based on forensic insights and identified monitoring gaps.
Review regulatory requests (e.g., subpoenas, 314(b) information-sharing) to identify potential detection and control gaps.
Develop and implement processes to review suspicious activity identified outside automated transaction monitoring and screening systems (non-alerted activity) to enhance detection and mitigate risk.
Monitor and assess emerging financial crime risks and threats through horizon scanning and external intelligence.
Provide prioritized recommendations for tuning and optimization of existing surveillance systems based on forensic findings.
Drive continuous improvement across the financial crime compliance program through the development and delivery of GFC strategy.
Assess whether current monitoring controls are functioning as intended and identify gaps in detection, coverage, data, or implementation.
Enhance detection capabilities, user experience, and investigative tools to enable efficient, high-quality investigations, including improvements in entity resolution and link analysis.
Explore and evaluate generative AI use cases to streamline alert triage, case narrative development, SAR drafting, and other financial crime processes to improve efficiency and accuracy.
Effectively engage senior executives and key stakeholders by providing clear, concise updates on financial crime initiatives and strategic priorities.