Global Financial Crimes Sanctions Compliance Officer Vice President

Morgan Stanley • Dallas, TX

1d • $110,000 - $162,500

About The Position

Morgan Stanley is seeking an experienced Vice President to join the Global Financial Crimes (GFC) Sanctions Screening Controls team, focusing on digital assets and blockchain-enabled sanctions screening. The role sits within the Legal & Compliance division, which facilitates and oversees the Firm’s management of legal, regulatory, and franchise risk.

The position is responsible for designing, implementing, and governing the Firm’s sanctions screening control framework across reference data and transaction activity. The officer will serve as the Firm’s subject matter expert and strategic owner for cryptocurrency, digital asset, and blockchain sanctions screening controls, establishing an audit-ready second-line-of-defense operating model and overseeing an enterprise-wide framework across the client lifecycle.

The role includes implementing and integrating on-chain screening and blockchain analytics solutions, translating regulatory expectations into controls and risk-scoring models, and providing leadership for regulator- and audit-facing matters. It also involves maintaining procedures, testing, quality assurance, metrics, and documentation; managing blockchain analytics vendors; and partnering with senior GFC leadership and cross-functional stakeholders to support strategy, new product approvals, operational resilience, and ongoing control improvements.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Computer Science, or a related field.
• 7–10+ years of experience in sanctions compliance, AML, or financial crime prevention within a regulated financial institution.
• Deep expertise in cryptocurrency, blockchain, and digital asset ecosystems, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins, DeFi, and Layer 2 networks, and their related sanctions risks.
• Strong knowledge of global sanctions regimes, including OFAC, EU, UN, and UK, and their application to virtual assets, VASPs, and cross-border environments.
• Hands-on experience with blockchain analytics platforms such as Chainalysis, Elliptic, or TRM Labs; sanctions screening technologies; and case management systems such as NICE Actimize or equivalent.
• Proven ability to design, implement, and govern technology-enabled compliance controls, including operating model design, control testing and quality assurance, model risk considerations, and regulatory alignment.
• Demonstrated people and matrix leadership, with experience driving delivery across Compliance, Technology, Operations, and external vendors.
• Strong strategic, analytical, and technical acumen, including the ability to anticipate regulatory trends, assess complex blockchain data, and evaluate vendor capabilities.
• Excellent communication, judgment, and collaboration skills, including the ability to translate technical concepts for regulators, senior management, and non-technical stakeholders in fast-paced, ambiguous environments.

Nice To Haves

• An advanced degree.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the Firm’s subject matter expert and strategic owner for sanctions screening controls related to cryptocurrency, digital assets, and blockchain activity, establishing an audit-ready second-line-of-defense operating model with clear governance, decision rights, and first-line/Technology handoffs.
• Design, implement, and oversee the enterprise-wide crypto sanctions screening framework across the client lifecycle, including scope definition, coverage, residual risk acceptance, and ongoing effectiveness monitoring.
• Lead implementation and integration of on-chain screening and blockchain analytics solutions, aligning them with existing sanctions infrastructure, case management workflows, and operational service-level agreements.
• Translate regulatory expectations into actionable requirements, controls, typologies, and risk-scoring models; tune them to improve alert quality, manage false positives, and address emerging crypto-related sanctions risks.
• Provide regulator- and audit-facing leadership for cryptocurrency sanctions matters, including with the OCC, Federal Reserve, OFAC, and international regulators, delivering control narratives, evidence packages, and remediation plans.
• Establish and maintain second-line-owned procedures, testing, quality assurance, management information and key performance indicators, and audit-ready documentation to demonstrate control design, effectiveness, and governance.
• Manage blockchain analytics vendors and third parties, including due diligence, performance management, independent validation, coverage benchmarking, and alignment with Global Third Party Risk Management requirements.
• Partner with senior GFC leadership and cross-functional stakeholders to shape strategy, support new product approvals, monitor sanctions evasion trends, ensure operational resilience, and drive continuous control enhancement.

Benefits

• Comprehensive employee benefits and perks.
• Benefits and support for employees and their families throughout their work-life journey.
• Opportunities to move about the business for employees who demonstrate passion and grit.

What This Job Offers

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