Financial Crime - Manager

Forvis Mazars is a leading global professional services network providing audit & assurance, tax, and advisory services. Forvis Mazars in the UK spans 14 offices across the nation and has over 3,400 professionals, with 190 partners. We have a clear purpose and a shared commitment to shape a better future.

You'll join a collaborative and inclusive team where you're supported to grow your skills, explore new opportunities, and contribute from day one. You'll work with a diverse client base, develop meaningful connections, and gain experience that extends beyond your local team. Together, we grow, belong and impact.

About the team

Our Financial Crime team supports regulated and non-regulated clients across:

• Anti-money laundering (AML)

• Sanctions and proliferation financing

• Fraud and economic crime

• Anti-bribery and corruption

• Market abuse and conduct risk

• Skilled Person Reviews (s166)

• Financial crime transformation and remediation

• Financial crime governance and operating models

• Customer risk assessment and due diligence

• Financial crime technology and data

The practice is experiencing significant growth and forms a key strategic priority within Financial Services Consulting.

About the role

As a Manager, you will:

• Lead the day-to-day delivery of financial crime assignments and take end-to-end ownership of defined workstreams.

• Proactively plan and drive activity, identify dependencies and resolve or escalate barriers to delivery.

• Own initiatives, tasks and deliverables, bringing structure and momentum with proportionate senior oversight.

• Build trusted relationships with clients and key stakeholders.

• Manage engagement teams and create opportunities for junior colleagues to develop.

• Contribute actively to proposals, business development and the development of new methodologies, tools and solutions.

• Help maintain the team’s reputation for quality, technical excellence and client service.

Key responsibilities:

Client delivery and assignment leadership

• Lead financial crime assignments, workstreams or substantial deliverables from planning through to completion.

• Take ownership of delivery plans, budgets, timelines, resources, dependencies and quality, keeping senior leaders informed through concise and timely reporting.

• Translate assignment objectives into clear actions, allocate responsibilities and maintain momentum across the team.

• Anticipate next steps, identify gaps and make practical recommendations without relying on detailed day-to-day direction.

• Deliver and review high-quality reports, presentations, analysis and other client outputs.

• Coordinate stakeholder engagement across multiple workstreams and, where relevant, jurisdictions.

• Identify issues, risks and opportunities early; take action within delegated authority and escalate with clear options where required.

• Ensure delivery complies with agreed scope, internal methodologies, risk requirements and professional standards.

• Support Directors and Partners in managing complex client relationships, while independently managing day-to-day client interactions.

• Support regulatory reviews, remediation programmes and transformation initiatives, providing practical advice on financial crime frameworks, governance and regulatory expectations.

Team leadership

• Lead, manage and coordinate engagement teams, setting clear expectations and holding team members accountable for delivery.

• Coach and develop Senior Associates, Associates and Analysts through regular feedback, delegation and development planning.

• Create opportunities for junior colleagues to build technical, consulting and leadership skills.

• Support engagement staffing, resource management, recruitment, onboarding and retention activities.

• Foster an inclusive, collaborative and supportive culture, and act as a role model for the firm’s values and behaviours.

• Share knowledge and lessons learned, promoting consistent standards across the team.

Business development & client relationships

• Build and maintain trusted relationships with clients, prospective clients and professional contacts.

• Identify opportunities to expand existing client relationships and contribute to converting opportunities into work.

• Take ownership of defined elements of proposals, bids and client presentations, coordinating inputs and driving them to completion.

• Contribute to market research, opportunity identification, thought leadership, marketing initiatives and industry events.

• Help develop compelling financial crime propositions and solutions that respond to evolving client needs.

Technical leadership & solution development

• Provide credible technical expertise across relevant financial crime disciplines and challenge constructively where needed.

• Keep abreast of emerging regulatory, market and industry developments and translate them into practical implications for clients and the practice.

• Contribute to the development of methodologies, templates, tools, intellectual property and new service offerings.

• Work collaboratively with technology, risk, data and other specialists to develop integrated solutions.

• Promote quality, consistency, innovation and continuous improvement across assignments.

Practice contribution

• Take proactive ownership of internal initiatives and continuous improvement activities, with clear plans, stakeholders and outcomes.

• Contribute to achieving the team’s financial and operational objectives, including utilisation, recovery, pipeline and resource management.

• Participate actively in training, knowledge sharing and capability development.

• Build relationships across Financial Services Consulting, the wider firm and international member firms.

• Support cross-service-line and cross-border opportunities where appropriate.

What we are looking for

The successful candidate will combine strong financial crime expertise with commercial awareness, leadership capability and a commitment to excellent client outcomes. They will have the confidence and judgement to take ownership, operate with appropriate autonomy and drive work forward, while knowing when to seek input or escalate. They will be able to manage multiple priorities, build strong relationships and develop others without compromising quality or professionalism.

Skills & experience:

Essential

• Significant experience within financial crime consulting, financial services or a regulatory environment.

• Proven experience leading financial crime assignments, workstreams or project teams and delivering through others.

• Strong understanding of UK financial crime regulation, guidance and industry expectations.

• Experience across multiple financial crime disciplines.

• Strong project management, stakeholder management and communication skills.

• Ability to take a broad objective, develop a practical plan and drive delivery with limited day-to-day supervision.

• Experience reviewing and challenging complex financial crime frameworks, governance, processes and controls.

• Ability to manage multiple projects and competing priorities, anticipate risks and maintain delivery momentum.

• Experience coaching and developing junior team members.

• Strong report writing, review and presentation skills, with close attention to evidence, clarity and regulatory defensibility.

• Ability to identify risks, exercise sound judgement and develop practical solutions.

• Commercial awareness, including experience managing budgets, scope, resources and client expectations.

Desirable

• Experience leading or supporting regulatory reviews, Skilled Person Reviews or remediation programmes.

• Experience contributing to proposals, bids and business development activities.

• Experience presenting to senior client stakeholders.

• Experience working across multiple jurisdictions or international teams.

• Professional qualifications such as ICA, ACAMS, ACCA or equivalent.

• Experience supporting financial crime transformation initiatives or developing new consulting solutions.

Personal qualities

We are looking for someone who:

• Is proactive, self-starting and comfortable creating structure where the route forward is not fully defined.

• Takes ownership and accountability, follows through on commitments and drives tasks and initiatives to completion.

• Leads with integrity, humility and professionalism.

• Demonstrates sound judgement and knows when to act, consult or escalate.

• Builds trust quickly with clients and colleagues.

• Communicates clearly and confidently, including when constructively challenging others.

• Enjoys leading teams, developing people and creating opportunities for others.

• Thrives in a growing and entrepreneurial environment and wants to help build and improve the practice.

• Brings energy, curiosity, resilience and a positive mindset.

• Is collaborative, approachable and values diversity of thought and experience.

Success in the role

Success in this role will be measured not only by the completion of assigned work, but also by the ownership, judgement and momentum brought to delivery. It will include:

• High-quality, timely and commercially managed client delivery.

• Effective leadership of assignments and workstreams, with issues anticipated and addressed early.

• Reliable ownership of tasks and initiatives from definition through to completion.

• Development and performance of junior team members.

• Client satisfaction, trusted relationships and relationship growth.

• Meaningful contribution to proposals, business development and practice growth.

• Technical excellence, robust quality assurance and clear, defensible outputs.

• Collaboration across teams, service lines and international member firms.

• Positive contribution to team culture, continuous improvement and innovation.

• Demonstration of the firm’s core competencies and values.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

At Forvis Mazars diversity, equity and inclusion are central to our values. We value our people's unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experience, and know this diversity create better outcomes for our clients. We seek to attract, develop, and retain the best talent, inclusive of sex, ethnicity, disability, socio-economic background, sexual orientation, gender identity, nationality, and faith. We select candidates based on skills, knowledge, qualifications, and experience and aim to support all our team members to reach their potential. At Forvis Mazars, we promote an environment in which you can grow your skills, belong to a team that values your ideas, and make an impact that matters.