Payment Screening Manager

The Payment Screening Manager leads MarTrust payment screening team within Compliance and owns the day-to-day running of sanctions, PEP and location screening on payments across the Group's regulated business units. The Manager runs the payment screening queue against agreed service levels, makes final decisions on escalated alerts and held payments, and reviews the quality of decisions made by Analysts. They own the payment screening procedures, rules and list configuration, work with Product, Operations and other teams to keep screening controls effective without slowing legitimate payments, and act as the main point of contact for banking partners on screening matters. Where sanctions evasion, money laundering or terrorist financing is known or suspected, they make sure it is reported to the MLRO promptly and handled in line with MarTrust policy.

Responsibilities:

• Lead, coach and develop the payment screening team, setting priorities, allocating work and ensure to track productivity and capacity utilization, and managing performance so that alerts and held payments are cleared accurately and within agreed service levels across all time zones.
• Make final decisions on escalated payment screening alerts, reviewing payer, beneficiary, bank, vessel, cargo and free-text details, and approve the release, rejection or onward escalation of held payments.
• Own the payment screening procedures, alert-handling standards and decision rationale guidance, keeping them aligned with MarTrust policy and with UK, EU, US (OFAC) and UN sanctions requirements.
• Run a quality assurance programme over Analyst decisions, tracking error rates and themes, and feed the results into targeted training and procedure updates.
• Manage the tuning of screening rules, fuzzy-matching thresholds, manage risk review and risk acceptance process by balancing effectiveness implementation of whitelist, graylist and blacklist entities.
• Escalate possible true matches and suspicious activity to the MLRO without delay, and lead the operational response where a match is confirmed, including freezing of funds and preparation of reports to the relevant sanctions authority.
• Act as the main point of contact for banking partners, auditors and regulators on payment screening, owning responses to requests for information and providing evidence for audits, reviews and regulatory examinations.
• Produce regular management information on alert volumes, productivity trend, capacity utilization, backlog, service levels, quality results and risk trends, and raise control gaps, emerging sanctions risks and resourcing needs with the Head of Screening.

Requirements

• Degree in finance, law, business or a related subject preferred. Equivalent experience in a regulated financial services firm will also be considered.
• ICA, ACAMS, CGSS or an equivalent sanctions/financial crime qualification required or working towards.
• 6 to 8 years in sanctions, payment or watchlist screening, including at least 2 years leading a screening team or function. Experience in a firm regulated in the UK, Portugal or elsewhere in Europe is desirable.
• In-depth knowledge of sanctions regimes (OFAC, EU, UK OFSI, UN), payment screening systems and rule tuning, vessel and cargo screening, controlled and dual-use goods, and the UK and EU sanctions and payments regulatory framework.
• Payments, e-money, banking or fintech preferred. Maritime, shipping or trade finance experience is a strong plus given the vessel and cargo screening scope of this role.
• Strong people leadership, sound judgement on complex potential matches, clear written reasoning, and the ability to run a high-volume, time-critical screening operation. Comfortable working with data, MI and screening system configuration.

Benefits

• Competitive Salary and Bonus: We reward your expertise and contributions.
• Inclusive Onboarding Experience: Our onboarding program is designed to set you up for success right from day one.
• Marcura Wellness Zone: We value your work-life balance and well-being.
• Global Opportunities: Be part of an ambitious, expanding company with a local touch.
• Diverse, Supportive Work Culture: We’re committed to inclusion, diversity, and a sense of belonging for all team members.