Senior Financial Crime Compliance Analyst

Role Summary

The Senior Financial Crime Compliance Analyst is a newly created, second-line role within the Financial Crime and Sanctions Team in the Legal Department. The role supports the ongoing development, oversight and effectiveness of the firm's financial crime and sanctions framework, with a particular focus on client and matter monitoring, quality assurance, AML compliance monitoring, governance documentation, risk reporting, and support for audit, regulatory and change initiatives.

The successful candidate will combine strong technical AML, sanctions and CDD knowledge with analytical capability, high-quality written work, and a practical understanding of how financial crime controls operate in a professional services environment. They will help monitor the effectiveness of first-line processes, identify control weaknesses or trends, support remediation, and contribute to the continuous enhancement of the firm's policies, procedures, risk assessments and management information — with particular focus on the sanctions compliance framework.

The role also involves analytical and interpretive support on escalated issues, regulatory developments, control enhancements, and the implementation of new systems, tools and AI-enabled solutions.

Key responsibilities

In this role, you will:

• Review client and matter files and risk assessments to assess whether Enhanced Due Diligence, ongoing monitoring and clearance conditions have been properly applied and documented, engaging with fee earners, Business Acceptance and KYC Operations to challenge gaps and ensure remediation.

• Support ongoing monitoring of high-risk clients and matters, and identify, assess and report on emerging financial crime risks and trends, including sanctions exposure, adverse media and jurisdictional risk.

• Deliver quality assurance and monitoring across financial crime controls (CDD, sanctions/PEP/adverse media screening, ongoing monitoring, risk assessments, anti-bribery and corruption), through sample testing, thematic reviews and targeted monitoring, documenting findings and maintaining audit-defensible records.

• Support regulatory reporting, internal audits, external inspections and post-audit remediation, present updates in internal training and department forums, and perform assurance monitoring of the sanctions monitoring framework.

• Assist in reviewing and updating financial crime policies, procedures and control documentation, support delivery of the Firm-Wide Risk Assessment, and monitor legal/regulatory developments for practical implementation.

• Support implementation of new financial crime systems, screening tools and risk-scoring methodologies (including Project Elevate), and contribute to process improvements and metrics/reporting to manage financial crime risk.

• Act as first point of escalation for FCS analysts and provide quality assurance support to KYC Operations/Business Acceptance, while building strong working relationships across the FCS Team, Legal Department and the wider business.

What you'll bring

Essential:

• Strong understanding of relevant AML/CTF regulation and related compliance and risk management issues, ideally gained in an international law firm, professional services firm or financial institution (3+ years' experience).

• General understanding of the ethical rules, transactions and associated compliance risks relevant to an international law firm.

• Strong written and oral communication skills, with the ability to clearly articulate and escalate risk issues to senior FCS colleagues.

• Strong analytical and research skills, with close attention to detail and a commitment to accurate, timely record-keeping and high standards of accuracy and efficiency.

• Strong organisational, prioritisation and time management skills, good judgement and initiative, and the ability to work effectively in a fast-paced team environment.

• A high level of IT skills, including familiarity with the Microsoft Suite and AML research tools.

Desirable:

• Experience and interest in working with and embedding AI-enabled KYC research and screening tools.

Inclusion

Freshfields is an equal opportunities employer and all applications received by the firm will be considered on the basis of their merit alone. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified individuals regardless of background. All offers of employment will be conditional on the candidate having/securing the right to work in the UK in the role in question and providing the firm with evidence of that right (as required by the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006) prior to employment commencing.

Freshfields is a Ban the Box employer. We ask applicants to disclose criminal convictions only if and when a conditional job offer is made. A conviction does not automatically lead to withdrawal of the offer: we make decisions on a case-by-case basis and take a number of relevant factors into account (e.g. the role you are applying for and the circumstances of the offence). You would have the opportunity to discuss the matter with us before we make a decision.