Sanctions Officer

Howden is a global insurance group with employee ownership at its heart. Together, we have pushed the boundaries of insurance. We are united by a shared passion and no-limits mindset, and our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of 24,000 employees spanning over 56 countries.

People join Howden for many different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. It’s what sets us apart, and the reason our employees have been turning down headhunters for years. Whatever your priorities – work / life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering – you’ll find like-minded people driving change at Howden.

Location: home/ hybrid- one day per week in London office

Reports to: Acting Sanctions Team Lead

Team size: part of a sanctions team of 5

As part of the broader Central Compliance function, the Central Sanctions team delivers screening services and sanctions advice to the Howden UK and Global Specialty Insurance division, UK Reinsurance division and the UK Retail division.

The UK Broking Central Compliance function comprises three teams; the Regulatory Interaction and Change team, the Monitoring team and the Sanctions team.

Working alongside the divisional Compliance teams in UK Broking, the Central Compliance function provides services across the Specialty, UK Retail and UK Reinsurance divisions of Howden.

Role purpose

Supports the Central Sanctions team to maintain a consistent sanctions and screening framework that supports and enables Howden UK Broking to meet applicable sanctions and screening requirements.

Assess the risks of Howden entities undertaking activity or transactions with individuals or parties who are subject to sanctions or where screening indicates that they pose a financial crime, money laundering, bribery and corruption, or reputational risk.

The role is primarily focussed on reviewing and approving potential sanctions and financial crime matches, handling escalations and providing appropriate advice to the business.

• Review and approval of financial crime and sanctions matters escalated to the Central Sanctions team.
• Manage own caseload of escalation, potential matches and referrals.
• Support with the delivery of the training and understanding programme in respect of sanctions and screening related requirements across all broking divisions in Howden UK.
• Screen books of clients and counterparties from acquisitions for sanctions and financial crime risks.
• Support outsourced services providers such as WNS to enhance delivery of service to the business.
• Supporting with the on on-going assessment of screening system capability, suitability and output.
• Monitoring of adherence to screening expectations by the business.
• Monitoring and liaison with business where potential sanctions matches are not being cleared in a timely manner.
• Assisting with the collation and production of Management Information in respect of sanctions and screening.

• Experience of managing compliance with the UK financial sanctions regime within a second line compliance function in a UK-based General Insurance broker.
• Experience of using ComplyAdvantage desirable.
• Experience with providing real time support and working in a fast-paced office environment.

• Good knowledge of OFSI, OFAC, UN, EU and FCA requirements in respect of sanctions.
• General awareness of FCA requirements relevant to GI brokers.
• Broad knowledge and understanding of insurance, principles, products and services.

• Strong attention to detail
• Good MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint literacy

• Stakeholder management and influencing skills in securing buy-in to recommendations and business benefits.
• Sound judgement and decision-making
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Good organisational skills
• Collaborate and communicate within the team to deliver the overall service
• Able to work independently

• CII and / or London Market qualifications
• ICA Diploma in Managing Sanctions Risk or similar

A career that you define. At Howden, we value diversity – there is no one Howden type. Instead, we’re looking for individuals who share the same values as us:

• Our successes have all come from someone brave enough to try something new

• We support each other in the small everyday moments and the bigger challenges

• We are determined to make a positive difference at work and beyond

We're committed to providing reasonable accommodations at Howden to ensure that our positions align well with your needs.  Besides the usual adjustments such as software, IT, and office setups, we can also accommodate other changes such as flexible hours* or hybrid working*.

If you're excited by this role but have some doubts about whether it’s the right fit for you, send us your application – if your profile fits the role’s criteria, we will be in touch to assist in helping to get you set up with any reasonable adjustments you may require.

*Not all positions can accommodate changes to working hours or locations. Reach out to your Recruitment Partner if you want to know more.