Senior AML Governance Program & Testing Associate (Remote)

SUMMARY:

This position sits within SMBC MANUBANK’s Financial Crimes Compliance (FCC) team, a key function of the broader Compliance Department. FCC is responsible for designing and maintaining the Bank’s BSA/AML, Sanctions, and Fraud Programs to ensure compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. We are seeking a detail-oriented and motivated Sr. Governance Program & Testing Associate to support the governance and oversight of financial crimes compliance activities for the digital banking unit. In this role, you will assist in the execution of testing strategies, control validations, and governance documentation to help ensure the effectiveness of AML and sanctions-related systems and processes. You will collaborate with internal stakeholders to support regulatory readiness, data integrity, and continuous improvement of the FCC program. This individual should have a foundational knowledge of AML compliance and a strong background in governance and testing.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• • Manage the integration of process and system changes (e.g., KYC, Transaction Monitoring, Case Management, sanctions) in response to evolving regulatory requirements and the development of MBs digital bank, Jenius.
  • Assist with execution of monitoring and reconciliation processes to ensure accuracy/completeness of data lineage between upstream source systems and DBU FCC systems; Includes developing strategies for automation where possible to make the existing processes more efficient.
  • Lead the ongoing testing strategy execution including design of test cases and test data for testing of new controls/processes and for regression testing when system updates/upgrades occur.
  • Document test results and maintain traceability in governance tools to ensure transparency and audit readiness.
  • Perform ongoing monitoring of evolving regulatory requirements and industry best practices against internal control processes and systems for data gaps, discrepancies, or other compliance-related issues. Escalate findings and contribute to remediation planning in coordination with compliance and risk teams.
  • Partners on the enhancement of financial crimes compliance key performance metrics and reporting criteria and participate in business committees and other projects related to financial crimes compliance.
  • Provide ongoing financial crimes compliance program management support across MBs lines of business, SMBC, IAD, examiners and other key stakeholders.

POSITION SPECIFICATIONS:

• • Recommended years of experience: 3-5 years
  • Ability to develop, execute, and translate strategy into clear objectives and governance plans.
  • Ability to develop and execute user acceptance testing (UAT) and regression testing strategies and related documentation.
  • Demonstrated expertise in AML program requirements including, KYC, transaction monitoring, investigations and reporting, sanctions, risk assessment, and model management.
  • Strong understanding of BSA/AML and OFAC regulatory requirements and ability to interpret and apply these concepts to governance and testing activities.
  • Proven cross-functional project management experience across financial crimes compliance, risk, technology, and operations.

Preferred Qualifications: 

• • Prior experience with execution of user acceptance testing (UAT) and regression testing including documentation of test outcomes and determining pass/fail results.
  • Prior experience with documentation of the above within a testing governance tool (e.g. Jira XRAY) for scrutiny by auditors, validators, and regulators.
  • Familiarity with model governance and validation processes related to FCC systems, including transaction monitoring and sanctions screening models.
  • Experience supporting regulatory exams, internal audits, and independent validations, including drafting responses, compiling documentation, and managing remediation efforts.
  • CAMS or equivalent certification preferred.