Transaction Monitoring Analyst Contract

JOB DESCRIPTION

Transaction Monitoring Analyst
High Net Worth Individuals | Financial Crime Compliance

Location Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Employment Type Contractual – 06 Months (Extendable)

Role Overview

The Transaction Monitoring Analyst reviews and investigates alerts flagged by the bank's transaction monitoring system, focusing on High Net Worth Individual (HNI) clients. You will look into unusual financial activity, understand why it happened, and decide whether it needs to be reported to the relevant authorities.

This is a key role in protecting the bank from financial crime. You will work closely with private bankers, compliance teams, and senior management to make sure suspicious activity is identified early and handled correctly.

Key Responsibilities

Alert Review & Investigation

• Review and investigate alerts flagged for HNI clients across all account types — current accounts, investments, real estate financing, and trust structures.
• Check client profiles, source of wealth documents, and past transaction history to understand whether flagged activity is expected or genuinely suspicious.
• Consider the broader picture for each client, including business structures, offshore accounts, and family office arrangements, when assessing alerts.
• Spot unusual patterns or activity that doesn't match what you'd expect from a client based on their profile and history.
• Write up clear investigation summaries with a recommendation to close the alert, escalate it, or file a formal suspicious activity report.

Escalation & Regulatory Reporting

• Escalate high-risk cases to the Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) with a clear, well-documented investigation summary.
• Help prepare and submit suspicious activity reports to the relevant financial authority within required timeframes.
• Keep accurate records of all investigations and decisions in the case management system.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Work with Relationship Managers and Private Bankers to gather context on flagged transactions and request supporting documents — without alerting the client.
• Collaborate with compliance, legal, risk, and operations teams on more complex cases.
• Respond to information requests from regulators or law enforcement related to your investigations.

Quality, Governance & MI

• Share feedback on improving the monitoring system's rules and alert thresholds based on what you see in day-to-day investigations.
• Take part in periodic reviews and testing of the monitoring system to help reduce false positives and improve accuracy.
• Prepare regular reports on case volumes, trends, and key risk indicators for senior management.
• Stay up to date on new financial crime trends and regulatory guidance relevant to private banking and HNI clients.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Law, Economics, Business, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in AML transaction monitoring, financial crime investigations, or a similar compliance role.
• Experience working with HNI or private banking clients, with a good understanding of how their wealth and account structures typically look.
• Comfortable using transaction monitoring software (e.g., NICE Actimize, Oracle FCCM, Temenos, or similar).
• Good working knowledge of AML/CFT rules and regulations applicable in your region.
• Experience writing suspicious activity reports with clear, well-reasoned explanations.