At American Express, our culture is built on a 175-year history of innovation, shared values and Leadership Behaviors, and an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities, and colleagues. As part of Team Amex, you'll experience this powerful backing with comprehensive support for your holistic well-being and many opportunities to learn new skills, develop as a leader, and grow your career.

Here, your voice and ideas matter, your work makes an impact, and together, you will help us define the future of American Express.

Position Summary

This role sits within the International Financial Crimes Governance & Program Enablement - APAC team, reporting through to the Director, International Financial Crime Governance & Program Enablement – APAC.

The team is part of Global Financial Crimes Compliance (GFCC) and provides financial crime program subject matter expertise and guidance to all APAC region market compliance teams, line of business compliance and business colleagues responsible for development/implementation of new products/processes/systems.

The team is responsible for overseeing the market level financial crime programs and ensuring implementation of systems, controls and procedures that are compliant with Enterprise standards, Legal Entity policy, and specific local market requirements. 

They are also responsible for maintaining a formal governance framework which continuously monitors the health of each market program and ensures consistency and alignment with enterprise expectations.

This role includes, but is not limited to the following responsibilities: 

Oversight and governance support of all financial crime {anti-money laundering/countering financing of terrorism (AML/CFT); anti-corruption (AC) and sanctions} related matters across the APAC region for all American Express products, services and business lines.
Ensuring that financial crime compliance risks are adequately identified, assessed, monitored, and controlled in accordance with the Enterprise Minimum Standards and documented GFCC Framework.
Support the identification of new multi-market impacting regulation or industry trends, assess the impact this will have on AXP processes, and partner with the market compliance teams to set clear expectations on process owners across the 1st and 2nd lines of defence. Identify MIS needs for market teams, and utilize to assess market level program performance, with escalations of issues and themes to leaders to assess inclusion to local Boards and senior leaders.  Support the coordination of all APAC AML legal entity audits and support other relevant internal and external audits and regulatory exams/ad hoc requests in collaboration with team management. Monitor and track resolution of issues, gaps and remediation actions arising from internal and external audits, self-assessment processes and incidents in collaboration with team management. Support the management of consistent requirements for procedures across the markets and support local market MLRO’s in developing their local procedures, and support initiatives to harmonize the delivery of the Financial Crimes Program across the region, where possible. Undertake ongoing assessments of financial crime controls within the APAC region by market and/or business and escalating matters of significance to management. Providing advice and guidance to markets and business colleagues responsible for developing and implementing market and/or business specific financial crime policies, programs and procedures. Deliver testing and other oversight activities, on behalf of the market teams, to give confidence in the effectiveness of the GFCC program at the market level. Helping to prioritise competing regional and market and/or business needs to ensure that an effective financial crime program is operational for all markets and businesses. Monitoring financial crime regulatory change and assist in implementing such changes within the relevant market and /or business in an effective and timely manner. Provide input into the enhancement of appropriate reporting for all elements of the financial crime program and provide reports and regular updates to senior management on the operation and effectiveness of systems and controls. Supporting and strengthening the efforts of American Express to assist in the global fight against all aspects of financial crime. 

Required Skills

At least 3 years’ experience or more of demonstrated financial crime compliance experience.
A high level of knowledge and understanding of financial crime and related regulatory. requirements throughout the APAC region.
Experience in identifying money laundering risks, in particular for credit cards and merchant services amongst others, and developing and implementing financial crime programs and controls to manage identified risks.
Excellent communication skills and the ability to develop and maintain relationships.
Strong judgement.
Self-motivated, energetic team player with proven ability to work effectively across jurisdictions and with all levels of management. Ability to manage multiple tasks, take on additional responsibilities, and prioritize work in a deadline-intensive environment.
Aptitude for analysis, investigation & problem solving.
Experience of working in a complex matrix organization structure is an advantage.

We back you with benefits that support your holistic well-being so you can be and deliver your best. This means caring for you and your loved ones' physical, financial, and mental health, as well as providing the flexibility you need to thrive personally and professionally:

Competitive base salaries Bonus incentives Support for financial-well-being and retirement Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits (depending on location) Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need Generous paid parental leave policies (depending on your location) Free access to global on-site wellness centers staffed with nurses and doctors (depending on location) Free and confidential counseling support through our Healthy Minds program Career development and training opportunities

Offer of employment with American Express is conditioned upon the successful completion of a background verification check, subject to applicable laws and regulations.