About Northern Trust:

Northern Trust, a Fortune 500 company, is a globally recognized, award-winning financial institution that has been in continuous operation since 1889.

Northern Trust is proud to provide innovative financial services and guidance to the world’s most successful individuals, families, and institutions by remaining true to our enduring principles of service, expertise, and integrity. With more than 130 years of financial experience and over 22,000 partners, we serve the world’s most sophisticated clients using leading technology and exceptional service.

Northern Trust is seeking a highly skilled and motivated professional to lead KYC Operations delivery within the First Line of Defence (1LOD) across the enterprise.

This role sits within the AML/KYC organisation and is responsible for the effective execution of KYC activities across the KYC Centre of Excellence (CoE), ensuring high quality outcomes, regulatory compliance, and strong operational discipline.

The role reports into senior AML/KYC Operations leadership and plays a key role in ensuring KYC processes are executed efficiently, risks are identified and managed, and operational performance meets enterprise and regulatory expectations.

Role Overview

The KYC Onboarding Team Lead is accountable for the end to end operational delivery of KYC activities within the KYC CoE.

This includes oversight of Customer Due Diligence (CDD) and Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD).

The role ensures KYC outputs are timely, accurate, and compliant, while embedding strong first line controls, effective issue management, and continuous improvement across KYC operations.

Key Responsibilities

Lead and oversee day to day KYC operations within the KYC CoE, ensuring timely and accurate completion of CDD and EDD.
Ensure operational execution aligns with AML/KYC policies, procedures, regulatory requirements, and enterprise standards
Manage workflow allocation, capacity planning, and prioritisation to meet service level agreements (SLAs) and regulatory timelines
Act as a point of escalation for complex KYC cases, operational issues, and delivery risks
Embed strong 1LOD controls across KYC operational processes to ensure consistent, high quality outputs
Identify, assess, and manage operational AML/KYC risks, ensuring issues are logged, tracked, and remediated in line with Northern Trust’s risk appetite
Own and deliver remediation actions arising from quality assurance reviews, audits, regulatory exams, and 2LOD challenge.
Drive root cause analysis for recurring issues and implement sustainable process improvements
Partner closely with the KYC CoE Governance, Quality Assurance, Training, and 2LOD teams to ensure alignment
Provide operational updates, MI, and insights to senior management, highlighting risks, capacity constraints, and emerging themes
Participate in relevant AML/KYC forums and working groups, representing KYC Operations and ensuring clear communication of operational risks and dependencies
Support the implementation of process enhancements, technology changes, and strategic initiatives impacting KYC Operations (e.g. tooling, workflow optimisation, regulatory change)
Promote standardisation and best practices across the KYC CoE to drive efficiency and consistency
Champion a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and operational excellence
Recruit, develop, and lead a team of KYC Operations professionals
Set clear performance expectations, provide coaching, and support capability development
Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and high performance culture aligned to Northern Trust values

The ideal candidate should have a fair amount of the following skills & experience:

Strong knowledge of AML/KYC regulations, customer due diligence requirements, and operational KYC processes
Proven experience in a KYC Operations, AML Operations, or Financial Crime role within Financial Services
Demonstrated people management experience, including performance management and capability development
Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage competing priorities in a high volume environment
Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to escalate and influence effectively
Strong risk management mindset with the ability to manage complex issues.
College or university degree and / or equivalent relevant professional experience impact issues.

Working with Us:

As a Northern Trust partner, greater achievements await. You will be part of a flexible and collaborative work culture in an organization where financial strength and stability is an asset that emboldens us to explore new ideas.

Movement within the organization is encouraged, senior leaders are accessible, and you can take pride in working for a company committed to assisting the communities we serve! Join a workplace with a greater purpose.

We’d love to learn more about how your interests and experience could be a fit with one of the world’s most admired and sustainable companies! Build your career with us and apply today. #MadeForGreater

Reasonable accommodation

Northern Trust is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email our HR Service Center at MyHRHelp@ntrs.com.

We hope you’re excited about the role and the opportunity to work with us. We value an inclusive workplace and understand flexibility means different things to different people.

Apply today and talk to us about your flexible working requirements and together we can achieve greater.

KYC Onboarding Team Lead (1 of 2)

Job Description