CDD Onboarding Lead

Alternatively, Grant Thornton

At Grant Thornton we do things differently - looking to the future, driving ambitious growth and pioneering positive change in our industry. Providing audit, tax and advisory services, we empower clients through strategic insight, curiosity, and genuine partnership. And we empower our people with real opportunity, an inclusive culture and work life balance. A true alternative.

With over 5,000 people in the UK, and a presence in 150 global markets, we're on an ambitious journey, from great to exceptional, and we need the best people to help us achieve our potential. And with that comes the opportunity to help redefine what our industry looks like, and what you want from your career.

Job Description:

MORE THAN YOU EXPECTED

Grant Thornton UK LLP is part of a global network of independent audit, tax and advisory firms, made up of some 58,000 people in over 135 countries. We’re a team of independent thinkers who put quality, inclusion and integrity first. All around the world we bring a different experience to our clients. A better experience. One that delivers the expertise they need in a way that goes beyond. Personal, proactive, and agile. That’s Grant Thornton.

NEW GROUND WON’T BREAK ITSELF.

Every day our teams help people in businesses and communities to do what is right and achieve their goals.

About the team

Our Client Due Diligence (CDD) practice sits at the heart of our Financial Crime Team, supporting clients across onboarding, remediation, and ongoing compliance. As demand for our CDD services continues to grow, we are investing in our leadership capability to ensure we deliver exceptional outcomes for our clients and our people.

A look into the role

As a Senior Manager - CDD Onboarding Lead, within our Financial Crime & Compliance practice, you will take ownership of the end-to-end management of CDD onboarding engagements, leading a large team of analysts to deliver high-quality client due diligence reviews. This leadership role requires deep expertise in CDD and AML frameworks, alongside strong management, people leadership capability and the ability to develop a team. You will have a strong commitment to quality and be responsible for setting and maintaining high standards across your team, managing delivery against business priorities and goals and have a right first-time mindset.

Day to day you will:

• Lead and manage the delivery of CDD onboarding team, overseeing the end-to-end review of onboarding files against applicable KYC/AML regulatory requirements, ensuring quality, consistency and timeliness across all workstreams.
• Act as the primary point of contact for senior stakeholders/partners, building trusted relationships and providing clear, confident updates on progress, risks and issues.
• Manage and mentor a large team of CDD analysts, driving performance through structured feedback, coaching, and day-to-day support.
• Maintain governance oversight of our CDD frameworks, procedures and quality controls, ensuring consistency and regulatory alignment across all engagements.
• Support the team to identify and escalate complex or high-risk cases, including PEPs, sanctioned entities, adverse media flags, and complex ownership structures, providing clear guidance to the FCC team on risk-based decision-making.
• Play an active role in the training and upskilling of junior and newly joined colleagues, sharing technical knowledge and helping to build capability across the team.

Knowing you’re right for us

Joining us as a Senior Manager - CDD Onboarding Lead, the minimum criteria you’ll need is significant, demonstrable experience in CDD/KYC onboarding within a professional or financial services environment, with a track record of leading large teams and complex engagements. It would be great if you had some of the following skills, but don’t worry if you don’t tick every box — we’ll help you develop along the way.

• Proven background in leading CDD or KYC onboarding teams at scale, ideally within a professional services or financial services environment is essential.
• Experience managing and developing high-performing teams across multiple locations in a deadline-driven environment, with a commitment to quality and continuous improvement.
• Expertise in a build-out or rollout of a new CDD platform, case management system or operating model would be a distinct advantage, as we continue to invest in and evolve our own delivery infrastructure.
• Experience managing high-volume CDD engagements, with a particular focus on corporate onboarding and the complexities that come with it, including complex ownership structures, multi-jurisdictional entities and escalated risk profiles, would be a strong advantage.
• The ability to manage competing priorities effectively, requiring swift allocation, clear delegation and confident decision-making under pressure.
• Strong technical knowledge of KYC/AML regulatory requirements, including sanctions, PEP & adverse media screening frameworks.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to engage at Partner & Director level.
• Relevant professional qualifications (e.g. ICA, ACAMS, CISI or equivalent) are desirable but not essential.
• Strong analytical and risk assessment skills, with the ability to navigate complex corporate structures & ownership chains.

Knowing we’re right for you

Embracing uniqueness, the culture at Grant Thornton thrives on the contributions of all our people, we never settle for what is easy, we look beyond to deliver the right thing, for everyone.  Building an inclusive culture, where we value difference and respect our colleagues helps our people to perform at the best of their ability and realise their potential.

Our open and accessible culture means you’ll interact with leaders who are interested in you and everything you bring to our firm. The things that set you apart, we value them. That’s why we give you the freedom to bring your whole self to work and pursue your passions inside and outside of work.

We’re also committed to supporting you through different life stages, with a range of family friendly and wider leave policies. You can find full details of our reward, benefits and leave policies on our website: Reward and benefits.

Beyond the job 

Life is more than work. The things you do, and the people you’re with outside of work matter, that’s why we’re happy to look at flexible working options for all our roles, and we’ll always do our best to keep your work and life in balance.

The impact you can make here will go far beyond your day job. From secondments, to fundraising for local charities, or investing in entrepreneurs in the developing world, you’ll be giving back to society. It’s that drive to do the right thing that runs through our every move, grounded in our firm’s values – purposefully driven, actively curious and candid but kind.

We’re looking for people who want to contribute, spark fresh ideas and go beyond expectations. People who want to be able to proudly do what’s right, for the firm, our clients, our people and themselves. It’s how it should be.

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