Model Validation Specialist (AML Transaction Monitoring)

Description

Model Validation Specialist (AML Transaction Monitoring)
About the Role

We are seeking a highly skilled Model Validation Specialist to join our Financial Crime Analytics team. In this role, you will be responsible for validating, optimizing, and enhancing AML Transaction Monitoring models to ensure regulatory compliance, model effectiveness, and alignment with industry best practices. You will work closely with data scientists, compliance teams, model developers, and business stakeholders to assess model performance, conduct threshold tuning, and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
Key Responsibilities

- Perform independent validation of AML and Financial Crime models, ensuring compliance with regulatory expectations and model risk management standards.

- Conduct threshold tuning and optimization of AML transaction monitoring scenarios to improve detection effectiveness while minimizing false positives.

- Evaluate model methodologies, assumptions, data quality, and performance metrics.

- Develop comprehensive validation documentation, including validation reports, model assessments, playbooks, and runbooks.

- Analyze large datasets to identify trends, anomalies, and potential areas of model enhancement.

- Assess risks associated with model design, implementation, and ongoing monitoring processes.

- Provide recommendations for model improvements, process optimization, and risk mitigation.

- Collaborate with Compliance, Financial Crime, Technology, and Business teams to support model governance initiatives.

- Monitor regulatory developments and industry trends related to AML, BSA, sanctions screening, and financial crime analytics.

- Present findings, recommendations, and validation outcomes to stakeholders and senior management.

- Support the implementation and validation of new detection scenarios, models, and monitoring strategies.

- Leverage data analytics and statistical techniques to evaluate model performance and suspicious activity detection capabilities.

Required Qualifications

- Bachelor's degree in a quantitative discipline such as Statistics, Mathematics, Data Science, Economics, Finance, Computer Science, or a related field.

- 5-8 years of experience in AML Model Validation, Model Risk Management, Financial Crime Analytics, or Transaction Monitoring.

- Strong understanding of AML regulations and compliance frameworks, including BSA, AML Directives, and related regulatory requirements.

- Proven expertise in AML Transaction Monitoring threshold tuning and optimization.

- Hands-on experience validating financial crime models and assessing model performance.

- Strong knowledge of model governance, validation methodologies, and model risk management principles.

- Experience developing validation reports, model documentation, playbooks, and operational runbooks.

- Strong analytical, quantitative, and statistical problem-solving skills.

- Advanced SQL skills and experience working with large datasets.

- Proficiency in Python and/or R for data analysis and model validation activities.

- Experience performing data mining, exploratory data analysis, and statistical assessments.

- Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to present complex findings to technical and non-technical audiences.

- Strong presentation and stakeholder management skills.

- Solid understanding of banking products, services, and financial crime risks across business lines.

Preferred Qualifications

- Experience with AML Transaction Monitoring platforms such as:Oracle Mantas

- Actimize

- Prime BSA

- Experience with visualization and reporting tools such as Tableau.

- Familiarity with machine learning and advanced analytics techniques within Financial Crime Compliance.

- Professional certifications such as CAMS, CFE, FRM, or equivalent are a plus.

What Success Looks Like

- Delivering high-quality model validations and regulatory-compliant assessments.

- Improvin