Hiring A Permanent Head of Sanctions for an International Fintech

Opportunity

This international FinTech had a requirement for a Global Head of Sanctions, based in London or New York. This was a new role for the business. They needed someone who could build a sanctions function from scratch, manage its development and work closely with the business to develop a culture of effective compliance. Due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the consequential increase in sanctions activity, the availability of senior sanctions specialists was limited.

Solution

A search of our in-house database was combined with proactive mapping of the market and making approaches to selected passive candidates to engage them with the Global Head of Sanctions opportunity. This approach provided a longlist of circa 30 appropriate candidates for the Global Head of Sanctions position, from both sides of the Atlantic. All the candidates were briefed on the position and its context to ensure that only those candidates who were both fully qualified for the role and committed to the recruitment process were pursued. Working closely with the client, the longlist was whittled down to a shortlist of 10 which was taken forward for interview.

Outcome

The 10 first interviews provided the client with four candidates to take forward for detailed consideration. A series of line and HR interviews were undertaken plus a set of skills, psychometric and behavioural assessments were employed to assess the candidates, in both London and New York. A preferred candidate was selected and offered the Global Head of Sanctions position. Following a brief period of negotiation and checking the details of the offer, an acceptance was secured and following successful due diligence a senior and internationally experienced sanctions specialist commenced employment less than 5 months from the commencement of the assignment.