Senior BSA/CFT & Regulatory Compliance Advisor

Senior BSA/CFT & Regulatory Compliance Advisor

The Senior BSA/CFT and Regulatory Compliance Advisor is a senior individual contributor responsible for providing advanced BSA/AML, CFT, OFAC, financial crimes compliance, and regulatory compliance expertise across the Credit Union. This role combines hands-on execution of critical BSA/CFT responsibilities with senior-level advisory work in regulatory change, product and disclosure review, compliance monitoring, issue remediation, audit and examination readiness, committee governance, and operational risk support.

The Senior Advisor serves as a primary subject matter expert and trusted partner to business units, translating complex regulatory expectations into practical, risk-based guidance, evidence-ready documentation, sustainable controls, and leadership-ready reporting. This role is expected to exercise independent judgment, provide credible and independent challenge where appropriate, identify emerging risks, and recommend practical solutions that protect the Credit Union, its members, and its regulatory standing.

What You Will Do:

• BSA/CFT, OFAC, Financial Crimes, and Reporting (20%)
• Lead assigned BSA/AML, CFT, OFAC, and financial crimes monitoring, investigation, escalation, quality-control, and regulatory reporting activities.
• Perform AML alert reviews, document conclusions, escalate concerns, and identify recurring control, documentation, or process issues.
• Create SAR cases and supporting documentation for suspicious activity identified through monitoring, referrals, account reviews, fraud activity, or other BSA/CFT processes.
• Review and file CTRs; review monetary instrument activity; and administer or support OFAC, 314(a), and 314(b) processes.
• Develop and report BSA/CFT and compliance KRIs, quality indicators, trends, and root-cause analysis to support oversight and corrective action.
• Regulatory Compliance Advisory, Reviews, and Change Support (20%)
• Serve as a primary compliance advisory resource, translating regulatory requirements into practical, risk-based business guidance.
• Lead compliance impact reviews for products, services, digital banking, vendors, marketing, disclosures, member communications, forms, and material process changes.
• Provide credible and independent challenge when activities, controls, disclosures, systems, or practices create elevated regulatory, member, reputational, operational, or BSA/CFT risk.
• Maintain regulatory change tracking, including impact analysis, business-owner communication, implementation needs, documentation expectations, and action-item follow-up.
• Review, edit, and provide compliance approval or documented recommendations for marketing, disclosures, forms, member communications, and public-facing materials.
• Partner with leaders to embed compliance expectations into operations, lending, marketing, digital banking, member service, and product development.
• Due Diligence, CIP/CDD/EDD, and High-Risk Oversight (20%)
• Lead CDD, EDD, CIP, and high-risk member reviews, documenting risk factors, conclusions, monitoring needs, and follow-up actions.
• Perform account and documentation sampling for required information, beneficial ownership, questionnaires, risk indicators, and escalation needs.
• Partner with business units to resolve incomplete or potentially non-compliant BSA/CFT documentation.
• Recommend improvements to due diligence standards, high-risk member routines, sampling expectations, and audit-ready evidence.
• Compliance Monitoring, Testing, and Reviews (15%)
• Own assigned monitoring routines, including scope, sampling, documentation standards, findings, corrective-action follow-up, and remediation validation.
• Conduct risk-based reviews in assigned areas such as deposits, lending, disclosures, complaints, file maintenance, system configuration, DLP, or surveillance-related processes.
• Prepare concise reports of findings, trends, control concerns, root causes, and recommendations for leadership or committee review.
• Evaluate assigned controls and recommend enhancements, process improvements, corrective actions, or additional monitoring.
• Audit and Examination Readiness, Governance, and Reporting (10%)
• Serve as a primary working-level contact for assigned audit and examination requests, including evidence coordination, response preparation, issue tracking, and follow-up.
• Maintain evidence-ready documentation for BSA/CFT, compliance monitoring, regulatory reporting, testing, audit, examination, and governance activities.
• Prepare or contribute to leadership-ready and Board/committee-ready reporting on BSA/CFT activity, regulatory updates, KRIs, monitoring results, complaints, issue remediation, and emerging risks.
• Support governance through committee materials, dashboards, summaries, trend analysis, recommendations, action-item follow-up, and compliance system reporting.
• Chair, facilitate, or support the Compliance Management Committee and other assigned governance forums.
• Operational Risk, Complaints, and Compliance Support (10%)
• Provide senior-level, risk-based support for assigned operational compliance workflows, including complaints, written requests, DLP exceptions, surveillance requests, insurance matters, and BCP support.
• Monitor assigned workflows for recurring issues, root causes, control concerns, documentation gaps, and opportunities to reduce repeat escalations.
• Coordinate with business owners, Information Security, Legal, vendors, brokers, and other stakeholders to resolve assigned operational compliance matters.
• Policy, Procedure, and Administrative (5%)
• Develop guidance, templates, job aids, playbooks, and training resources that strengthen business-unit ownership and consistent application of BSA/CFT and compliance expectations.
• Support high-risk member procedures, including CDD/EDD, ongoing monitoring, enhanced review, escalation, closure referrals, and evidence retention.
• Maintain current knowledge of relevant BSA/AML, CFT, OFAC, FinCEN, NCUA, WA State DFI, CFPB, consumer protection, and financial crimes requirements.
• Exercise strong judgment, discretion, professionalism, and clear communication with employees, members, vendors, regulators, auditors, examiners, legal counsel, and other stakeholders.
• Maintain appropriate training and designations; perform job functions based on Credit Union brand values and perform other duties as assigned.

What You Will Bring:

Basic Qualifications:

• Minimum of 6 years of financial institution experience, preferably in banks or credit unions, including at least 5 years in BSA/AML, CFT, OFAC, financial crimes compliance, regulatory compliance, audit, or related risk management.
• Bachelor's degree in business, finance, accounting, criminal justice, risk management, compliance, or related field, or equivalent advanced experience; master's degree preferred.
• Advanced working knowledge of BSA/AML, CFT, OFAC, USA PATRIOT Act, CIP, CDD, EDD, beneficial ownership, CTR, SAR, 314(a), 314(b), monetary instruments, high-risk members, and related recordkeeping requirements.
• Demonstrated experience with transaction monitoring, alert review, case documentation, due diligence, high-risk member review, regulatory filing support, quality control, monitoring, issue remediation, and leadership reporting.
• Ability to interpret regulatory requirements and translate them into practical procedures, guidance, controls, monitoring routines, recommendations, and implementation support.
• Ability to exercise independent judgment, provide credible challenge, manage competing priorities, and coordinate effectively with leaders, business partners, vendors, auditors, examiners, and other stakeholders.
• Experience using data, metrics, KRIs, monitoring outputs, complaint trends, audit or examination results, testing outcomes, and issue-management information to identify risks and recommend improvements.
• Advanced written and oral communication skills, including concise executive-ready summaries, issue briefings, regulatory analyses, committee materials, examination-ready documentation, and business guidance.
• Strong judgment and discretion in handling confidential, sensitive, or restricted information, including member information, SAR-related information, audit and examination evidence, and high-risk member documentation.
• Intermediate/Advanced familiarity with Microsoft Copilot, Word, Excel, Teams, and other Office Suite products.
• CAMS, BSACS, CFE, CUCE, CRCM, NCCO, or similar BSA/CFT, financial crimes, regulatory compliance, or risk management designation required at hire or within 12 months.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced BSA/CFT, financial crimes, regulatory compliance, risk management, audit, or credit union compliance designation, including CAMS, BSACS, CFE, CUCE, CUERP, or similar designation.
• Experience using Verafin, DNA, ComplySight or successor systems, GRC platforms, case management