MLRO (Money laundering reporting officer)

Hybrid role to be based in our Edinburgh or London office

About Us

Seccl is the Octopus-owned embedded investment platform that’s on a mission to helping more people to invest – and invest well.

We’re B-Corp certified with an amazing product-market fit, impressive early traction and the potential to transform an outdated industry, for the better. We've been growing fast and will scale even faster over the next few years.

We’re also proud to be part of Octopus, the £multi billion group that's on a mission to breathe new life into broken industries, through companies like Octopus Energy, Octopus Investments and Octopus Money.

Check out the Seccl website for the latest on our products and our mission to shape the future of investments.

The role

We’re looking for a MLRO to support our CRO by bringing technical expertise and an enquiring mind to help us maintain compliance with anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorist financing (CTF), and anti-fraud obligations under UK law and regulation. This role holds the SM17 regulatory responsibilities and has the responsibility to fulfil the statutory responsibilities under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, Terrorism Act 2000, and Money Laundering Regulations 2017.

On a typical day you will be…

• Ensuring a robust financial crime risk framework aligned with FCA expectations, including SYSC and JMLSG guidance.
• Acting as the primary contact with law enforcement agencies (e.g., NCA, FCA) for disclosures, including SARs, and leading internal investigations into suspicious activity.
• Maintaining AML/CTF policies, controls, and procedures proportionate to our business model and risk appetite.
• Preparing and submitting regular AML reports to the Board and regulators.
• Overseeing the implementation and enhancement of the AML/CTF framework.
• Conducting AML risk assessments and ensuring controls align with policies and risk appetite.
• Monitoring and reporting on the effectiveness of AML systems and controls.
• Overseeing client onboarding, ongoing due diligence, transaction monitoring, and PEP and sanction screening.
• Owning and managing Northrow.
• Ensuring AML/CTF training is delivered across the business, tailored to specific roles.
• Promoting a culture of AML awareness.
• Collaborating closely with first and second line teams across the business.
• Managing the financial crime team within the Risk function.

This role’s for you if you...

• Provide clear and consistent financial crime compliance advice across the business.
• Have significant experience in a UK Financial Services financial crime role, ideally as an SMF17 in an FCA-regulated firm.
• Are motivated by a varied, far-reaching role and enjoy problem-solving.
• Have strong analytical skills, a questioning mind, and the ability to research alternatives when making decisions.
• Possess excellent interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills.
• Are proactive and able to manage multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment.

This role isn’t for you if...

• You rely on a lot of top-down direction. Here, you’ll have a lot of freedom and ownership of your role, and you’ll be expected to shape your own progression
• You’re not comfortable working in a fast-paced environment. Our speed and scalability are what set us apart; you need to be able to act quickly and think on your feet
• You struggle to follow through on ideas. We value people who do what they say they will. If you care about something, you have the freedom here to make it happen
• You don’t like change. You’ll get on great here if you relish the ambiguity of rapid growth and are willing to embrace uncertainty

What’s In It For You…

We offer a generous mix of benefits for the things that really matter to our people, including:

A salary between £100,000 and £120,000 – dependant on experience + reviewed annually

27 days holiday + bank holidays (some can be flexible) + day off on your birthday + three days (full time) per year for Dependant leave

Two volunteering days per year

Option to work abroad for up to six weeks a year

Secclbrate - our recognition programme that offers a mix of flexible rewards including extra pay, additional holiday and increased learning budget

Length of service award – one month paid sabbatical at eight years

6% employer pension contribution, and life assurance

Private medical insurance with AXA Health

Enhanced Parental leave

MacBook and up to £500 home office set up budget

£750 per person learning budget

Health and wellbeing initiatives including free therapy via Wellness Cloud, mental health support via Headspace

Strong financial wellbeing focus including access to Octopus Money, Octopus Share Incentive Plan and will writing offering via Octopus Legacy

Perkbox – Flexi-points giving you a range of discounts and perks including free weekly coffee, gym and retail discounts

Access to initiatives like Cycle to Work and Octopus Electric Vehicle Leasing

Our culture

We're proud to put people first, creating a culture where we truly listen to what matters most to them. Our transparent and inclusive environment encourages diversity of thought, challenge and experimentation.

Check out our Glassdoor page for the latest reviews or our LinkedIn for company updates and insights from the team.

Interview process

Interviewing is a two-way thing, and we want you to have the time and opportunity to get to know us, as much as we are getting to know you. Our interviews are conversational, so come with questions and be curious. In general, you can expect the interview process to look a bit like this, (following an initial chat with one of our Talent team):

• First stage – competencies-based interview
• Second stage – one-hour technical interview or assessment
• Final stage - 45 mins bar-raiser culture-based interview + meeting additional key stakeholders

We’ll only close this role once we have enough applications for the next stage. Please submit your application as soon as possible to make sure you don’t miss out and you should expect to hear back from us within one to two weeks of applying.

Our aim is to build a diverse and inclusive company of awesome people, with unique skills, passions and experiences. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to age, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, family or parental status, national origin, or veteran, neurodiversity or disability status.

If this sounds like your kind of thing, we encourage you to apply even if you don’t tick every box. We’d love to hear from you!

Compensation Range: £100K - £120K