HCLTech is a global technology company, home to more than 220,000 people across 60 countries, delivering industry-leading capabilities centered around digital, engineering, cloud and AI, powered by a broad portfolio of technology services and products. We work with clients across all major verticals, providing industry solutions for Financial Services, Manufacturing, Life Sciences and Healthcare, Technology and Services, Telecom and Media, Retail and CPG, and Public Services. Consolidated revenues as of 12 months ending December 2024 totaled $13.8 billion.
About the Job
We are seeking an experienced Product Owner (PO) to join our Digital Business Services-Banking division, working with leading banking and financial services clients in the UK and Ireland. This role focuses on Financial Crime transformation programmes, ensuring delivery squads support regulatory obligations, risk-based controls, and client digital modernization goals
Job Summary
The Product Owner-Financial Crime (KYC & AML) is accountable for defining the product vision, roadmap, and backlog across financial crime compliance domains. The scope spans customer lifecycle management (KYC, CDD/EDD, onboarding, periodic reviews) and AML activities (transaction monitoring, sanctions screening, suspicious activity reporting, case management). The PO partners with compliance SMEs, architects, and delivery leads to translate requirements into actionable features and user stories, ensuring alignment with client governance frameworks, data quality expectations, and global regulatory standards.
Key Responsibilities
Strategy
* Own the product journey and roadmap for Financial Crime (KYC & AML) across the lifecycle.
* Align backlog priorities with client compliance strategy and regulatory frameworks (FATF, Wolfsberg, EU AMLD6, UK MLR, POCA, SAMLA).
* Ensure delivery outcomes enable risk-based compliance while supporting digital onboarding and monitoring.
Business
* Work with compliance and risk stakeholders to define and deliver backlog items across key Financial Crime domains, which may include KYC and Onboarding, CDD/EDD, Transaction Monitoring, Sanctions Screening, and Suspicious Activity Reporting.
* Translate regulatory and business obligations into epics, features, and stories with clear acceptance criteria.
* Ensure backlog prioritisation balances regulatory compliance, operational efficiency, and business ROI.
* Support adoption of new technologies (e.g., digital ID, biometric checks, RecTech integrations) to improve financial crime coverage.
Processes
* Own and refine the Financial Crime backlog; lead backlog grooming, sprint planning, and PI planning.
* Collaborate with architects and engineers to ensure solutions meet both regulatory and operational requirements.
* Support data quality, MI, and reporting initiatives to strengthen AML/KYC risk coverage and audit readiness.
* Maintain up-to-date product documentation (roadmaps, dependencies, data lineage, control inventories) to support client governance and compliance oversight.
People & Talent
* Foster collaboration across compliance SMEs, technology teams, and delivery squads.
* Promote Agile ways of working in Financial Crime transformation.
* Coach squads on embedding compliance effectively within digital journeys.
Risk Management
* Identify and escalate risks related to data quality, system performance, regulatory gaps, and platform integration.
* Ensure backlog features align with client risk frameworks and contribute to regulatory readiness.
Governance
* Align product delivery with the client’s operational risk and governance standards.
* Provide input and evidence during client-led governance, audit, or compliance reviews.
* Support governance forums by ensuring backlog priorities, dependencies, and delivery outcomes are clearly communicated.
* Ensure governance transparency by maintaining up-to-date documentation (roadmaps, dependency maps, data lineage, control inventories) to support audit and regulatory requirements.
Regulatory & Business Conduct
* Demonstrate awareness of UK and EU regulatory frameworks (FCA, PRA, GDPR, PSD2/PSD3).
* Ensure backlog items and product features comply with relevant laws and internal client policies.
* Uphold high standards of ethical conduct and professional behavior.
Key Stakeholders
* Business stakeholders across banking services.
* Architects, technology leads, and delivery squads.
* Risk, compliance, and operations functions.
Other Responsibilities
* Contribute to proposals, RFPs, discovery workshops, and solution options for Financial Crime initiatives.
* Coordinate with vendor and platform partners (e.g., Pega CLM/KYC, Actimize, Fircosoft, Fenergo, Mantas) for roadmap alignment and issue resolution.
* Support change management, training, and release readiness for business and operations teams.
* Monitor regulatory developments and industry best practices, feeding impacts into backlog and roadmap.
* Promote data stewardship and reference data improvements that impact KYC and AML outcomes.
Qualifications
* Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Business, Technology, or related field.
* Agile/Product Owner certification preferred.
* AML/KYC/Financial Crime certifications (e.g., ACAMS, ICA) an advantage.
Skills and Experience
* 8–12 years of experience in product ownership, business analysis, or delivery in banking or financial services.
* Strong knowledge of Financial Crime processes, including KYC, CDD/EDD, Transaction Monitoring, Sanctions Screening, and Suspicious Activity Reporting.
* Familiarity with Financial Crime platforms such as Pega CLM/KYC, Actimize, Fircosoft, Mantas, and Fenergo.
* Skilled in Agile/SAFe delivery, backlog refinement, sprint and PI planning.
* Strong business analysis skills, including requirements gathering, process mapping, stakeholder workshops, and documentation.
* Demonstrated awareness of UK and EU regulatory frameworks, including FCA, PRA, GDPR, PSD2/PSD3, and international standards (FATF, Wolfsberg).
* Data and analytics skills: SQL or query tools, data lineage, data quality assessment, and using data insights to validate rules and measure effectiveness.
* Technical fluency: APIs, integration patterns, system data flows, and architecture considerations in AML/KYC platforms.
* Experience in migration and modernisation projects, including legacy platform upgrades and cloud adoption.
* Understanding of performance metrics in Financial Crime systems (throughput, latency, false positive rates) with ability to drive backlog improvements.
* Commercial awareness: ability to balance compliance obligations with cost considerations and business ROI.
* Strong stakeholder management, negotiation, and influencing skills across compliance, risk, technology, and business stakeholders.
* Effective communication and interpersonal skills for cross-functional collaboration and conflict resolution.
* Proficiency in English, spoken and written, to a professional business standard.
* Flexibility to work core UK business hours