Senior Bank Secrecy Act Specialist - First American Bank

First American Bank was founded in Chicago, and over the years has expanded throughout Wisconsin and Florida. As the largest privately held bank in Illinois, we now have over 60 locations and assets of $5+ billion. We are a community bank at heart with international expertise, traditional values, and a forward-looking philosophy. Our employees have the experience and vision to meet the needs of savers, borrowers, and businesses in the 21st century. First American Bank can offer employees a level of visibility, career growth, and stability that is difficult to find in many larger corporations.

The Senior Bank Secrecy Act Specialist manages BSA Specialists and processes of a surveillance team as a direct report to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) Officer and/or OFAC Officer. This individual leverages industry awareness, knowledge of regulatory expectations, and risk management expertise to optimize BSA compliance processes to meet our customer experience bar, support the Bank’s growth strategy, and effectively address BSA compliance risks.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

People Management:

Directly manage the daily activities of employees within the department, coordinating and prioritizing requisite duties and daily assignments while appraising employee productivity and performance. Compose and deliver performance evaluations.

Responsible for employee hiring, training, staff development, scheduling, and direct assistance with coverage of daily workloads when needed. Monitor work standards and adherence to company policies. Proactively deliver feedback to direct reports to promote staff development, and administer corrective action as needed.

Ensure compliance by composing and/or delivering training sessions and materials to efficiently and comprehensively educate both new and existing employees to mitigate risk for the bank and maximize departmental efficiency.

Process Management:

Perform money laundering investigations and/or supervisor reviews of money laundering investigations. This includes speaking with other bank employees or customers when needed.

Actively participate in the development and implementation of First American Bank’s risk based BSA compliance program which includes continuously reviewing assigned processes for gaps and efficiencies and escalating well-founded recommendations to the BSA Officer.

Develop, implement, analyze, and update procedures and policies for the department in accordance with regulations.

May have responsibility for 314a, 314b, and/or certain OFAC-related duties.

May complete and/or file suspicious activity reports or other regulatory reports.

Develop or deliver metrics supporting health of processes, including but not limited to risk assessments. May deliver reports to BSA Officer or other stakeholders.

Leverage industry awareness, knowledge of regulatory expectations to serve on assigned Committees.

Per quality reviews as needed or instructed.

Participate in the development of BSA training for other departments.

Gather and prepare audit / exam materials. Actively participate in audits or exams under the direction of the BSA Officer.

Systems Management:

May manage or support daily functions of the BSA monitoring system and manual reports.

May serve as system administrator for the various systems/websites utilized by the BSA team.

Lead or assist with systems and process testing.

Other:

Conduct and complete additional assignments/projects as designated by management.

QUALIFICATIONS:

High school diploma or equivalent required. Bachelor’s Degree preferred.

CAMS (or similar) industry certification preferred.

Minimum three years in a first or second-line AML/Fraud/OFAC or risk or compliance role in a regulated financial institution required or equivalent law/regulatory or law enforcement background.

Two years of experience in managing people is required.

Knowledge of OFAC’s Sanctions Compliance preferred.

Knowledge of emerging risks, new or amended laws, regulations, and agency guidance related to BSA is preferred.

Must be professional, comfortable speaking with external and internal contacts with a demonstrated ability to tailor the message appropriately to the audience and situation effectively.

Demonstrated ability to convey thoughts and ideas effectively and succinctly via written formats, including emails, letters, and electronic platforms. Maintain professional standards relating to spelling and grammar.

Maintain credibility through professional demeanor, appearance, and presence by modeling standards appropriate to our environment and industry.

Maintain good working relationships with internal partners by exhibiting exemplary interpersonal skills, adopting a constructive, solutions-focused approach.

Use sound professional judgment to balance the interests of the organization and customer, understanding and using available resources to mitigate risks.

Bilingual in English and Spanish is preferred.

Proficiency with Microsoft 365 products and applications, including Power BI and Power Automate. and the ability to effectively prepare or review documents, procedures, and reports.

Experience in SQL to create queries, manipulate data, and database management is preferred.

Demonstrated ability to learn new systems and applications, as well as the ability to understand, adapt and adjust responsibilities/workflows as a result of system upgrades.

Occasional travel to other First American Bank locations, Bank functions and training facilities may be required.

Typical schedule is a 40-hour work week with shifts between the hours Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Central Standard Time. Additional hours may be required depending upon business need.

Punctuality is required to maintain First American Bank’s customer service standards.