Role Overview:

The Transaction Monitoring Manager will be a hands-on leader responsible for managing day-to-day TM operations while driving strategic enhancements to the monitoring framework. This role requires deep hands-on experience with Chainalysis KYT and Reactor, strong knowledge of blockchain analytics, and the ability to fine-tune monitoring rules and thresholds to ensure they are risk-based and proportionate to the firm’s customer and product profile.

The individual will lead a team of TM Analysts while also personally conducting alert reviews, escalations, and investigations. They will play a critical role in ensuring timely and accurate reporting of suspicious activity to the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit (goAML portal) and preparing for regulatory audits, inspections, and engagements.

Key Responsibilities:

⁠Leadership & Team Management:

• Lead and mentor a team of TM Analysts, providing technical guidance and professional development.
• Build a high-performance culture focused on accuracy, timeliness, and continuous improvement.
• Establish clear SLAs, workflows, and escalation procedures for all TM activities.
• Serve as a subject matter expert (SME) for crypto transaction typologies, blockchain analytics, and UAE AML/CFT obligations.

⁠⁠Hands-On Transaction Monitoring:

• Review, analyze, and resolve TM alerts on a daily basis, focusing on high-risk cases and complex crypto activity.
• Ensure timely closure of alerts in accordance with internal SLAs and UAE regulatory expectations.
• Investigate and escalate suspicious activity, preparing detailed case files for the MLRO’s review and submission to the FIU via the goAML portal.
• Conduct deep-dive blockchain investigations using Chainalysis Reactor, tracing fund flows, identifying typologies (e.g., mixers, darknet markets, sanctions evasion), and documenting findings.
• Perform periodic sampling and QA reviews to ensure analysts’ work meets quality standards.

⁠System Optimization & Threshold Management:

• Configure and fine-tune alerting thresholds in Chain analysis KYT to align with the firm’s risk profile and regulatory expectations, minimizing false positives while ensuring comprehensive risk coverage.
• Regularly review typology trends and regulatory guidance to update monitoring rules and scenarios.