Branch Compliance Officer

Position Overview

As a Branch Compliance Officer, you will be responsible for overseeing compliance operations within designated branches, ensuring strict adherence to regulatory obligations, internal policies, and operational procedures. You will proactively identify, report, and escalate compliance-related risks and exceptions to facilitate timely resolution.

Key Responsibilities

• Supervise branch compliance with relevant regulatory guidelines, internal controls, and bank policies.
• Carry out regular compliance audits and follow through on rectifying identified discrepancies until resolution.
• Ensure thorough compliance with KYC, Customer Due Diligence (CDD), Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/Countering Financing of Terrorism (CFT), and sanctions protocols within assigned branches.
• Examine account opening and customer documentation to confirm regulatory and internal compliance.
• Oversee compliance with customer identification, transaction processing, and record maintenance regulations.
• Detect, document, and escalate any compliance breaches, risks, or exceptions observed at branch level.
• Provide guidance and support to branch personnel on compliance policies and regulatory updates.
• Monitor remediation efforts arising from compliance reviews, audits, and regulatory inspections.
• Assist in implementing newly introduced or revised regulatory requirements across branches.
• Conduct training sessions to raise compliance awareness among branch employees as necessary.
• Keep accurate records of compliance activities, exceptions logged, remediation progress, and generate relevant reports.
• Compile periodic compliance assessments of branches for senior management review.
• Report unusual or suspicious activities via established banking channels following internal procedures.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to ensure prompt resolution of compliance issues.
• Perform additional tasks as delegated by the Zonal Compliance Officer.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Banking & Finance, Economics, Business Administration, Law, Finance, or closely related field.
• At least four years’ experience in Compliance, Banking Operations, Internal Controls, Audit, Risk Management, or similar disciplines.
• Professional credentials such as ACA, ACCA, CFA, or ACIB are required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Postgraduate degree (Master's).
• Professional certifications or memberships in Compliance, Risk, Banking, or Audit sectors.
• Familiarity with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) regulations and national banking compliance standards.

Skills and Competencies

• Strong knowledge of banking operations and regulatory frameworks.
• In-depth understanding of AML/CFT, KYC, CDD, and sanctions processes.
• Attention to detail with a strong ability to identify compliance exceptions.
• Competency in Microsoft Office Suite, especially Excel, alongside excellent report writing and documentation capabilities.
• Effective stakeholder engagement and clear communication skills.
• High integrity, professionalism, and discretion when handling sensitive information.
• Analytical thinking and problem-solving aptitude with a proactive, results-driven approach.
• Capability to work autonomously across multiple branch locations.