MLRO jobs · Money laundering reporting officer jobs · Permanent, interim and fractional
MLRO jobs · permanent, interim and fractional
MLRO jobs are roles owning a business’s defences against money laundering: receiving staff suspicion reports, deciding what goes to the National Crime Agency, running the anti-money laundering controls and reporting to the board. They come as permanent posts, interim assignments and fractional or part-time seats, from deputy MLRO to group MLRO. The board below shows the MLRO roles on our board, with permanent roles first where the posting says full-time.
We recruit permanent, interim, fractional, part-time and temporary compliance leaders, and non-executive directors. Hiring rather than looking? On every brief we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
How a brief runswhat we undertake
- 01Brief30-MINUTE SCOPING CALLDay 0
- 02Shortlist of 3–5VETTED · RATE BENCHMARK · IR35After the brief
- 03InterviewsYOU MEET THE SHORTLISTYour diary
- 04Scoped startFIRST-MONTH OUTCOMES AGREEDYou set the date
- 05Fractional, interim and permanentIR35 POSITION SET OUTOn every brief
Shortlist3–5
15 minutes · video or phone
Book 15 minutes to hire a MLRO
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with MLRO candidates, their day rates and availability.
- 0115 minutes, video or phone
- 02We scope the role and the days a week
- 03A shortlist of 3–5 after the call
- 04Fractional, interim and permanent briefs
Pick a day that suits · live availability
On the board · last 3 months
MLRO jobs jobs on the board
No MLRO jobs roles on the board in the last three months. Showing compliance and legal roles instead.
Current MLRO roles on our board
Fractional Quest is a fractional recruitment agency: send a MLRO brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five vetted candidates.
01/ the role
MLRO jobs: what the board holds
The board on this page holds the money laundering reporting roles on our board: MLROs, deputy MLROs and the financial crime leads who hold the role, in every mode of work. Roles whose posting says full-time come first. Interim, fractional and part-time roles follow, and where a posting states how the role is engaged, the listing says so. When there are few MLRO roles, the board widens to the compliance and legal seats beside them, and says that it has.
What the seat does
In an FCA firm the Handbook requires an individual appointed as MLRO, responsible for oversight of the firm’s compliance with the FCA’s rules on systems and controls against money laundering, with enough authority, independence, resources and information to do it, and a report to the board at least once a year. The MLRO also decides which staff suspicions become a Suspicious Activity Report to the NCA. For the full picture, see what an MLRO does.
Who employs an MLRO
Every business under the Money Laundering Regulations must appoint a nominated officer, so MLRO jobs reach well beyond banks. HMRC’s guidance lists the sectors the Regulations cover: accountants, financial services, estate and letting agents, solicitors, money service businesses and trust or company service providers among them. Payments, e-money and crypto firms, wealth managers, insurers and law firms all hire for the seat.
02/ scope
How to get an MLRO job
1. Build a financial crime record
Most MLROs arrive from compliance, financial crime operations, investigations, audit, law or law enforcement. What a hiring firm wants to see is judgement on real cases: suspicion reports decided, customer files reviewed, a risk assessment written, a regulator visit handled.
2. Take a recognised qualification
None is required by law, but postings often name one. The International Compliance Association describes its Diploma in Anti Money Laundering, a level 6 qualification, as the industry standard for MLROs and professionals managing money laundering risk.
3. Step up through the deputy seat
Deputy MLRO is the usual step before the role itself. In an FCA firm the MLRO holds SMF17, and SMF holders need FCA or PRA approval before starting, must be fit and proper, and carry the Duty of Responsibility. The firm must take regulatory references and, unless an exemption applies, run a criminal records check.
4. Pick the route in
Not every MLRO job is permanent. A fractional MLRO holds the seat for set days a week, and broader part-time compliance jobs can include it. If you work through your own company, the off-payroll working rules (IR35) may apply: status turns on how the engagement runs, and a medium or large client makes the determination. Our IR35 guide sets out the tests.
03/ related roles
MLRO jobs by type
Every page we keep for the MLRO seat and the compliance seats beside it, one per kind of role or question. We recruit permanent, interim, fractional and part-time compliance leaders.
04/ vetting
How we vet MLROs
What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify MLRO tenure, sector context and stage fit.
SOURCING - 02
Mandate fit
Match to your situation — stage, board dynamics, timing.
MATCHING - 03
Reference deep-dive
We take references ourselves, from recent past clients — real outcomes, not titles.
VERIFY - 04
Shortlist
Three to five candidates with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
SHORTLIST OF 3–5
05/ money laundering reporting officer jobs
Money laundering reporting officer jobs where the vacancies come from
Money laundering reporting officer jobs follow the rules that create them. A business in scope of the Money Laundering Regulations must appoint a nominated officer and, where appropriate to its size and nature, a board member or senior manager responsible for compliance, and tell its supervisor within 14 days of each appointment. A new firm, a new licence or a new product line can each open a vacancy.
Vacancies also open when a role holder leaves, because the seat cannot be left empty. Under the FCA’s 12-week rule, someone can cover a senior manager’s temporary or reasonably unforeseen absence for less than 12 consecutive weeks without approval, while the firm applies for a replacement. That is why interim MLRO work is common.
Read a vacancy for the supervisor, whether the role is SMF17, the volume of alerts and reports, who the role reports to, and whether it combines MLRO with compliance oversight.
06/ permanent mlro jobs
Permanent MLRO jobs the market and the pay
Permanent MLRO jobs are full-time employed roles, and they are the ones listed first on this page. They suit firms with a steady flow of alerts and suspicion reports: banks, larger payments and e-money businesses, insurers, wealth managers and large professional firms.
Pay depends on the sector and supervisor, the size and risk of the firm, whether the role holds SMF17, the volume of reports, qualifications and location. We publish no MLRO salary figure because we have no independent sourced one. Listings show pay where the posting states it; on every shortlist we set out each candidate’s pay.
Independence shapes the permanent seat. The FCA expects the MLRO to have a level of authority and independence within the firm, and access to the resources and information the role needs, and to be based in the United Kingdom. Ask who you report to and what you can see before you accept.
07/ questions
MLRO jobs FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in a MLRO.
Book 15 minutes · shortlist of 3–5
Bring the brief. We architect the team.
A shortlist of 3–5 with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after five-stage vetting.
