Homes England Graduate Programme - Compliance and Anti-Economic Crime
Homes England Graduate Programme - Compliance and Anti-Economic Crime
Fixed Term Contract - 2 years
Closing Date: 14/02/2025
Please refer to the 'Homes England Graduate Programme 2025 Guidance' document attached for guidance with your application, the assessment process and programme information.
If you are unsure if this graduate programme is right for you why don't you visit our graduate careers webpage to find out more: https://www.homesenglandcareers.com/
Participants on our Graduate Programme will develop their strategic thinking, problem solving, project management, leadership and relationship building skills whilst undertaking placements within their chosen profession. Day to day, depending on your chosen profession you could be acquiring or disposing of land, providing investment for infrastructure or working collaboratively with our partner organisations. From day one, you will have ownership and responsibility for your own projects / work.
You will be supported by your placement manager; have a buddy and you will be empowered to take ownership of your own learning and development including having access to a coach or mentor. Towards the end of the programme, we will support you to obtain a role aligned to your career aspirations and organisational needs.
A bit about the role...
The Anti-Economic Crime (AEC) programme provides an exciting opportunity for a graduate to gain a significant knowledge and experience across a range of subjects including, but not limited to; risk management framework and operational risk challenge, anti-money laundering (AML), counter terrorist financing, financial and trade sanctions, counter fraud, modern slavery, insider trading, bribery and corruption and tax evasion.
The graduate working within AEC will work across all Homes England directorates and programmes, which have different legislative obligations, including the provision of loans, grants, vendors, and the buying/selling of land which support housing delivery and regeneration.
The programme will offer the flexibility to meet the graduate’s preferences allowing them to focus on specific AEC areas of interest, whilst at the same time ensuring they get the breadth of understanding across all policy areas. Training and support will be provided by qualified and experienced colleagues, and qualifications may be available.
The graduate will be expected to familiarise themselves with a set of UK economic crime legislation (such as the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 and Joint Money Laundering Steering Group Guidance, Sanctions Guidance by the Office for Sanctions Implementation, Proceeds of Crime Act 2002) and Cabinet Office Guidance (such as Govs013 Counter fraud or Govs015 Grants) as well as internal policies and procedures. The end outcomes will provide the graduate with exposure to and experience of the Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) and the Nominated Officer accountabilities; both having legal and personal obligations for prevention of economic crime.
Graduates will ultimately have 4 streams of experience over the placement period:
- Due diligence: exposure to financial institution and government funding streams, such as lending, grants, joint ventures, which require overlying of economic crime legalisation to assess and provide assurance that the Agency knows who it is having a business relationship with. Due Diligence processes will enable the graduate to undertake and make legislative decisions concerning the end-to-end customer due diligence (CDD) and screening (politically exposed persons and sanction targets) processes, management information preparation and internal and external fraud investigations.
- Counter Fraud: The graduate will experience and make decisions regarding received unusual activity reports (UARs) from staff or 3rd party programme administrators, to consider the facts, triage the underlying threat/concern and if applicable investigate and make recommendations on a course of action. The work requires diligence and open thinking with the documented investigation used in criminal litigation.
- Policy and Training: Within the MLRO function, writing and providing advice/decision is a fundamental aspect. This placement will provide the graduate with exposure to writing proportionate and risk-based economic crime policy and standards, using the legislative knowledge gains to date, and supporting the business to turn the policy into effective operating procedures.
- Risk Management: Both within the AEC and wider Risk functions, the appreciation and acumen to manage risk is a key working premise. This placement will provide exposure to defining and executing risk assessments at Agency or programme levels, which in turn aid challenge to the business and informs the wider economic crime policy agenda for the Agency and AEC. A critical component is the graduate’s ability to effectively review and provide economic crime advice on new Programme Commissions from the Departments.
Graduates will be required to work with the MLRO and fellow senior management in writing reports for executive leadership and/or Board. At the end of the programme the graduate will be able to independently undertake and make decisions/recommendation for customers/partners regarding their CDD reviews and/or fraud investigations.
Successful applicants will be expected to have good communication skills, be able to work individually and collaboratively with colleagues, think strategically and openly in identifying areas for improvement and take accountability for the decisions they take.
A bit about you…
We are looking for the next generation of housing professionals. You will be an innovator who will bring fresh ideas, be commercially minded, a problem solver and a strong relationship builder. You will strive for excellence, embrace change and be curious about future possibilities.
You will be motivated to make a difference and share and be passionate about our vision to effectively drive regeneration and housing delivery to create high-quality and home and thriving places. You’ll be pro-active about your own development.
Whilst a degree in Financial Crime and Compliance, Economic Crime, Economic and Cyber Crime, Criminology, Financial Crime and Compliance, Financial Investigations, Forensic Accounting, Fraud Management, Fraud Investigation and Intelligence, Financial Investigation and Digital Intelligence, Accountancy or Legal would aid the graduate this is not mandatory. The Anti-Economic Crime team would be keen to develop any graduate that has an interest in working in the public sector and developing their skills/knowledge in respect of Anti-Economic Crime (AEC) and within HMG’s Counter Fraud Profession.
You will be required to have the Right to Work in the UK for the duration of the programme. Homes England do not offer visa sponsorship, therefore if your visa expires mid-programme you will need to provide evidence of how you plan to secure another visa without sponsorship from Homes England.
Your application needs to be in your own words, reflect your personal understanding and experience, and must not have been generated by AI tools such as ChatGPT.
Who are we?
Homes England : The Housing and Regeneration Agency
We believe that affordable, quality homes in well-designed places are key to improving people’s lives. As the government’s housing and regeneration agency, we create thriving new places and transform urban areas, combining the full breadth of our powers, expertise, land, capital and influence to bring investment to communities and get more homes built.
How? We form long-term partnerships that bridge the gap between the public and private sector to meet local needs and aspirations. We use our influence to champion the creation of sustainable homes, communities and places that are brilliantly designed for the people that live there now, and in the future. And we use our funding and support to build a more resilient, diverse and innovative housing sector, helping new entrants in the market, encouraging modern methods of construction and design, and promoting the utmost attention to building safety.
Together with our partners, we’re accelerating the pace of house building, remediation and regeneration across the country, as we seek to deliver ever more affordable homes in places people are proud to call home for generations to come.
What we offer...
As well as a competitive salary and 33 days annual leave, we are committed to 50/50 hybrid working. We’ll support you, wherever possible, so that you don’t miss out on what matters to you.
Internal applicants: please note that if you are successful, the salary you are offered will be in accordance with our pay controls and pay policy. You can find these on the recruitment pages of the intranet.
If you ever need a bit of extra help, we have a great employee assistance programme, financial wellbeing support and access to many great discounts with leading high street names.
Our range of network groups are also there to support you to be yourself at work and play a key role in helping shape our future.
If you are a member of a professional body, we’ll pay for your membership and once you get your digital kit, you’ll be good to go.
Homes England are a geographically diverse community. We work to a 50/50 office/ home based model. Moving back into our office environments has enabled us to utilise our space and time together in the most collaborative way.
We would encourage all applicants to apply as soon as possible as we may close vacancies early should we receive a high number of applications.
We also encourage you to apply using the full application option as opposed to quick apply, this is especially important if you would like to indicate to us that you would like to be considered under the disability confident scheme.
If your application is shortlisted to interview we will require you to provide proof of your right to work in the UK at this stage.
Still unsure if this is right graduate programme for you?
Join us at our pre-application session, where we aim to share guidance and practical tips to give you the confidence to apply to our Graduate Programme and provide you with a deeper understanding of the Homes England culture.
The session is open to everyone as part of our unwavering commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion, our goal is to enhance representation and foster an environment where everyone is included, supported, valued, and feels a sense of belonging, irrespective of their background, experience, or identity.
By joining this session, you'll have the opportunity to connect with colleagues and gain valuable perspectives on our inclusive culture. Please note that your attendance is purely optional and independent of the application process; it will not influence any future application decisions.
The session will be held via Microsoft Teams on 6th February 2025 at 12pm-1pm. If you are interested in attending, please contact RecruitmentInfo@homesengland.gov.uk.