Senior Specialist, AML Compliance

Role Responsibilities 
 

As a Senior Specialist within Western Union’s AML Compliance team based in Santa Ana - Costa Rica, this role operates within the Global AML Investigations team (GAI) of the Global Compliance function to mitigate money‑laundering, terrorist‑financing, and fraud risks.  

• Analyze transaction‑monitoring alerts (ERC program) to identify patterns and trends indicative of suspicious activity; triage, prioritize, and disposition alerts within SLAs. 

• Investigate cases end‑to‑end using Western Union systems, public databases, and open‑source records; conduct targeted customer outreach when necessary. 

• Document findings with clear narratives, supporting evidence, and defensible rationales; recommend appropriate actions and escalate high‑risk cases to business partners. 

• Identify emerging typologies, propose scenario tuning and control enhancements, and perform root‑cause analysis to remediate process gaps. 

• Manipulate and interpret data (queries, exports, trend analyses) to substantiate investigative conclusions and improve detection logic. 

• Partner cross‑functionally (Compliance, Risk, Legal, Product, Operations) to align on investigations, remediation steps, and continuous‑improvement initiatives. 

Role Requirements 

• Bachelor’s degree preferred, or equivalent experience in Financial Services. 

• More than 2 years of experience in Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), AML, general and/or risk-based Compliance, Finance, Accounting, or related roles. 

• Solid knowledge of AML risk and ability to identify compliance risks and escalate appropriately 

• Over 1.5 years of experience in OCMI preferred. 

• Strong analytical and organizational skills, high attention to detail, and proven ability to meet deadlines in a fast‑paced, structured, deadline‑driven environment. 

• Proficient in MS Word, Excel, and Access 

• Experience navigating mainframe or enterprise case/ERP systems and other data‑entry applications. 

• Demonstrated ability to make independent decisions aligned with company policies and procedures; comfortable working with a high level of autonomy while being a strong team player. 

• Experience conducting public‑database research 

• Strong written and verbal communication skills in Spanish and English 

Work Shift: Monday to Friday, from 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. or 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. CST. May be adjusted at the discretion of the company. 

HYBRID - Western Union values in-person collaboration, problem solving, and ideation whenever possible. We believe this fosters common ways of working and supports how we execute initiatives for our customers. The expectation is to work from the office a minimum of three days a week. 

BENEFITS AND OTHER DETAILS 

Benefits 

You will also have access to short-term incentives, multiple health insurance options, accident and life 
insurance, and access to best-in-class development platforms, to name a few. Please see the benefits below specific to your country. If applicable, additional role-specific benefits will be mentioned during your interview process or in an offer of employment. 

Your Costa Rica specific benefits include:  

• “Asociación Solidarista” 

• In-house company doctor services 

• Transportation services options 

• Referral Program award 

• Cafeteria Discounts 

Other Details 

As part of the application process, all applicants are required to take assessments. Western Union has partnered with a 3rd party provider to administer these tests. Applicants will need to provide their name and email address in order to process the assessments. If you have any questions, you may reach out to careers@westernunion.com.