54 is a sports and entertainment agency operating across five regions and ten offices: United Kingdom (London & Manchester), Europe (Sotogrande, Spain), MENA (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates), APAC (Vietnam, Singapore & Adelaide, Australia) and USA (West Palm Beach, Florida & New York). It works with rights holders, governing bodies, household brands and major investors who share its belief in the power of sport. 54 comprises three service areas each consisting of two divisions: 1. Strategic Advisory (Consultancy and Data & Insights), 2. Asset Optimisation (Operations and Commercial), 3. Activation & Engagement (Events and Marketing). At its core, the company has an unwavering belief in embracing the opportunities offered by pushing at the edges of conventional wisdom to turn the improbable into the unignorable.
Department: Legal. Employment Type: Permanent. Location: London. Reporting To: Kim Vande Velde.
Role Overview
The Compliance Manager will be responsible for establishing and managing a robust compliance and risk framework across the Group, with a particular focus on events, international operations and insurance. This role ensures that legal and regulatory requirements across multiple jurisdictions are translated into practical, scalable compliance frameworks, with clear ownership across the business. The position operates at the intersection of Legal, Operations, HR and Finance, enabling the business to manage risk effectively while continuing to operate at pace.
Key Roles And Responsibilities
- Develop and maintain a centralised compliance and risk framework across the Group (including GDPR/Data Privacy in local regimes, ABC, human rights and other ESG compliance frameworks)
- Maintain a Group-wide risk register, identifying and tracking key risk areas; identify recurring risk themes and implement structured, scalable solutions
- Establish clear escalation and reporting mechanisms
- Oversee legal and regulatory compliance requirements relating to high profile, global events
- Ensure appropriate compliance frameworks are in place for health & safety governance, travel risk and employee safety, supplier and third-party compliance; support consistent application of compliance standards across all events
- Define RACI for administrative tasks (e.g., collection of insurance certificates by Operations/Procurement)
- Oversee the Group’s insurance programme, acting as the primary liaison with brokers and ensuring appropriate coverage across events, international operations, key business risks; align insurance requirements with contractual obligations and risk exposure; provide internal guidance on insurance coverage, limitations and risk transfer; support oversight of insurance claims and identify trends and risk areas
- Oversee and advise on key policies, including travel risk and employee safety policies, supplier compliance and insurance standards, event-related compliance protocols; ensure policies are clear, practical and consistently applied
- Define and document ownership of compliance and risk across HR, Operations, Finance, Legal; ensure accountability sits with the appropriate business functions; act as a central coordinator for effective risk management
- Develop and maintain compliance aspects of crisis and incident management frameworks; ensure clear escalation pathways and documentation of key decisions; support Legal and business teams during incidents from a governance perspective
- Work with Legal and Procurement to ensure appropriate contractual and compliance standards with suppliers, align supplier insurance and compliance requirements with business risk; implement consistent third‑party due diligence processes
- Deliver training and guidance to business teams on compliance requirements; promote a proactive, structured approach to risk and compliance
- Maintain statutory records, group structure charts, and corporate registers to ensure compliance with jurisdictional requirements; prepare or coordinate board and shareholder resolutions, powers of attorney, and other governance documents; support Finance and Tax teams with intercompany documentation, regulatory filings, and jurisdiction specific obligations
- Fulfill the Internal Audit Function: act as the internal coordination point for Audit Committee requests, ensuring timely access to documentation, policies, contracts, insurance records, governance materials, and process owners; support the Audit Committee by maintaining visibility over key financial governance controls such as Delegations of Authority, policy compliance, SLA monitoring, contract governance
Special Skills/Experience/Aptitudes Needed
- Experience in legal compliance, regulatory compliance or risk management
- Strong understanding of multi‑jurisdictional regulatory environments
- Experience in events, international operations or high‑growth businesses (preferred)
- Familiarity with corporate insurance programmes and risk transfer principles
- Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills
- Pragmatic, commercially focused approach
Key Principles of the Role
- Focus on frameworks and governance, not operational delivery
- Ensure clear ownership of risk across the business
- Enable effective and compliant business operations across multiple jurisdictions
- Act as a bridge between Legal requirements and operational execution
Success Measures
- Clear, scalable compliance frameworks implemented across the business
- Fulfilment of Internal Audit function as required by the Audit Committee
- Reduced reactive escalations to Legal
- Improved visibility and management of compliance and insurance risks
- Effective and aligned insurance coverage across key risk areas
Salary And Benefits
- Competitive Salary
- Annual Discretionary Company Bonus – up to 8% (3% Company & 5% Individual)
- Pension scheme
- Life Assurance
- Income Protection
- 25 days annual leave (+ public holidays), pro‑rated & Birthday off; increased annual leave with years of service
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- Private Healthcare
- Enhanced Parental Leave
- Staff clothing
- Working hours will be from 09.00 to 17.30 with an hour taken for lunch between 12.00 and 14.00
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