Compliance Officer - Financial Crime and NCA
Department: Business Services - OGC
Employment Type: Permanent
Location: Leeds
Description
An opportunity has arisen for a Compliance Officer to join the Group's Office of the General Counsel ("OGC") in a role supporting both the Financial Crime team and the New Client Administration team. The role requires that the candidate attend our Leeds office a minimum of 2 days per week, perhaps more depending on business need.
Within the OGC, the Financial Crime and New Client Administration teams have primary responsibility for the Group's financial crime framework and client onboarding processes including all aspects of anti-money laundering ("AML") and sanctions compliance. The teams provide support and advice to Fee Earners/Partners and other Business Services functions across the Group on a range of regulatory, risk and compliance issues.
The successful candidate will initially focus primarily on financial crime compliance, before progressively gaining experience within the New Client Administration team, supporting client and matter onboarding and associated risk processes.
Key Responsibilities
- Identification, assessment and management financial crime risks and advising the business on their impact.
- Escalation of AML, sanctions and other financial crime risks in accordance with internal procedures, supporting the Money Laundering Reporting Officer ("MLRO") and Deputy MLROs as required, including preparation for regulatory reviews.
- Supporting the firm-wide Financial Crime Risk Assessment, ensuring updates reflect regulatory and policy change through horizon scanning and embedding updates into procedures and guidance.
- Review, verification and analysis of new and existing client information to ensure compliance with AML, sanctions and wider financial crime requirements, meeting agreed quality and productivity targets.
- Conducting comprehensive client due diligence ("CDD"), including identification and verification of corporate structures and ultimate beneficial owners.
- Liaising with Fee Earners and Partners to obtain additional information, provide advice on onboarding requirements, and support discussions with prospective clients.
- Performance of ongoing and periodic client monitoring, including daily screening reviews and scheduled CDD refreshes.
- Assisting with responses to client and supplier due diligence questionnaires and regulatory or audit data requests, including SRA thematic reviews.
- Supporting the effective use and continuous improvement of financial crime onboarding and screening systems and tools.
- Contribution to financial crime working groups and wider OGC discussions to support best practice and continuous improvement.
Additional Tasks
- Proactively horizon scanning, maintaining awareness of regulatory/compliance changes, developing knowledge of financial crime requirements, and helping to implement process changes.
- Responding to ad hoc queries.
- Assisting with regulatory reporting requirements, research and other administrative tasks to support the team.
- Supporting on project work including:
- Collaborating with the learning and development team to formulate and deliver bespoke training.
- Liaising with Business Technology and Procurement functions for the improvement of the new client onboarding/matter opening process.
Skills, Knowledge and Expertise
- Must be graduate level (or equivalent i.e. have experience in the legal sector)
- Previous experience of working in a legal or financial services risk and compliance function is essential
- Experience and knowledge of anti-money laundering and sanctions regulations
- Good IT skills with a knowledge of Microsoft Office packages
- Strong attention to detail
- The ability to work on own initiative and manage own workload
- Good written and verbal communication skills
- Good interpersonal skills
- Focused and analytical
- Good team player
- Confident decision-maker
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