Senior Compliance Officer (Maternity Cover) - #1691447

What We Will Offer

We will offer you a place where you can be yourself and where there are no limits on what you can achieve. With us, you can take ownership of your career and have honest conversations throughout. You would join an ambitious firm with a clear strategy for profitable growth where you can get early responsibility and early involvement in growing the business. Here you can expect a competitive and fair reward as well as recognition based on all round performance. This forms part of our internal promise to you, The Deal, between the firm and its employees.

You Can Expect

• A competitive salary and a host of family friendly policies
• Life assurance, private health and dental care for you and your family
• A range of flexible benefits including gym discount and retail vouchers
• Tech, cycle and electric car schemes
• The opportunity to support the firm's charity through volunteering leave
• A wellbeing strategy that focuses on preventative measures to maintain overall health, and tools and support for when our people experience physical or mental difficulties. The strategy focuses on four pillars: physical, emotional, financial and social aspects.
• Most of our roles are hybrid, meaning that colleagues benefit from working in our office and remotely. We are happy to discuss this and other flexible working arrangements with you as part of the application and interview process.
• We are an equal opportunity organisation, committed to having a diverse workforce. We do not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, culture, or any other protected characteristics. We aim to create a culture where everyone can be themselves and is valued for their strengths and unique perspectives.
  
  

Team Structure

The Business Acceptance team is a global team operating out of the firm's London, Singapore and Hong Kong offices. It is led by the Head of Business Acceptance based in London, supported in the same office by an AML and Sanctions Manager, three Senior Compliance Officers and 13 Compliance Officers. The teams in Hong Kong and Singapore consist of a Business Acceptance Manager, a Senior Compliance Officer, four Compliance Officers and a Compliance Assistant.

Main Responsibilities

The role of a Senior Compliance Officer has elements of day-to-day compliance work (BAU), as well as people management.

BAU

Primarily Involves The Day-to-day Management Of Client Onboarding And Matter Opening Workflows, With a Focus On Problem-solving And Maintaining An Efficient Service To The Business. In Practice, This Will Involve

• Acting as an initial point of escalation for queries from team members, whether related to conflicts, AML, CDD, Intapp, billing / third party payors or otherwise.
• Managing workload by allocating work fairly and ensuring it is completed promptly and accurately. Where needed, you will support colleagues in prioritising competing demands.
• Identifying and resolving any issues (technical or otherwise) which affect the general file opening and / or client onboarding workflow.
  
  

The role will also include handling a share of the team's day-to-day workload, which generally involves:

• Analysing conflict search results and resolving any regulatory and/or commercial conflicts, including via discussions with partners and fee earners.
• Advising fee-earners on information and documentation required to complete CDD.
• Implementing and maintaining information barriers.
• Conducting sanctions screenings and liaising with internal SMEs to resolve any sanctions issues that may arise with clients or matters.
  
  

People Management

Responsibilities

As a Senior Compliance Officer, you will also be actively involved in and mentoring and leading colleagues. Each of our Senior Compliance Officers is responsible for the day-to-day supervision of a small team of Compliance Officers (a "pod"), which includes:

• Playing a leading role in ongoing training and mentoring, especially of new joiners to the Business Acceptance team.
• Ensuring Compliance Officers apply a consistent approach to resolving conflicts, AML and other issues related to Business Acceptance processes.
• Addressing day-to-day and ongoing resourcing issues.
  
  

The Successful Candidate Will Be Expected To

• Act as a senior point of contact to the business on complex queries relating to conflicts, AML and other business acceptance issues.
• Assist with drafting and review of Business Acceptance policies.
• Deliver Business Acceptance training to fee earners, support staff and internally within the Business Acceptance team.
• Assist with the project management of upgrades to Intapp Open, including testing of any changes and maintaining an ongoing review of the system functionality.
• Assist with lateral hire searches.
• Provide Out of Hours assistance on time-sensitive matters from time to time, in conjunction and consultation with the Head of Business Acceptance.
  
  

Attributes/Skills Required

• At least 4 years' experience in a business acceptance role, preferably in a law firm environment. Prior people management experience would be useful.
• Solid, demonstrable understanding of AML and conflicts rules applicable in all jurisdictions in which the firm operates.
• Pragmatic, commercial and lateral thinking and creative problem-solving skills.
• A team-first, can-do attitude and a commitment to doing what it takes to achieve results in a timely, efficient manner.
• Strong research skills and familiarity with widely used vendors such as Orbis, Accuity and equivalents.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, and the gravitas to support taking the lead in discussions with partners, fee earners and support staff.
• Proven ability to work both independently and as part of a global team.
• Experience of using Intapp Open and Walls.
• Ability to work under time pressure and prioritise effectively to meet multiple deadlines.
• A desire to build on existing knowledge and proactively contribute to changes in team processes and procedures.
  

This job description is indicative only and does not represent an exhaustive list of responsibilities. The firm reserves the right to alter or change the responsibilities at any time, in line with the firm's strategy and business needs.

About The Firm

With 8 offices worldwide and with our headquarters based in London, Stephenson Harwood is a law firm where our people are committed to achieving the goals of our clients - listed and private companies, institutions and individuals across the globe. Our mix of expertise and culture results in a combination of deep local insight and the capability to provide a seamless international service.

Our experience encompasses corporate, commercial litigation and arbitration, employment, pensions and private wealth, finance, marine and international trade, and real estate and projects.

We assemble teams of bright thinkers to match our clients' needs and give the right advice from the right person at the right time. Dedicating the highest calibre of legal talent to overcome the most complex issues, we deliver pragmatic, expert advice that is set squarely in the real world.

We understand the power of diversity in delivering that high calibre advice to our clients. We want to attract diverse talent and we particularly encourage applications from underrepresented demographics.

Our Values

Individuality - We encourage creativity and devlop talent.

Commitment - To be the best and deliver the highest standard.

Teamwork - We work together to build close, long-term relationships.

Straight talking - We say what we mean and do what we say.

Our Vision into 2026

To be a successful firm where talented people work together in an entrepreneurial environment, building long term client relationships.

This version is about who we want to be, as well as who we are. It is as much about our values as about our character - the attributes we want to see from all of our people. That's how we unlock our entrepreneurial spirit, advising our clients with top performing teams.

A key part of the 2026 strategy is to focus on five core sectors: energy transition; life sciences and healthcare; private capital and funds; technology; transportation and trade. These have been identified as crucial in the drive for accelerated profitable growth.