Director of Financial Crime

We are a leading international law and professional services firm providing legal, corporate and fiduciary services to global corporations, financial institutions, capital market participants and investment fund managers. With a global presence spanning the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, we advise on the laws of Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Ireland and Jersey.
We treat everyone as the intelligent professional they are. Our approach is to trust and empower our people to deliver consistently, and enable them to succeed. Diversity is our secret weapon – it’s the sheer breadth of Walkers people that makes us who we are – gathered from across the globe and fluent in languages, jurisdictions and cultures that help us to mirror our clients and keep our own thinking in tune with the world in which we operate.

THE TEAM

The General Counsel, Risk and Compliance (GCRC) team provides support to the global business, ensuring that the firm meets and maintains the highest standards in professional conduct and quality and adheres to its legal and regulatory requirements.

The team is led by Walker's General Counsel and Chief Risk and Compliance Officer (based in our London office) and is made up of over 100 risk and compliance professionals and lawyers based across our offices in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas. Our London office serves as the GCRC team's hub.

THE TEAM

The General Counsel, Risk and Compliance (GCRC) team provides support to the global business, ensuring that the firm meets and maintains the highest standards in professional conduct and quality and adheres to its legal and regulatory requirements.

The team is led by Walker's General Counsel and Chief Risk and Compliance Officer (based in our London office) and is made up of over 100 risk and compliance professionals and lawyers based across our offices in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas. Our London office serves as the GCRC team's hub.

THE ROLE

This new role is an exciting opportunity for an experienced compliance professional with a background in the legal and/or professional services sector to lead the firm's global Financial Crime team.

Reporting to our Chief Compliance Officer, this new group level position will sit across both Walkers' law firm and professional services businesses globally and lead a growing team (currently numbering around 6 compliance professionals) with responsibility for:

- financial crime compliance (excluding new business acceptance), including suspicious activity reporting, sanctions, anti-bribery, tax evasion, fraud and insider trading, and financial crime advice to the business;

- screening of clients and related parties against sanctions, PEPs and negative news;

- investigations;

- regulatory engagement, including leading on regulatory inspections, returns and remediation exercises, and dealing with regulators and law enforcement;

- leading on Business Risk Assessments.

The Director of Financial Crime will also play a pivotal role in the ongoing development of our policies, controls and processes as they relate to these areas. This will include optimising our use of tech/automation (including through the use of best in market third party vendors), standardising and simplifying our policies and processes across the group,

The Director of Financial Crime will directly line manage the Senior Financial Crime Manager.  However, we anticipate the successful candidate will work with the CCO and Director of Business Acceptance to further refine the team shape and structure to best support the team's broad remit – providing agility, efficiency, consistency and excellent service to the business and our clients.

The Director of Financial Crime will work with the GC, CCO and other key stakeholders to further define and deliver our priorities to achieve our vision: to be the market leading legal, risk and compliance function that protects the business and supports Walkers’ strategy for growth through proactive risk and compliance oversight, technical excellence, efficiency, adaptability and client service.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Line manage the Senior Financial Crime Manager.

• Responsible for overall performance and output of the Financial Crime teams.

• As part of the CCO's wider compliance strategy, develop a phased programme of work as it relates to screening and inspections/remediations, which underpins our vision – exploring and optimising our approach to/best use of technology/automation, people, policies controls and procedures (PCPs), and modes of service delivery.

• Alongside the Head of Compliance Operations & Delivery, oversee the planning, execution and delivery of various workstreams within the programme of work to ensure they are successfully delivered on time, within scope and in budget.

• Over time, drive towards target team shape and structure with clearly defined remits to ensure the team is able to provide uninterrupted service and expertise to the business, whilst having the agility/flexibility to respond to unplanned, time sensitive incidents or other priorities (e.g. inspections).

• Build and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders across the business – acting as a key point of contact on financial crime, regulatory monitoring, investigations and regulator related queries/issues, and leading communications across the business in this area.

• Devise and lead people initiatives within the team to drive development, attraction and retention, and foster a high-performing, collaborative and open team culture.

• Input into regular reporting to senior management/Boards; present to Boards and other fora as required.

• Participate in cross-functional initiatives which impact or relate to financial crime, investigations or regulatory engagement.

• Drive quality, consistency, service excellence, efficiency, proactivity and adaptability across the team.

• Act as a principal point of contact with regulators and law enforcement.

• Act as a point of escalation for sanctions, high risk clients/instructions, or other financial crime-related incidents referred from the team and the business.

• Lead on preparations for/responding to inspections, returns and external reporting, for both legal and the professional services arms of the business.

• Oversee any remediation exercises (project managed by our Compliance Operations team and supported by our Regulatory Monitoring team).

• Oversee a firmwide programme of regular Business Risk Assessments.

• Keep abreast with developments in regulation, technology and the market which are relevant to financial crime, investigations and regulatory engagement.

• Lead on internal training as it relates to financial crime.

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, EXPERTISE

Required

• Bachelor's degree in law, business, finance or another relevant field.

• Extensive experience in a compliance or in-house legal leadership role in an international law firm or professional services environment.

• Compliance expert with deep working knowledge of key areas of financial crime, including AML/CTF regimes and requirements (particularly as they relate to CDD/EDD, PEPs, ML offences and reporting suspicions) and sanctions (including reporting) and some knowledge of ABC, fraud, tax evasion and insider trading laws.

• Experience dealing with law enforcement and regulators.

• Extensive experience of people management, including leading operational teams and devising and driving people initiatives (including around recruitment and development)

• Proven track record of delivering change, including complex projects that optimise technology/automation and working with third party vendors.

Advantageous

• Solicitor or equivalent legal qualification.

• Experience working in an offshore environment or with offshore structures.

• Experience conducting investigations.

ATTRIBUTES

• Strategic: a strategic thinker with the ability to develop and deliver a clear vision and strategy for financial crime prevention, screening, investigations and regulatory engagement, and the ability to align those priorities with those of the wider Compliance team and the firm.

• Leadership: ability to lead and inspire the team, drive collaboration and foster a high-performing team culture.

• Technical: deep knowledge of relevant laws and regulations as they relate to financial crime – in particular, MLRs and POCA (and equivalent money laundering laws), the Bribery Act, FCPA

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills: solutions-orientated with the ability to interpret detailed information to reach decisions or develop clear recommendations.

• Quality: strong attention to detail and produces high quality work product.

• Judgement: confident taking decisions, with sound judgement of when to escalate issues or seek further opinions.

• Adaptable: willingness to embrace change and uncertainty and manage competing demands in a dynamic and fast-paced environment; willing to constructively challenge the status quo.

• Communication: strong verbal and written communication skills, ensuring communications are properly targeted, persuasive, accurate and accessible.

• Emotional intelligence: ability to empathise, understand, and manage emotions effectively, fostering a positive and inclusive work environment.

• Collaborative: builds strong and effective relationships with stakeholders; works collaboratively with colleagues across the business.

• Commercial: sound commercial decision-making; adopts a risk-based approach. Relentless focus on service excellence.

OTHER

• Walkers is a global business, and this role may therefore require audio or video conferencing outside of normal business hours.

• This role is based at our London office. However, our agile working policy does allow some home working each week.

• Some international travel may be required.

No agencies please.

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We are an equal opportunity employer. Equality, Equity and diversity are key to our global identity and an integral part of our goal to continue being an employer of choice. We are committed to a work environment that supports all individuals irrespective of gender, ethnicity, nationality, race, religion, marital status, age, disability, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other applicable legally protected characteristics. We make every effort to ensure that employment opportunities are open and accessible to all on the basis of personal ability.