Head of Conflicts

Overview of GCRC

Office: London (hybrid)

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 is an exciting opportunity for an experienced compliance professional with a background in the legal or professional services sector to lead a team dealing with conflicts of interest and client confidentiality.

Reporting to our Director of Group Business Acceptance and joining the GCRC Extended Leadership Team, the successful candidate will develop and lead a newly formed, specialised team of conflicts professionals responsible for analysing, advising on and resolving legal and commercial conflicts of interest, information barriers and share dealing requests. This is to ensure we comply with all applicable regulations (including international sanctions), professional rules of conduct, contractual terms related to conflicts of interest and client confidentiality, and protect client relationships and our reputation.

Whilst legal teams are currently able to carry out their own conflict checks, the business increasingly looks to our conflicts analysts for support. Our conflicts analysts also assist with the resolution of complex conflicts issues, deal with sensitive of confidential matters, and carry out conflict checks associated with share dealing requests and lateral hires into the business. 

Over the next two years, our ambition is to further enhance and centralise our conflict checking service to the business. This will see the Conflicts team carrying out conflict checks for all new clients and matters (and updates to existing matters) and analysing and fully resolving any potential issues (seeking approvals or waivers where necessary). The team will also be responsible for the steps we take to protect sensitive or confidential client information (including where Market Abuse Regulations apply).

The Head of Conflicts will work closely with the Director of Group Business Acceptance and Head of Compliance Operations & Delivery on the ongoing development of our policies, controls and processes as they relate to conflicts of interest, client confidentiality, information barriers, share dealing and Market Abuse Regulations. This will include optimising our use of tech/automation (including Intapp), standardising and simplifying our policies and processes across the Walkers group, and building an optimal team shape that provides agility, efficiency, consistency and excellent service to the business and our clients.

The successful candidate will be responsible for building the team's conflicts expertise and championing ongoing learning and development through various people initiatives designed to attract, retain and develop our people. Together, this will help us deliver our team 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, Responsibilities & Person Specification

• Day-to-day management of our conflicts analysts (including leading the recruitment of additional conflicts analysts).
• Responsible for overall performance and output of the newly formed Conflicts team (based in Asia, Europe and the Americas).
• Act as a point of escalation for the team and the business on all legal and commercial conflicts issues, analysing and resolving issues in accordance with applicable regulations, professional rules and Walkers' own policy and procedures.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders across Walkers globally, acting as a key point of contact in relation to all conflicts and client confidentiality queries and leading communications across the business in this area.
• Lead on internal training as it relates to conflicts of interest, client confidentiality, share dealing and insider lists.
• Identify any weaknesses or areas for potential improvement in our existing client onboarding system (Intapp Intake) and, working with the Head of Compliance Operations & Delivery and the Compliance Business Systems team, recommend enhancements that streamline/simplify processes for team and the business, and/or strengthen our controls.
• Working with the Director of Group Business Acceptance and key stakeholders from across the business, develop and deliver a phased programme of work that: (i) rapidly enhances our conflicts offering/service delivery to the business (including through improved time zone coverage/capacity, responsiveness, efficiency and expertise); (ii) enables us to provide a fully centralised conflict checking/analysis function within the next two years.

• Working with the Head of Compliance Operations & Delivery and the Compliance Business Systems team, scope and implement our information barrier solution (Intapp Walls) to automate our approach to information barriers and insider lists (with supporting policy, processes and training).
• Drive quality, consistency, service excellence, efficiency, proactivity and adaptability across the Conflicts team.
• Develop and lead people initiatives within the Conflicts team to drive development of expertise and skills, 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 conflicts of interest and client confidentiality.
• Keep abreast with developments in regulation, technology and the market which are relevant to conflicts of interest, client confidentiality, sanctions, market abuse/insider trading, and information barriers.

Education, Skills & Experience

Required

• Bachelor's degree in law, business, finance or another relevant field.
• Solid experience in a compliance or in-house legal role in an international law firm or professional services environment.
• Compliance expert with deep technical and practical knowledge of legal conflicts of interest, commercial conflicts and client confidentiality, with some knowledge of Market Abuse Regs and international sanctions.
• Familiarity with Intapp Intake.
• Experience of policy work.
• Extensive experience of people management, including supervision/management of large teams and experience devising and driving people initiatives (including around recruitment and development).
• Proven track record of delivering change and process improvements.

Advantageous

• Experience working in an offshore environment or with offshore structures.
• Experience working with third party vendors.
• Familiarity with Intapp Walls.

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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