Head of Business Acceptance

We are working with a prominent international commercial law firm to hire a Head of Business Acceptance in London. In this role, you will report directly to the Director of Risk and hold primary responsibility for the firm's conflicts of interest and anti-money laundering frameworks across multiple jurisdictions. 

The firm is looking for a qualified solicitor, barrister, or experienced risk professional with a university degree and a solid background in legal compliance within an international law firm environment. They are looking for candidates with the ability to manage complex legal and commercial conflicts of interest while balancing the competing needs of international partners. You should be a calm, professional leader who approaches challenges logically and can deliver pragmatic, commercial solutions under pressure.

The responsibilities will include:

• Maintaining overall day-to-day operational responsibility for the firm's global business acceptance function and acting as a primary escalation point for the team.
• Serving as the deputy MLRO, which includes assessing internal disclosures, drafting external Suspicious Activity Reports, and supporting the MLRO through regulatory audits.
• Liaising closely with the US conflicts team to resolve cross-border issues and supervising a dedicated team of London-based analysts assisting with US conflicts.
• Overseeing the Business Acceptance Manager based in Liverpool to ensure fair workload allocation, capacity management, and team development.
• Acting as the firm’s Anti-Bribery and Corruption Officer, managing the gifts and hospitality register, and advising partners on bribery risks.
• Serving as the firm’s Sanctions Officer to provide expert guidance to partners and fee earners on potential international sanctions exposure.
• Supervising the preparation of documentation for the annual AML risk assessment and the independent AML audit.
• Collaborating with other heads of business services to share knowledge, drive operational efficiency, and deliver firm-wide risk training.

If you are a resilient compliance leader ready to step into a strategic global role, we invite you to take the next step. Please apply today to begin a confidential application.

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