This Candidate has been working in the Risk & Compliance space for over 10 years.
They want to move back home to the UK as they are ready for the next step in their career but sadly there aren't any "Head of" level roles in the market in Hong Kong.
Most recently, they were working at a prominent International Law Firm. The role they applied for initially turned out not to be the role they were doing in practice.

Candidate thought their role was going to have more of a business acceptance focus, however, due to some changes taking place in the London team, the role ended up becoming more of an in-house counsel role. They were very appreciative of what they learnt during their short time in that role, however, they knew this wasn't what they saw themself doing long term, so decided to resign. They are someone we have known for a very long time, Adam actually helped them to get their first role back in 2014.
Projects they have been a part of:

• Intapp implementation
• Centralising conflicts
• Firm-wide risk assessment SRA audit (assisted with putting together the R&C manual, audit passed with commendation and praised highly by SRA)
• Advising senior leadership team on how to deal with team retention issues
• Training - team training, new joiner training, lateral partner training
• Management & Recruitment - built the APAC team from 1 to 10
• PII renewals (has had SOME exposure to this, but claiming to be an expert)

We have previously heard them be described as "a safe pair of hands", we think they are a very impressive candidate and someone we are confident you would have an enjoyable conversation with.

Experience

APAC Risk & Compliance Manager | International Law Firm | Mar 2024 - Jul 2024

• Internal risk auditing - complex financial crime investigation on matter files alongside client due diligence quality reviews.
• Led external regulator audit inspections. Directly handled ACRA (TCSP regulator) inspection jointly with Singapore Managing Partner.
  Work highlight: my pre-inspection review led to a significant outcome, firm-wide intapp risk-weighting error sent back for correction at global level.
• Legal & Regulatory advisory - jurisdictional review, research, and advisory of local law compliance requirements for Thailand, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, and Australia (e.g. data privacy, corporate/company secretarial requirements).
• Case review handling of external client Terms of Business, engagement letters, and vendor/service level agreements.
• Policy advisory (e.g. sanctions, whistle-blowing, internal procedure).
• Process knowledge and high-level participating review of professional indemnity insurance renewals. Inclusive of compliance review in accordance with the Hong Kong Solicitors Professional Indemnity Scheme (PIS) and Solicitors Professional Indemnity Rules (Cap.159M).
• Business Implementation and change project lead.
• Contributing to Business Continuity Planning (BCP) procedure and operations guidance drafting.
• Directly handled Escrow requests/escalated matters for complex commercial shipping transactions.

Risk & Compliance Manager (Nov 2023 - Mar 2024) | International Law Firm | Mar 2018 - Mar 2024 
Compliance Manager | May 2021 - Oct 2023
Senior Compliance Officer | Jul 2019 - Nov 2020 
Compliance Officer | Mar 2018 - Jul 2019

Overseeing various aspects of compliance and risk management, ensuring adherence to regulations, developing policies and procedures, conducting training, monitoring compliance, managing incidents, and collaborating with stakeholders, duties including:

Conflicts and AML

Training Program Development and Delivery:

• Designed and conducted comprehensive Risk & Compliance and Financial Crime training programs for diverse stakeholders, including Partners, Heads of Business Acceptance, Regional Heads of Risk & Compliance, Heads of Marketing and Business Development, Finance, HR, Counsels, Trainees, and Associates.

Complex Investigations and Client Management:

• Managed complex Financial Crime Investigation, AML, Sanctions, and EDD processes for a diverse global client base, including leading banking, pharmaceutical, aviation, technology, and corporate organizations.

Policy Development and Advisory Services:

• Specialized in developing sector-specific risk management policies for clients and offices in the APAC region (including Hong Kong, Singapore, China, and Australia).
• Provided strategic advisory services to global stakeholders, such as Managing Partners, Chairman of the regional board, Global General Counsel, Head of Business Acceptance, and Head of Risk & Compliance.

Compliance Program Management:

• Developed and led all new joiner business acceptance training for all EMEA staff, and later all APAC staff inclusive of senior equity
  partners and global service heads.
• Served as the regional escalation point for financial crime issues, including anti-money laundering, sanctions, anti-corruption, and anti-tax evasion.
• Conducted management reviews of Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) reports and handled external regulatory reporting obligations.
• Led the global data privacy regional project as the APAC Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) lead contributor.
• Acted as the regional escalation point for conflicts of interest, waiver drafting, and external appointments.
• Managed complex risk and compliance approval requests for the Asia-Pacific team, addressing issues such as fraud, politically exposed persons (PEP) reviews, and state-owned enterprises (SOE).

Compliance Risk Assessments and Monitoring:

• Provided expertise on jurisdiction-specific implementation and interpretation of local conflict rules, advising on external appointments, conflicts of interest, and commercial conflicts.
• Advised on engagement structuring, code of conduct obligations, AML requirements, cyber-security training, insider lists, and price-sensitive information barriers.
• Conducted practice-wide risk assessments to identify compliance risks in the Asia-Pacific operations and established systems to monitor compliance with internal policies, external regulations, and industry best practices.

Incident Management and Regulatory Compliance:

• Oversaw the investigation and resolution of compliance incidents and issues, such as financial crimes, fraud, and adverse press.
• Kept the organization up-to-date with regulatory changes in the APAC region and ensured overall compliance.

Risk Mitigation and Due Diligence:

• Developed and implemented strategies to mitigate identified compliance risks, establishing controls and risk management frameworks.
• Conducted due diligence on third-party vendors, partners, and clients to assess their compliance and risk management practices.

Reporting and Stakeholder Management:

• Prepared and presented reports on compliance and risk-related matters to senior management and stakeholders, including recommendations for improvement.
• Collaborated with cross-functional teams and managed relationships with regulators and external stakeholders.

Projects and Achievements:

• Pioneered the firm's expansion from the UK to Hong Kong and spearheading regional establishment.
• Led a major project to centralize conflicts of interest through intapp, transitioning from non-centralized conflicts environment.
• Served as the most senior regional lead on Intapp product change integration.
• Developed and implemented comprehensive compliance and risk policies, with focus on AI compliance and ethics.
• Designed and delivered training programs on compliance, risk management, and AI-related requirements

Senior Compliance Officer (Asia-Pacific) | Hong Kong

• Principal subject matter expert and experienced officer seconded to Asia to manage business acceptance functions and execute best practice & policy for the firm
• Handled high risk clients and matters, complex ownership structures involving offshore entities, tax jurisdictions, and trusts, as well as unexpected funds and third-party payor issues

Compliance Officer (Nordic region & EU)

• Principal subject matter expert and experienced officer seconded to Asia to manage business acceptance functions and execute best practice & policy for the firm
• Handled high risk clients and matters, complex ownership structures involving offshore entities, tax jurisdictions, and trusts, as well as unexpected funds and third-party payor issues
• Principal Compliance officer servicing Nordic regions of Denmark, Sweden, and Finland
• Responsible for end-to-end client onboarding for all clients and matters through offices under management, managing an effective and complicated workload. This role included conducting conflicts of interest checks, AML & CDD checks, in addition to advising on compliance with local bar rules and solicitor’s code of conduct obligations.
• Solely handled and conducted the Risk & Compliance induction training for all EUME new joiners across all Europe and Middle East offices. Non-exclusively covered EU Money Laundering Directives, UK Proceeds of Crime & Financial Crime legislation, Antibribery & Corruption laws, UK & OFAC Sanctions regimes and directives, as well as SRA Solicitors Accounts Rules
• Specialised in AML and sanctions enhanced due diligence for cryptocurrency & blockchain escalations related to new and potentially
  high-risk clients & matter instructions for MLRO

Document Production & Data Processing Assistant | Global Technology Company | Apr 2017 - Mar 2018

• Primary responsibilities entailed the categorisation, production, and imaging of legal documents, due diligence, financial report filings and forensic documents
• Expedited to client premises as part of company secretarial service to classify and catalogue managed employment contracts and addendums, and employee share ownership scheme issuances.

Risk Analyst (Global Business Intake) | Global Law Firm | Sep 2016 - Dec 2016

• Main responsibilities revolved around client & matter-risk analysis of current clients. Performed anti-money laundering and sanctions checks, in addition to updating existing due diligence of listed and non-listed companies
• Maintenance of information barriers, to manage potential conflicts of interest, confidentiality, and to protect price-sensitive information
• Regularly used Intapp, Elite, Accuity, World Search, BvD Orbis and Companies House

Compliance Assistant | International Law Firm | Nov 2014 - Jul 2015

• Highly effective team member handling conflicts of interest checks across global firmwide network of offices, advising fee earners of technical or commercial conflicts
• Conducted client due diligence and anti-money laundering checks for new & existing client onboarding, regularly handling complex corporate ownership cases
• Utilized both the Aderant and Elite databases, as well as, using World Check to conduct adverse press & sanctions checks, and research on politically exposed persons

Education

Master's Degree (LLM) in Banking and Finance Law | Distinction | 2015 - 2016

Law (LLB) | 2:1 | 2011 - 2014