Risk Operations Lead

About this role

Kennedys is looking for a Risk Operations Lead to join our global Risk & Compliance team. The Risk Operations Lead is responsible for coordinating key governance and compliance activities across the Firm, helping to ensure regulatory obligations are met, Risk & Compliance policies and procedures remain current and effective, and compliance programmes are delivered consistently across jurisdictions.

The role acts as a central point of coordination between Risk & Compliance, Business Services teams and relevant stakeholders, providing oversight of key activities and supporting effective governance, reporting and continuous improvement across Risk Operations.

We are looking for someone with experience of coordinating governance, compliance or regulatory processes who can bring strong organisational and analytical skills, attention to detail and a proactive approach to improving processes and service delivery. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the effective delivery and continued development of Risk Operations services within a growing global law firm.

The role can be based in Chelmsford, Leeds, London or Manchester on a hybrid basis and reports to the Head of Risk Operations.

Team

Kennedys' Risk & Compliance (R&C) team advises on and oversees a broad range of risk, regulatory and governance matters for the firm. Acting as an in house legal and compliance function, the team supports the partnership and Business Service teams globally on matters including regulatory compliance, professional conduct, data risk, insurance, client due diligence, quality and audit, and risk management.

The Risk Operations team provides the operational backbone of Risk & Compliance, coordinating the global Risk & Compliance helpdesk, client due diligence, regulatory and insurance renewals, company secretarial activities, governance, reporting and internal communications. The team supports the consistent and effective delivery of Risk & Compliance services globally, strengthening processes and controls while driving operational efficiency, transformation and continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

• Coordinate the Firm's global regulatory renewals programme, ensuring that regulatory registrations, renewals and associated compliance obligations are identified, tracked and completed within required timescales.
• Coordinate the Risk & Compliance policy lifecycle, including scheduling and facilitating the development, review, approval, publication and ongoing maintenance of policies, procedures and associated guidance.
• Coordinate the Firm's compliance training programme, including global, regional and role-specific mandatory training requirements, and support the development, delivery and monitoring of a comprehensive compliance training schedule.
• Work with regional stakeholders and subject matter experts to identify and coordinate jurisdiction-specific regulatory, policy and training requirements.
• Maintain relevant governance registers, schedules and records, and support the effective operation of Risk & Compliance governance arrangements.
• Coordinate management information and reporting relating to regulatory renewals, policies, training and other governance activities, identifying overdue actions, emerging issues and matters requiring escalation.
• Drive consistency, accountability and continuous improvement across governance and compliance processes, identifying opportunities to simplify, standardise and strengthen existing arrangements.
• Build effective relationships across Risk & Compliance and the wider Firm to ensure responsibilities, deadlines and required actions are clearly understood and progressed.

Required Experience

• Experience working within Risk, Compliance, governance, legal operations, risk operations or a comparable regulated environment.
• Experience coordinating compliance, governance or regulatory processes involving multiple stakeholders.
• Experience managing structured processes such as regulatory renewals, policy reviews, mandatory training or governance programmes would be advantageous.
• Strong organisational and project coordination skills, with the ability to manage multiple activities, priorities and deadlines.
• Strong attention to detail and an ability to maintain accurate governance records and documentation.
• Experience producing clear management information, reports, trackers and status updates.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the confidence to work effectively with stakeholders at different levels and across different functions.
• A practical understanding of risk and compliance principles and the importance of effective governance and documented controls.
• Ability to work across jurisdictions and coordinate global requirements while recognising regional and local regulatory differences.
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365 applications, particularly Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Teams.

Please let us know if you require any additional support or adjustments to be made in order to submit your application to Kennedys.

*where a level of experience is indicated, this is a guideline only and represents the amount of time we would usually expect a candidate to accumulate the requisite level of experience. This does not preclude applications from candidates with more or less experience.