Chief Risk & Compliance Officer

Hollybank Trustees Ltd; Rough Hills; Hybrid; GBP 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Pension scheme

Wellbeing support

Awards & recognition

Job summary

LGPS Central (LGPSC) Ltd is seeking a Chief Risk and Compliance Officer to lead enterprise risk, compliance, financial crime and assurance for a growing, regulated investment organisation. You will report to the CEO and work with the Board and governance committees to embed robust risk governance and a strong conduct culture.

Responsibilities include maintaining risk frameworks, delivering independent challenge, and guiding regulatory engagement while scaling the fiduciary management model and

Qualifications

• Senior leadership experience in risk, compliance or regulation within UK investment management, asset management or financial services.
• Strong knowledge of FCA regulation, SMCR, Conduct Rules and Board governance.

Responsibilities

• Developing and improving LGPS Central’s enterprise risk management framework.
• Maintaining the risk appetite framework and supporting Board oversight of principal and emerging risks.
• Ensuring strategic, operational, investment, regulatory and reputational risks are effectively managed.
• Providing independent challenge on strategic proposals, business decisions and organisational change.
• Strengthening scenario analysis, business continuity and organisational resilience.
• Ensuring material risks have clear controls, actions, owners and reporting arrangements.
• Overseeing compliance framework, monitoring programme and financial crime controls.
• Managing regulatory engagement, submissions, notifications and responses.
• Advising the Board and Executive Committee on regulatory developments and business impacts.
• Translating regulatory change into clear and proportionate organisational requirements.

Skills

Senior leadership

Regulatory knowledge

Strategic thinking

Board communication

Independent challenge

Education

Risk qualification

Compliance qualification

Job description

Join LGPS Central at a pivotal moment and lead the risk and compliance strategy of a growing, regulated investment organisation.

This is a key Executive Committee role, reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer, with responsibilities including:

• Leading LGPS Central’s risk and compliance strategy. This role will provide executive leadership across enterprise risk, investment risk, compliance, financial crime and assurance, ensuring the organisation meets its regulatory obligations while supporting the delivery of its strategic objectives.
• Strengthening governance and regulatory oversight. The role will maintain effective frameworks for risk appetite, governance, policies, regulatory compliance, assurance and reporting, providing clear and independent advice to the Board and Executive Committee.
• Building a strong risk and conduct culture. The Chief Risk and Compliance Officer will embed clear accountability, effective challenge and proportionate risk management across LGPS Central, helping colleagues understand their responsibilities and make well-informed decisions.
• Maintaining trusted regulatory relationships. The role will oversee LGPS Central’s relationship with the Financial Conduct Authority and other regulatory and assurance bodies, ensuring regulatory developments are understood and translated into practical organisational improvements.
• Supporting organisational growth and change. The role will provide strategic risk and compliance leadership as LGPS Central develops its fiduciary management model, strengthens its investment capabilities and continues to evolve its operating model.

As Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, you will work closely with the Chief Executive Officer, Board, Executive Committee and senior leaders to ensure that risk, compliance and assurance support responsible decision-making and long-term organisational performance.

You will provide leadership to the Heads of Compliance, Enterprise Risk and Assurance, and Investment Risk. You will also have an independent reporting line to the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee.

The successful candidate will combine deep regulatory and risk expertise with strong leadership, commercial judgement and relationship skills. You will be confident providing independent challenge while working collaboratively with colleagues to deliver practical and proportionate solutions.

The role is expected to hold FCA Senior Management Functions SMF4, SMF16 and SMF17. The successful candidate will therefore be subject to FCA approval and ongoing assessments of fitness and propriety, conduct and any other applicable regulatory requirements

What you’ll be doing:

As Chief Risk & Compliance Officer you will:

• Developing and improving LGPS Central’s enterprise risk management framework.
• Maintaining the risk appetite framework and supporting Board oversight of principal and emerging risks.
• Ensuring strategic, operational, investment, regulatory and reputational risks are effectively managed.
• Providing independent challenge on strategic proposals, business decisions and organisational change.
• Strengthening scenario analysis, business continuity and organisational resilience.
• Ensuring material risks have clear controls, actions, owners and reporting arrangements.

Leading compliance and financial crime, including:

• Ensuring LGPS Central meets its obligations as an FCA-authorised and regulated organisation.
• Overseeing the compliance framework, monitoring programme and financial crime controls.
• Managing regulatory engagement, submissions, notifications and responses.
• Advising the Board and Executive Committee on regulatory developments and business impacts.
• Translating regulatory change into clear and proportionate organisational requirements.
• Supporting the effective operation of SMCR, Conduct Rules and associated governance.

Overseeing investment risk, including:

• Providing independent oversight of investment risks across portfolios, products and activities.
• Aligning investment risk frameworks with Partner Fund requirements, mandates and risk appetite.
• Overseeing portfolio, liquidity, concentration, operational and counterparty risks.
• Delivering clear investment risk reporting to senior management and governance committees.
• Working constructively with the Chief Investment Officer while maintaining appropriate independence.

Leading assurance and operational resilience, including:

• Coordinating internal assurance, external assurance and regulatory review activity.
• Overseeing the completion of audit, assurance and regulatory actions.
• Providing clear reporting on the effectiveness of the control environment.
• Strengthening business continuity, incident management and operational resilience.
• Ensuring incidents are investigated, escalated and used to drive improvements.

Building culture and capability, including:

• Embedding a culture of integrity, accountability, effective challenge and timely escalation.
• Ensuring colleagues understand their regulatory, risk and conduct responsibilities.
• Providing clear leadership to the Risk and Compliance functions.
• Setting objectives, priorities and performance expectations for specialist teams.
• Developing team capability, succession, collaboration and professional standards.
• Ensuring resources are focused on the most significant risks and regulatory priorities.

About us

LGPS Central (LGPSC) Ltd is the FCA regulated asset manager for fourteen local authority pension funds across the Midlands. LGPSC is jointly owned on an equal shares basis by those Partner Fund, and it is responsible for managing £100bn+ of their assets. It is one of six Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) asset pools in the UK.

LGPS Central’s Partner Funds are:

• Suffolk County Council

The Company is committed to responsible investment and has made responsible investment a core part of the investment process in every asset class.

LGPS Central offers a friendly and diverse, hybrid working environment with a range of employee benefits. The Company moved to new premises at i10, Railway Drive in September 2026, close to local transport links.

Our objective is to be a leading investment management company working with and for our Partner Funds. With a focus on value for money and performance we want to aspire to be one of the best because this is how we will deliver the superior investment returns and low costs for our Partner Funds

Requirements:

Experience and knowledge

• Senior leadership experience in risk, compliance or regulation within UK investment management, asset management or financial services.
• Experience of holding, or the capability to hold, SMF4, SMF16 and SMF17.
• Strong experience of working with the FCA and other regulatory or assurance bodies.
• Extensive knowledge of enterprise risk, compliance, financial crime, assurance and investment risk.
• Detailed understanding of FCA regulation, SMCR, Conduct Rules and Board governance.
• Knowledge of investment management structures, products and operating models.
• Experience translating regulatory change into practical business improvements.

Leadership and relationships

• Proven ability to lead and develop high-performing specialist teams.
• Strong strategic, analytical, decision-making and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills at Board and Executive level.
• Confidence to provide independent, objective and constructive challenge.
• Strong integrity, commercial awareness, resilience and professional judgement.
• Ability to build trusted relationships while maintaining independence.

Qualifications:

• Relevant professional qualification in risk, compliance, legal, accountancy or investment management, or equivalent experience.
• Eligible to obtain and maintain FCA approval for SMF4, SMF16 and SMF17.
• Evidence of relevant continuing professional development.

The recruitment process

The process is expected to include:

• First-stage interview with Richard Law-Deeks, Chief Executive Officer, and Anouska Ramsay, Chief People and Transformation Officer.
• Second-stage interviews with two members of the Executive Committee.
• Final meeting with Nemone Wynn-Evans, Chair of the Board.
• The appointment is subject to relevant Board, shareholder and FCA approvals.

What do we offer?

We are proud to provide our people with a premium and exclusive benefits package and we are continually improving the rewards we offer. Here are a few of the valuable rewards that you will enjoy:

• An enhanced and generous Pension Scheme
• An extra paid Company Day in addition to paid holidays
• Welfare and Family friendly policies
• Enhanced pay for new parents
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme 247 Health & Wellbeing Support
• Vitality Private Medical Insurance
• Hybrid Working
• Company Service Awards
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Company Electric Vehicle Scheme
• Winner of the Cultural Awareness Initiative of the Year FT Advisors Diversity in Finance Awards 2023
• Winner of Diversity and Inclusion Award LAPF In Investments Award 2023