Head of Conflicts – London, Leeds or Manchester

Addleshaw Goddard; Manchester; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading legal firm in Manchester is seeking a Head of Conflicts to provide strategic leadership in managing conflicts of interest. This role involves leading a team of Conflicts lawyers, ensuring compliance with regulations, and enhancing the firm's onboarding processes. The ideal candidate will demonstrate substantial knowledge of regulatory frameworks and possess exceptional leadership and influencing skills. This position offers a collaborative environment, emphasizing personal growth, innovation, and client-focused solutions.

Benefits

Supportive and collegiate environment

Opportunities for personal growth and innovation

Employee networks for inclusion and diversity

Qualifications

• Proven ability to lead a team effectively.
• Strength of character to challenge at senior levels when necessary.
• Excellent understanding of Onboarding systems and applications.

Responsibilities

• Lead the firm's Conflicts team with over 30 lawyers and analysts.
• Conduct conflict searches for new client and matter openings.
• Oversee implementation of effective policies and procedures.

Skills

Exceptional knowledge of SRA Code of Conduct

Superior leadership skills

Excellent influencing and persuasive skills

Excellent research and analysis skills

Tools

Intapp

Finance systems

Job description

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

Due to continued growth and an ever evolving regulatory landscape, we are looking to hire a Head of Conflicts to provide senior leadership and expertise in identifying and resolving potential conflicts issues. This role is critical to maintaining robust compliance, effective risk management, and supporting our ambition to deliver best-in-class client and matter onboarding globally.

As the Head of Conflicts you will lead a team managing all aspects of conflict searches, analysis, and resolution, ensuring regulatory compliance and client confidentiality. You will drive the evolution of our approach to conflicts, policy implementation, oversee training, and act as a senior decision-maker on complex issues, directly supporting the Firm's service excellence and strategic objectives.

THE TEAM

The Office of the General Counsel (OGC) Directorate focuses on strategic compliance and risk management advice and projects across AG's UK and international offices: drafting and agreeing firm-wide policies and procedures; advising on regulatory issues; and assisting the Firm's General Counsel and others in ensuring regulatory compliance by the Firm globally.

The group is also responsible for implementing, embedding, and monitoring compliance and risk practices (including conflict identification and resolution and Financial Crime compliance) across the firm, globally.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN THIS ROLE

The role involves leading the Firm's Conflicts team, leading a team of over 30 Conflicts lawyers and analysts. The team is responsible for the following:

• Conducting conflict searches against all new client and matter openings, lateral hires and other ad hoc / strategic requests.
• Provision of critical analysis and tailored advice to the Firm on conflicts of interest and resolution, including regulatory and commercial conflicts, confidential information and conflict provisions in client terms.
• Creation and maintenance of information barriers and protection of client confidentiality and price sensitive information.
• Overseeing the implementation of effective policies and procedures throughout the conflicts function, including training and development of the teams and the wider business regarding the same.
• Collaboration with stakeholders within Onboarding and the wider firm to develop and deliver systems improvements and agile, streamlined solutions to ensure a client-focused onboarding experience, with a particular focus on seeking to implement greater levels of technology (including AI) in identifying and resolving conflicts issues.
• Adherence to service level agreements (SLA) and creation of meaningful statistics and KPIs to inform and drive a culture of service excellence.
• Assisting with the Firm's audit process globally, including preparing materials and attending sessions with the relevant regulators.
• Management of the referral and escalation process for complex and high-level conflict of interest issues (including oversight of the Firm's appeals process). The Head of Conflicts will act as a senior decision-maker, providing sign-off where appropriate, reserving only the most pivotal decisions for the Firm's General Counsel (GC) or Managing Partner.

In addition to leading the Conflicts Team, the role involves working closely with the Firm's GC, and the Head and Deputy Head of Onboarding. The role is part of the leadership group within the Firm's Onboarding function which has responsibility for all aspects client and matter opening.

YOUR AREAS OF KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE

• Exceptional knowledge and application of the SRA Code of Conduct and other professional conduct rules relevant to the jurisdictions in which the Firm operates, particularly in respect of conflicts of interest.
• Superior leadership skills and a proven ability to lead a team.
• An ability to build a credible profile as a trusted advisor both within the OGC and across the Firm.
• Assertiveness in acting as a Senior decision-maker on complex conflicts issues, demonstrating strategic and commercial acumen and ensuring accurate and timely decisions.
• Strength of character and resilience, exhibiting the ability to challenge at senior level, where required.
• Excellent influencing and persuasive skills – the ability to win over partners, fee earners and senior management in the context of commercial conversations, conflicts resolution strategies, internal projects and to build strong relationships across the business.
• Proactive approach to driving quality and strategic direction within the Conflicts Team.
• Flexibility and commerciality, with a willingness to give answers rather than a list of options.
• Ability to meet to deadlines, manage multiple projects and deliver under pressure.
• Excellent research, analysis and drafting skills. Analysing complex conflicts issues to draw out salient points and provide clear, succinct and practical recommendations.
• Excellent understanding of Onboarding systems and applications, and a commitment to embrace technology to enhance service delivery and create greater efficiencies, including but not limited to knowledge of Intapp, finance systems and third-party corporate information providers.

OUR FIRM

Addleshaw Goddard is a place where you are valued, encouraged, and challenged to fulfil your potential in a supportive and collegiate environment. Our culture of improvement, growth and collaboration delivers results, drives innovation, and rewards ambition.

We not only provide technical excellence and experience but, crucially, demonstrate real insight into our clients and what really matters to them and as such we are natural choice for FTSE100 clients and their equivalents in other markets.

Our success has been built by people from the widest range of backgrounds, locations, and perspectives. We have a number of employee networks that provide space to discuss the differences that make us who we are and celebrate this at AG.

OUR APPROACH : IMAGINE THE BEST YOU CAN BE

Everything we've accomplished can be traced back to our people and the way we work. Our reputation is something we are proud of, and constantly invest in.

Here, you'll do high calibre work, with high-character colleagues who care for one another and our clients.

Are you up for the challenge?