Legal and Compliance Officer

Stonebridge HR Solutions; Gauteng; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,400,000; Full time

Job summary

Stonebridge HR Solutions is seeking a Compliance and Legal Support professional to assist the investment banking business in South Africa. You will help ensure adherence to South African legislation, regulatory requirements and internal governance standards.

You will support senior management, deal teams and relevant committees in embedding a risk-based compliance culture across client onboarding, transaction execution and ongoing client relationships, while maintaining oversight of conduct and

Qualifications

• Relevant legal, compliance, risk, commerce or financial services qualification.
• Strong working knowledge of South African financial sector regulation.
• Experience in an investment banking, corporate finance, advisory, banking, asset management or regulated financial services environment.

Responsibilities

• Client onboarding, due diligence and financial crime compliance: Manage client take-on, including FICA/KYC checks and screening.
• Regulatory compliance: Monitor FAIS, FSCA, FIC Act, Companies Act, POPIA and related requirements.
• Transaction and mandate support: Review letters and agreements to address risk and regulatory considerations.
• Committee and approval processes: Prepare and monitor client acceptance notes and approvals.
• Licensing, fit and proper and FAIS oversight: Support registration and regulatory submissions.
• Conflict management and conduct risk: Maintain registers and declarations.
• Legal advisory and documentation: Provide guidance on commercial agreements, filings and policies.
• Company secretarial and governance support: Maintain registers and governance records for audits.
• Regulatory reporting and management information: Prepare risk and compliance reports and submissions.
• Policies, procedures and training: Draft and deliver compliance training and update manuals.
• Regulatory change management: Research changes and coordinate implementation.

Job description

Role overview

Provide compliance and legal support to the investment banking business, ensuring adherence to applicable South African legislation, regulatory requirements and internal governance standards.

Support senior management, deal teams and relevant committees in embedding a risk-based compliance culture across client onboarding, transaction execution, advisory mandates and ongoing client relationships.

Maintain effective oversight of conduct, financial crime, regulatory, governance and contractual risks within the business.

Requirements

Minimum requirements

• Relevant legal, compliance, risk, commerce or financial services qualification;
• Strong working knowledge of South African financial sector regulation;
• Experience in an investment banking, corporate finance, advisory, banking, asset management or regulated financial services environment.

Preferred requirements

• Admitted attorney, compliance practitioner qualification,
• FSCA-approved compliance officer experience, FAIS knowledge,
• AML/FICA experience,
• Company secretarial exposure and familiarity with board and committee governance processes.

Key competencies

• Sound legal judgement
• Regulatory awareness
• Attention to detail
• Discretion
• Stakeholder management
• Strong drafting ability
• Practical problem-solving
• Confidentiality
• Business partnering and the ability to balance commercial objectives with regulatory and reputational risk management

Responsibilities

• Client onboarding, due diligence and financial crime compliance: Manage and monitor the client take-on process, including FICA/KYC checks, beneficial ownership verification, sanctions and politically exposed person screening, enhanced due diligence, risk ratings and ongoing monitoring in line with the FIC Act and the institution’s Risk Management and Compliance Programme.
• Regulatory compliance: Monitor compliance with applicable South African financial sector requirements, including FAIS, FSCA conduct standards, FIC Act obligations, Companies Act requirements, POPIA, employment equity obligations where relevant, and other regulatory developments affecting the investment banking business.
• Transaction and mandate support: Review mandate letters, confidentiality agreements, engagement letters, non-disclosure agreements, service level agreements and other transaction-related agreements to ensure legal, regulatory and reputational risk considerations are appropriately addressed.
• Committee and approval processes: Prepare, review and submit new client acceptance committee notes, monitor client approvals, maintain records of committee decisions and ensure that outstanding approvals, conditions and remediation actions are tracked to closure.
• Licensing, fit and proper and FAIS oversight: Support the registration, deregistration and ongoing monitoring of representatives, key individuals and relevant staff, including fit and proper requirements, regulatory examinations, CPD records and required regulatory submissions.
• Conflict management and conduct risk: Maintain and monitor personal account trading registers, gift and entertainment registers, outside business interest declarations, staff interest declarations, directorship declarations, sensitive lists, restricted lists and wall-crossing processes.
• Legal advisory and documentation: Provide first-line legal review and practical guidance on commercial agreements, board and shareholder resolutions, statutory filings, policy documents, DISCLAIMERS, internal procedures and ad hoc legal queries arising from the investment banking environment.
• Company secretarial and governance support: Maintain statutory registers, prepare resolutions, coordinate lodgements, support annual statutory returns and assist with governance records required for audit, board reporting and regulatory inspection purposes.
• Regulatory reporting and management information: Prepare quarterly risk and compliance reports, board reports, annual compliance submissions, AML/FICA reporting, monitoring reports, breach registers and action-tracking reports for internal and external stakeholders.
• Policies, procedures and training: Draft, update and implement compliance manuals, policies and procedures; deliver training to new and existing staff on client onboarding, AML/FICA, FAIS, conduct risk, POPIA, conflicts of interest, whistleblowing and other relevant compliance topics.
• Regulatory change management: Conduct ongoing legislative and regulatory research, assess the impact of changes on the business and coordinate implementation plans with relevant stakeholders.

Periodic, Annual and Seasonal Responsibilities

Coordinate annual FAIS compliance reporting and related FSCA submissions, where applicable.

• Support FIC Act compliance reviews, AML risk assessments, RMCP updates and evidence packs for internal audit, external audit or regulatory inspections.
• Compile and maintain annual risk maps, compliance monitoring plans and compliance assurance reports for local and group reporting purposes.
• Prepare or support Financial Sector Code, B-BBEE, employment equity and transformation-related submissions where these fall within the governance or committee responsibilities of the role.
• Maintain company secretarial records, statutory registers and annual return documentation for relevant South African entities.
• Review and refresh standard templates, client onboarding forms, DISCLAIMERS, declarations, compliance checklists and internal policies at least annually or when legislation changes.
• Support annual training plans and attestations for AML/FICA, FAIS, POPIA, conflicts, market abuse, personal account trading and conduct risk.