Executive Summary
Bates Wells are seeking a Client Onboarding Analyst to join their Risk & Compliance team on a permanent basis.
The role
Bates Wells operates a centralised client and matter opening service across the firm to ensure compliance at client inception with the firm’s regulatory and statutory obligations. You will be the first point of contact for queries from staff and provide support to the Risk & Compliance (R&C) team who provide advice on professional standards, regulatory compliance and risk management.
Key experience
The successful candidate will have at least 2 years' experience of completing AML / CDD enquiries and client onboarding in a legal environment. Experience of dealing with conflict enquiries also desirable.
Required/essential skills
- Ability to identify the client due diligence requirements of both corporate and individual clients.
- A good understanding of anti-money laundering and financial crime legislation, and a comprehensive understanding of client due diligence requirements.
- Ideally, an understanding of the SRA Standards and Regulations, in particular Rule 6 (Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality).
- Experience working with case management and other systems (for example, Accuity and SmartSearch etc.)
About you
- A genuine desire in developing a career in risk and compliance.
- Teamwork – there is a place for individual effort, but we highly value a collaborative approach where we support one another and help other team members.
- A results-focused mentality – we hope you’ll challenge the status quo if you feel it’ll benefit our work.
- High efficiency when working under pressure with a ‘can do’ attitude.
- A real interest in the work we do; we encourage questions about the business and invite you to test assumptions and propose ideas.
- Finally, we want people whose values reflect our own and who feel inspired working in a firm with a strong social purpose.
About the Risk & Compliance team
We comprise 8 people and are a very supportive and passionate team. Our aim is to protect the firm and our colleagues’ professional integrity within the ever changing legal and regulatory landscape. We have embedded a culture of openness across our firm which means that our colleagues involve us in all manner of issues that arise throughout the course of their work.
Key Responsibilities
You will provide a centralised client and matter inception service to clients engaging the firm. You will work with the onboarding team to deal with client inception and day to day general queries. You will ensure that tasks are dealt with in a timely and efficient manner. Where required, you will escalate to a relevant R&C team member.
You are expected to maintain an up-to-date knowledge and understanding of Bates Wells’ internal policies and procedures for client inception. Your responsibilities will include:
Client inception
- Reviewing and processing client and matter inception documentation, conducting electronic searches and assessing the client due diligence (CDD) / enhanced due diligence (EDD) requirements
- Drafting appropriate CDD requests for the fee earners. Liaising with fee earning and support team members, as necessary.
- Making sure all the AML documentation and records are kept up to date and filed promptly.
Anti-money laundering
- Recording and reviewing potential red flags and high-risk factors / jurisdictions associated with new and existing clients, recording this on internal risk registers and assisting with ongoing monitoring.
- Carrying out client due diligence on a full range of clients (including sourcing KYC, analysing documents provided by client, advising whether further information or enhanced due diligence is required and identification of any UBOs)
- Carrying out online searches to identify politically exposed person (PEP), special interest person (SIP), sanctions hits and adverse media which could be of concern to the firm.
- Conducting comprehensive risk assessments at client and matter level, providing risk ratings and analysis on their source of funds, source of wealth and business activities.
- Analysing situations to identify the issues escalating to senior members of the team, making positive recommendations and / or seek further guidance as appropriate.
Conflicts of Interest
- Carrying out conflicts searches for all potential, new and existing clients and matters across the firm in a timely and efficient manner, escalating where required.
- Assessing whether a client, own interest or confidentiality conflict exists in a potential, new or existing matter.
- Maintaining confidentiality in respect of those matters which are commercially sensitive and only share them with colleagues and others on a need-to-know basis
- Ensuring appropriate information barriers are created, amended and maintained, and flagging any issues arising with management.
Administration
- Triage, management and escalation of AML and general inbox queries, escalating more complex issues and queries to more senior members of the Risk team.
- Ensure that all records, both paper and electronic, are filed and maintained to a high standard.
- Provide general administrative support to the wider team.
- Assist and support R&C Manager with Practice Certificate renewals and Continuing Competence plans
- Cross-departmental matter management issues including; file transfers (internal and external), information barriers, undertakings, etc.
- Taking responsibility for and / or working as part of a team on R&C Projects as required (e.g. training, AML risk assessments and data protection).
Specific tasks may change over time, so we’ll need you to be adaptable and flexible as we continue to meet our clients’ needs.
About our culture
- Bates Wells is a B Corporation. B Corporations are profit-making, purpose-driven organisations unified by one goal: to redefine success in business
- A one firm approach means working together and improving to achieve common goals and to provide a consistent Bates Wells experience.
- As a values-driven firm we show commitment to our clients, our people, the environment and society. We consider the Climate Emergency and Biodiversity Crisis in developing our business strategy.
- We want to have a positive impact on our people who are our greatest asset so that they can have a positive impact on others. Purpose is baked into our partnership deed.
- We promote a strong work/life balance with 25 days holiday with the opportunity to buy more.
- We have an agile and hybrid working environment – this means you might sit next to a different colleague every day or choose to work from our rooftop garden if you are in the office.
- Our benefits and wellbeing package includes firm matching pension contributions, private medical insurance plus a medical benefit cash plan, discretionary bonus arrangements, life assurance, subsidised gym memberships, lifestyle discount scheme and a firm-wide profit-sharing scheme.
- Everyone gets a bonus if there is one - a proportion of the LLP profit is distributed to our people when we exceed our financial thresholds.
How to find out more about us
Don’t forget to review our website (https://bateswells.co.uk) and ask around about us to find out more and whether we’re the right fit for you.
Contact:
If you have any questions about this vacancy or require any reasonable adjustments to be made to the process due to a disability, please email:
Rosie Waters (r.waters@bateswells.co.uk)
|
