Compliance Lead

The Role:

This role will operate independent of business operations to provide proficient advice and assist SMFL on a wide range of compliance matters, including regulatory and conduct risk issues, to ensure ongoing compliance with its obligations under the regulatory regime.

The Senior Compliance Lead will play a key role in ensuring that SMF has fit-for-purpose systems and processes in place to manage regulatory risk and deliver good customer outcomes.

This role will provide advice and guidance to the business on technical regulatory issues, utilising broad financial services knowledge to contribute to policy changes, analysing the impact of regulatory changes, appreciating when potential issues require escalating, and ensuring the implementation of any required changes to internal policies/procedures and partner with key stakeholders in the business to deliver change and improve controls.

Key Responsibilities:

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

General

• Work with the Director of Legal and Compliance to produce and maintain SMF’s annual compliance plan, and support the team to deliver the plan.
• Lead and manage the Compliance Advisory/Policy and Risk Events team on a day-to-day basis
• Own delivery of policy, advisory and risk event (breaches and incidents) activities set out in the annual compliance plan
• Effectively manage stakeholder relationships to agree meaningful support and delivery of the same
• Produce comprehensive documentation to support team activities.
• To produce MI and regulatory update reports for presentation at various levels of committees including regulatory timeline updates to the Executive and the Board.

Policy/Advisory/Risk Event:

• Lead the Policy, Advisory and Risk Events areas of the compliance function
• Ensure that SMF attains the highest standards of conduct and regulatory compliance, in all areas of business operation, to meet all appropriate regulatory and legislative requirements by working closely with first line colleagues to fully embed the regulatory compliance framework
• Provide subject matter expert advice and guidance as appropriate (CONC, DISP, PERG, SYSC etc.) as well as providing horizon scanning overviews of relevant Compliance matters, escalating risks and issues of concern to the Legal and Compliance Director
• Undertake analysis and review to support management of SMFL’s Policy Framework, including governance of policies
• Create, review and update policies, processes, and procedures, overseeing the implementation / embedding of these were appropriate
• Meet regulatory/legislative timescales providing well-structured, well-considered summaries of proposed regulatory change to the business and collating responses to the regulator as required
• Reviewing and providing advice on business owned policies, and procedures as appropriate, ensuring they are aligned to regulatory requirements
• Writing, reviewing and communicating Compliance owned policies and procedures, ensuring they remain up to date, and regulatory and conduct requirements are articulated clearly for the business to adhere to
• Coordinating and overseeing the schedule of compliance activities resulting from internal and external (FCA) activities
• Helping to ensure timely identification and clear/concise communication to the business of regulatory and conduct developments and their implications
• Monitor and impact assess changes in the regulatory environment and issue accurate and concise updates, business briefings, whilst providing additional commentary/insight on areas of interest for the business and focus from the regulators
• Lead the risk event (incident management and regulatory breach reporting) processes. Responsible for maintaining the process and register, and lead the team in conducting investigation, analysis, and root cause/remediation activity to support the same
• Responsible for advising on regulatory compliance matters and provide technical guidance, support and feedback on regulatory issues
• Engage regularly with Legal and Compliance colleagues to advise on upcoming regulatory and policy changes
• Create and maintain a regulatory rules map which identifies the regulatory rules/guidance that apply to SMFL’s regulated activities
• Provide Compliance Advisory support and representation on strategic projects and regulatory change initiatives
• Coordinate and deliver Compliance training, including induction training Collaborate with assigned business units to ensure that new business initiatives and amended processes comply with regulatory obligations
• Identify, document and understand SMF’s regulatory compliance standards and associated regulatory compliance obligations in line with the company Compliance Risk Management Framework

Candidate Requirements:

SMFL are committed to ensuring its customers receive good outcomes, and therefore it’s crucial that all of our employees demonstrate the skills and behaviours that support us to deliver SMFL’s strategy.

Knowledge

• Good working knowledge and understanding of the regulatory framework within financial services, industry trends and best practice.
• Demonstrable expertise in consumer credit requirements, gained preferably within the Motor Finance industry.
• Detailed technical knowledge and understanding of the following (as a minimum): FCA sourcebooks – PRIN, CONC, DISP, SYSC and legislative frameworks such as the AML, Consumer Credit, Data Protection Act including GDPR.
• A sound understanding of the FCA’s expectations in relation to the treatment of vulnerable customers.
• Detailed knowledge of Consumer Duty and delivery of good customer outcomes.

Experience

• Proven Compliance advisory experience within financial services (CONC).
• Providing written and verbal advice to 1st Line business areas on the implications of regulatory requirements.
• Drafting policies, advisory notes/memos, operating processes and procedures.
• Conducting gap analyses of business processes against regulatory requirements and making recommendations for change.

Skills

• Developed analytical skills and ability to distil complex information into high level Briefing Notes/reports.
• Ability to analyse and translate regulation into workable policies, processes and procedures.
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely on complex regulatory compliance issues in a manner that risk focused stakeholders at all levels within the business.
• Ability to draft documents/reports to a high standard using Microsoft Office tools.
• Ability to take a risk based proactive approach to regulatory and conduct issues.
• Excellent organisational and communication skills with the ability to develop relationships, working collaboratively with colleagues at all levels to achieve appropriate customer and commercial outcomes.
• Comfortable working independently with minimal supervision and work as part of the Compliance Team

The successful candidate will be required at all times to act within the standards expected within Consumer Duty and comply with The Conduct Rules which set the minimum standard of individual behaviour expected when carrying out a role at Specialist Motor Finance. These rules include:

• You must act with integrity
• You must act with due skill, care and diligence
• You must be open and cooperative with the FCA, the PRA and other regulators
• You must pay due regards to the interests of customers and treat them fairly
• You must observe proper standards of market conduct
• You must act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers

Interested? Apply today to find out more