Job Title: Professional Standards & Risk – Compliance Administrator (Temporary/Fixed Term Contract – 3 months)
Reports To: Client On-boarding Team Leader
Why Bates Wells?
Making a profit is core to all businesses but our goal is to combine this with a real social purpose. Our values are pivotal to us, they shape our decisions and the way we live and work.
We focus on positive social impact as much as we focus on being a successful law firm. Our top tier legal advice is coupled with a real desire to drive change and we were the first UK law firm with B Corp certification, awarded to businesses that balance purpose and profit.
Today, our clients are diverse – from corporate household names, to public bodies, to start ups. We’re also the firm of choice for thousands of charities and social enterprises. We continue to lead the market we helped to shape.
Bates Wells challenges what is possible in legal expertise delivery.
The role
To thrive in this role you will be assisting the on-boarding team with day-to-day queries from staff and provide administrative and other support to the Team who provide advice on professional standards, regulatory compliance and risk management.
You will be working with a supportive and passionate team, that will assist and support you in excelling in your role.
Key responsibilities
You will assist the Team with providing a centralised client and matter inception service to clients engaging the firm. You will assist in dealing with client on-boarding 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 PSR team member.
You will maintain an up to date knowledge and understanding of Bates Wells’ internal policies and procedures for client inception and carry out database administration responsibilities. This will include:
- Provide general administrative support to the team as needed
- Ensure that all records are filed on our case management system and maintained to a high standard
- Liaising with internal stakeholders in a timely manner
- Collate weekly/monthly communications/training from team members to the Firm and ensure it is recorded in the training and communications register
- Assisting with conducting Client Due Diligence, including gathering relevant documentation, as and when required
- Using a wide range of databases to obtain due diligence material
- Carrying out electronic searches to identify whether a client is a politically exposed person (PEP) or a special interest person (SIP) and reporting to more senior members of the Team
- Where required, escalating complex AML issues to more senior members of the Team
- Assisting with carrying out conflicts searches using data submitted by fee earning teams and report the results to more senior members of the team.
- Assisting with the creation of information barriers whilst ensuring any issues arising out of the information barrier process are flagged to a more senior members of the PSR team and ensure the Firm’s records are kept updated
- Assisting with the screening of new business enquiries, including performing conflicts checks and researching the prospective clients to ensure there are no reputational risks associated with them. Responsible for flagging any such risks to more senior members of the Team
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 you
- You will be highly proficient with using different applications including Word and Excel.
- Ideally, you will be familiar with working in a legal environment, but not essential.
- You see the value in Bates Wells as a career choice and view Bates Wells as a high quality employer.
- You share our values and want to make a difference.
- You want to feel that you are a part of the Bates Wells experience and ‘belong’.
- You are not afraid to test assumptions and challenge.
- You want exposure to a variety of challenges that will allow you to innovate.
- You are technically excellent, commercially minded and have great people skills.
About us
- 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 take into account the Climate Emergency and Biodiversity Crisis in developing our business strategy.
- We work with exceptional clients to offer the very best work.
- 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.
- Looking for better ways of working is always our priority.
- We promote a strong work/life balance with 25 days holiday with the opportunity to buy more and a ‘Summer in the City’ early-Friday-finish.
- We have an agile 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. We are currently reviewing our policies to enable a hybrid model moving forward.
- Our culture encourages clear and honest dialogue and cross-team support
- The firm review salaries annually as part of the appraisal process in July of each year. However, we encourage our staff to engage with their supervisors throughout the year on feedback and objective setting.
- We recognise success and contribution at any time of the year through our Recognition Scheme
- 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.
- We are committed to your wellbeing and offer physical and mental support in the way of subsidised gym membership, private health care and in-office Mental Health Awareness Ambassadors.
About the Professional Standards & Risk team
We are a very supportive and passionate team – our aim being to protect the firm and our colleagues’ professional integrity. 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. The firm has grown significantly in recent years and sees the positive benefit of investing in our team to help deliver high standards of client care, efficiencies through improved processes, centralisation of core compliance functions and the delivery of solutions to address the ever changing legal and regulatory landscape.
As a team we get an immense sense of achievement from seeing each other develop and flourish:
- sharing responsibilities on interesting firm wide projects (of which there are many);
- being generous with our time and knowledge to help other team members advance their own careers;
- exploring different career pathways that suit individuals rather than just fitting people into a defined role;
- promoting a learning culture across the firm, not just answering the questions we are asked but giving our colleagues the tools to find the answers themselves;
- showing our colleagues the real human impact of the decisions that they take and the things we ask them to do; and
- promoting our culture of openness and transparency.
Most importantly, we really enjoy our work and value each other. Whilst it might sound a cliché, we want our colleagues across the firm to find us accessible, friendly, supportive and knowledgeable. Always listening and not judging them when things go wrong.
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.
NB We will normally have at least 2 interviews – to test your skills and competencies to work with us and to see if your values align with ours. |
