Senior Compliance Manager

Job Description

As a Senior Compliance Manager, you'll be pivotal in ensuring AJ Bell continues to meet its regulatory obligations, embedding best practices and delivering proactive compliance strategies. This role offers the opportunity to lead key compliance functions, drive business-wide regulatory initiatives, and nurture the growth of a high performing compliance team.

What are the key responsibilities?

• Maintain and enhance Horizon Scanning processes to monitor, anticipate, and manage regulatory developments and their potential impacts.
• Manage and develop the Senior Managers & Certification Regime (SM&CR) arrangements to ensure full regulatory compliance.
• Oversee the compliance policy framework, ensuring timely updates, relevance, and alignment with regulatory requirements.
• Ensure accurate preparation and submission of regulatory returns in line with reporting obligations.
• Provide expert compliance guidance across group-wide projects, embedding regulatory considerations from inception through delivery.
• Manage compliance-related computer-based training (CBT) and attestation processes to foster compliance awareness and adherence.
• Produce insightful reports and recommendations for governance forums, supporting decision-making at the senior leadership level.
• Serve as an escalation point for complex compliance queries, delivering practical and compliant resolutions.
• Identify and escalate material compliance issues to the Head of Compliance with detailed impact assessments and recommended actions.
• Regularly review and enhance core compliance processes to ensure they remain effective and fit for purpose.
• Maintain and improve the compliance risk and controls register to support robust risk management and monitoring activities.
• Lead and develop direct reports, fostering a culture of technical excellence, collaboration, and professional growth.

What you'll have:

Competence

• Proven experience in a senior compliance role within financial services, ideally in platforms or asset management. 
• Demonstrated success in managing, coaching, and developing high-performing teams. 
• Strong project management abilities, with a track record of delivering complex regulatory initiatives. 
• Exceptional analytical skills, with the ability to assess risk, interpret regulations, and provide clear, actionable advice. 

Knowledge & Skills

• Deep understanding of UK financial services regulations, particularly within platforms and investment services. 
• Experience in designing, implementing, and maintaining compliance processes for efficiency and scalability. 
• Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to build relationships and influence across internal and external stakeholders. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex information in a clear and concise manner. 
• A meticulous approach to ensuring accuracy and compliance across all responsibilities. 
• Resilient and adaptable in a fast-paced regulatory environment, capable of navigating change with ease. 

About us:

AJ Bell is one of the fastest-growing investment platform businesses in the UK offering an award-winning range of solutions that caters for everyone, from professional financial advisers, to DIY investors with little to no experience. We have over 561,000 customers using our award-winning platform propositions to manage assets totalling more than £89.5 billion. Our customers trust us with their investments, and by continuously striving to make investing easier, we aim to help even more people take control of their financial futures.

Having listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange in December 2018, AJ Bell is now a FTSE 250 company.

Headquartered in Manchester with offices in central London and Bristol, we now have over 1,450 employees and have been named one of the UK's 'Best 100 Companies to Work For’ for six consecutive years and in 2024 named a Great Place to Work®.

At AJ Bell you can expect a friendly working environment with a strong sense of teamwork, we have a great sense of pride in what we do, and this is reflected in our guiding principles.

What we offer:

• Competitive starting salary 
• Generous holiday allowance of 27 days, increasing up to 31 days with length of service
• Holiday buy and sell scheme
• A choice of pension schemes with matched contributions up to 8%
• Discretionary bonus scheme
• Annual free share awards scheme
• Buy As You Earn (BAYE) Scheme
• Health Cash Plan – provided by SimplyHealth
• Discounted private healthcare scheme and dental plan
• Free gym membership
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Bike loan scheme
• Sick pay+ pledge
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, and shared parental leave
• Loans for travel season tickets
• Death in service scheme
• Paid time off for volunteer work
• Charitable giving opportunities through salary sacrifice
• Calendar of social events, including monthly payday drinks, annual Christmas party, summer party and much more
• Personal development programmes built around you and your career goals, including access to personal skills workshops
• Ongoing technical training
• Professional qualification support
• Talent development programmes
• Peer recognition scheme, with rewards including restaurant and shopping vouchers or time off
• Monthly leadership breakfasts and lunches
• Casual dress code
• Access to a range of benefits from our sponsorship deals

Hybrid working:

At AJ Bell, our people are the heart of our culture. We believe in building strong connections by working together. That's why we offer a hybrid working model, where you’ll spend a minimum of 50% of your working time per month in the office. For new team members, an initial period will be full-time in the office to help you immerse yourself in our business and build valuable relationships with your colleagues.

AJ Bell is committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and all employees are empowered to bring their whole self to work.

We do not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, pregnancy, religion, physical and mental disability, marital status and any other characteristics protected by the Equality Act 2010. All decisions to hire are based on qualifications, merit and business need.

If you like the sound of the above, or just want to know more about the company and the role, we'd love to speak to you.