Carbon Law Partners is a national law firm built around a different way of working. Our partner-led model gives experienced lawyers the autonomy to build their practices and work closely with clients, backed by the technology, infrastructure and expertise of the wider firm.
We combine high-quality commercial legal advice with a more modern, flexible approach to how legal services are delivered. We believe law should work differently, for the people inside it and the businesses that need it.
Reporting to: Head of Legal & Compliance
Location: Hybrid
Contract: Full-time
Role Purpose:
The Compliance Manager will own the firm's day-to-day compliance, risk, governance and assurance activity, independently managing routine matters and ensuring regulatory obligations, controls and actions are effectively managed. Material, novel, complex or high-risk matters will be escalated to the Head of Legal & Compliance.
Key Responsibilities
- Deliver risk-based compliance monitoring and business quality activity, including file and thematic reviews and audits; record findings, agree remediation and drive actions to completion.
- Maintain risk registers, incident logs, compliance records and audit evidence; investigate routine issues, identify root causes and recommend corrective or preventative action.
- Produce timely management information on trends, emerging risks, exposures, overdue actions and matters requiring management attention.
Governance & Regulatory Change
- Maintain the policy and procedure framework, including review schedules, ownership, approvals, version control and records.
- Undertake regulatory horizon scanning, including SRA, complaints, AML, data protection and wider legal-sector requirements; assess operational impact and coordinate implementation, escalating higher-level data protection issues to the Firm's Data Protection Manager, as appropriate.
- Maintain governance records and action trackers, following up with owners and escalating overdue or material items.
Complaints, Claims & Regulatory Matters
- Manage routine complaints from receipt to resolution, including deadlines, records, open and aged cases, root-cause analysis, outcomes, exposure, costs and corrective actions.
- Coordinate routine claims and circumstances, insurer notifications, information gathering and actions, escalating serious, contentious or potentially litigious matters.
- Coordinate routine SRA, Legal Ombudsman and other regulatory enquiries and correspondence, escalating material matters.
Data Protection & Client Information Requests
- Coordinate DSARs from receipt to completion, including scoping, searches, review, redaction, records and statutory deadlines, escalating higher-level data protection issues to the Firm's Data Protection Manager, as appropriate.
- Manage or coordinate routine client file requests, including authority, confidentiality, secure transfer and audit trails.
- Support information governance and investigate data incidents or potential breaches, escalating material, high-risk or otherwise higher-level data protection matters to the Firm's Data Protection Manager, as appropriate, and complex privilege, confidentiality, ownership or lien issues through the appropriate legal escalation route.
Training, Guidance & Compliance Culture
- Manage the compliance training and awareness programme, including scheduling, completion monitoring, records and targeted activity.
- Maintain practical compliance guidance and communications, support colleagues with routine requirements and promote a practical, accountable compliance culture.
- Escalate novel or complex legal or regulatory interpretation where appropriate.
Regulatory Support & Administration
- Maintain evidence for audits, accreditation and regulatory reviews, and coordinate routine regulatory reporting, returns and administration.
- Support compliance projects and implementation programmes, maintaining plans, evidence, risks, decisions and actions and ensuring agreed actions are completed on time.
The Compliance Manager will operate autonomously on routine compliance, assurance and governance matters. Material, novel or high‑risk legal, regulatory, claims, conduct, litigation or reputational matters must be escalated promptly. Higher‑level data protection and privacy matters must be escalated to the Firm's Data Protection Manager, as appropriate.
The Head of Legal & Compliance retains responsibility for strategic legal and commercial advice, significant contracts and disputes, material regulatory decisions and engagement, serious claims or litigation, senior regulatory governance, strategic risk ownership and matters requiring senior legal judgement or regulatory accountability. Data protection and privacy matters requiring higher‑level oversight should be escalated to the Firm's Data Protection Manager, as appropriate.
- Significant compliance, risk, governance or assurance experience in a regulated environment, with experience managing complaints and compliance investigations.
- Experience of risk-based monitoring, file reviews or audits; policy and governance controls; remediation and action tracking; and compliance management information and trend analysis.
- Strong organisational, case-management and communication skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and stakeholders.
- Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgement and identify when escalation is required.
- Legal‑services or other professionally regulated‑sector experience and good working knowledge of the SRA regulatory environment.
- Experience of DSARs, client file or information requests, data protection, claims, insurer notifications and Legal Ombudsman or regulatory enquiries.
- Experience of regulatory horizon scanning and implementation of regulatory change.
Personal Attributes
Organised, proactive and accountable; pragmatic and solutions‑focused; analytical and commercially aware; able to manage competing priorities, drive actions to completion, work collaboratively and recognise when senior escalation is required.
Success in the Role
Success will mean effective ownership of routine operational compliance, complaints, DSAR and client file‑request coordination, claims and regulatory administration, policy governance, monitoring and business quality assurance, horizon scanning, management information and action tracking
Compliance Manager in Cardiff employer: Carbon Law Partners
Hawkins Hatton is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work environment in Cardiff that fosters professional growth and collaboration. With a strong emphasis on employee development, you will have access to ongoing training and mentorship opportunities while working on diverse and challenging commercial real estate cases. The hybrid working model promotes a healthy work-life balance, making it an ideal place for those seeking meaningful and rewarding employment.
