Associate Director- Dispute Intelligence (Maternity Cover) in City of Westminster

We are looking for an Associate Director in our dedicated global dispute intelligence practice based in London to work as maternity cover from August 2026 to August 2027. This is a leadership role, and the successful candidate will have responsibility for growing and developing the practice in close collaboration with the head of the team and colleagues across different regions and service lines.

Key Responsibilities

• Managing and growing new and existing client relationships, focusing on winning high-value, repeat mandates from law firms, in-house legal counsel and litigation funders.
• Playing a leading role in developing our dispute support strategy alongside senior colleagues.
• Overseeing the delivery of complex litigation and dispute support projects, in Europe and globally.
• Ensuring best‑in‑class execution and innovation around open‑source research, source enquiries, and analysis.
• Managing high‑performing project teams, while maintaining an inclusive and collaborative team culture.
• Pro‑active business development to identify and secure new client relationships, including commercial litigators, arbitration practitioners, in‑house counsel, and litigation funders.
• Grow existing relationships with clients that regularly consume our investigation services.
• Represent Control Risks at dispute‑related events, coordinating with the head of dispute support and broader regional management.
• Collaborate with other business intelligence leaders across EMEA, APAC, and the Americas on global business development initiatives, including webinars, thought leadership and targeted client outreach.
• Identify additional sources of income and brand profile building for Control Risks in disputes and litigation support.
• Oversee the delivery of complex, multi‑jurisdictional projects in and beyond EMEA, focusing on asset tracing and investigations in support of litigation and arbitration.
• Manage the dispute support team’s output to ensure high standards of quality and client relevance.
• Collaborate with peers in other practice lines to ensure research is innovative, responsive, and of high quality, identifying where technology could improve efficiencies.
• Constantly improve and develop our source network, ensuring compliance with company‑wide policies and risk awareness.
• Pre‑empt and manage risk issues associated with clients and case management, mentoring others in the practice.
• Foster an inclusive, collaborative environment in culturally and linguistically diverse project teams.
• Manage direct reports and mentor team members, ensuring development of investigative and client‑management skills across the lifecycle of a project.
• Deliver and periodically review disputes and litigation support training.
• Identify and recommend improvements in internal skills and capabilities.
• Ensure the team’s legal and compliance requirements are understood and adhered to, including training implementation.

Qualifications & Experience

• Track record of delivering complex dispute and litigation support services, including asset tracing, human intelligence, and OSINT investigations across multiple jurisdictions.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to write and present concisely and convincingly.
• Demonstrable record of winning mandates and growing client relationships over several years in the disputes and investigations sector.
• Experience in leadership and teamwork, developing and retaining high‑performing project team members.
• Firm understanding of legal and compliance issues, reputational and ethical considerations in the business intelligence and investigations industry.
• Personal career growth within a global intelligence/investigations firm.

Benefits & Working Arrangements

Control Risks offers a competitively positioned compensation and benefits package that is transparent and summarised in the full job offer. We operate a discretionary global bonus scheme that incentivises and rewards individuals based on company and individual performance. Control Risks supports hybrid working arrangements, wherever possible, emphasising the value of in‑person time together – in the office and with clients – while continuing to support flexible and remote working.