Risk & Compliance Associate

A leading international financial services firm is seeking a Compliance Associate to join its central Risk & Compliance function. This newly created position is designed as a junior advisory role, providing hands-on regulatory support to a busy, transaction-driven business, with a particular focus on securitisations, MIFID and FCA-related activity. The role is London-based, serving the wider group and supporting regulatory approvals, permissions and cross-border arrangements.

You will operate as a trusted compliance adviser to the business, bringing strong technical knowledge and practical regulatory experience, and you will be comfortable working at pace in a high-pressure, deal-driven environment. This is a career-building move for someone stepping out of Big Four or similar advisory firms into industry, offering genuine progression in an “up or out” culture rather than a flat, administrative compliance role.

• Provide day-to-day compliance advisory support to the business, particularly around securitisation products and related regulatory implications.
• Support regulatory approvals and permissions across UK and European jurisdictions (e.g. FCA, Central Bank of Ireland), including new services, cross-border arrangements and appointed representative or tied-agent structures.
• Review and advise on client engagement letters and mandates, ensuring proposed services fall within the firm’s regulatory permissions and are aligned to MIFID (UK and EU) and FCA requirements.
• Contribute to the design, development and ongoing enhancement of compliance frameworks, policies and procedures across the group.
• Assist in the set-up and strengthening of compliance departments and functions within the group’s business lines, leveraging prior consultancy experience where relevant.
• Act as a point of contact for regulatory queries from the business, helping interpret and apply regulatory changes (including MIFID-related developments) to the firm’s activities.
• Support interactions with regulators, helping prepare submissions, responses and supporting documentation for authorisations, approvals and other supervisory engagements.
• Help educate and challenge the business on regulatory risk, ensuring commercial objectives are achieved in a compliant and well-controlled manner.

• Pure compliance experience (not split across other functions), ideally gained in a Big Four or leading advisory/legal firm supporting financial services clients.
• Strong product knowledge of securitisations, with experience advising on regulatory aspects of securitisation transactions.
• Demonstrable knowledge of MIFID regulation (UK and European) and FCA rules, and experience applying these in practice for investment firm clients.
• Background in supporting firms with regulatory approvals, cross-border permissions and the set-up of compliance functions, including direct interaction with regulators such as the FCA and Central Bank of Ireland.
• Experience reviewing and advising on engagement letters and client mandates from a regulatory permissions perspective.
• Likely to be at Manager/VP level in consulting or advisory, now seeking a first move into industry in a visible and growing function.

You will join a central Risk & Compliance team that is being strengthened as the firm returns to growth following a more challenging 2023–2024 period, with expectations of improved performance between 2025–2027. The role is part of a broader build-out of functional capability rather than a static, back-office position, and offers clear scope for progression as the business and team expand. The culture is high-performance and fast-paced, aligned to transaction-driven advisory work with demanding reporting and execution deadlines, and will suit someone who wants to be close to the business and deepen their regulatory expertise.

• Salary: Up to £75,000 base
• Bonus: Discretionary, with an expectation of c.20% in good performance years, subject to both individual and company performance.
• Pension: 4% employer contribution, with 5% employee contribution (total 9%).
• Equity/long-term: Participation in an EMI-style scheme plus standard benefits.

London-based role in an office-first culture, with five days per week on site (with some flexibility for personal circumstances by agreement).