Onboarding Risk Lead: KYC/CDD & Client Concierge in Leeds

As an Onboarding Business Lead (KYC/CDD) within our Quality & Risk / Centralised Onboarding team, you will act as a trusted risk partner and strategic enabler for the firm. This is not a box‑ticking role; it requires a sophisticated understanding of regulatory requirements (especially KYC/CDD), contractual and commercial considerations, and the ability to apply independent judgment to complex situations.

Your accountabilities span three core areas:

• Client Outreach: Lead the client outreach process to gather required CDD information and documentation, including direct conversations with client contacts. Apply independent, high‑level judgment to determine the sufficiency and credibility of information provided by the client against the firm’s CDD Standard. Manage complex ownership structures and support enhanced due diligence where required. Formulate and record clear risk rationales for CDD/EDD conclusions and approvals, and manage escalations in line with the firm’s CDD Standard. Guide senior client stakeholders through digital identity verification and other biometric processes, ensuring a smooth and professional experience.
• Priority Client Support: Act as a concierge‑style onboarding advisor, providing bespoke operational onboarding advice for larger, more complex or priority cases while maintaining the required risk controls. Troubleshoot onboarding bottlenecks by suggesting structural modifications or alternative evidence routes to align with the firm’s risk appetite.
• Risk & Compliance: Act as a subject matter expert for client‑facing Partners and Directors, advising on the practicalities of onboarding complex and commercially important engagements. Provide a holistic view of risk, balancing contracting requirements, commercial viability, insurance nuances, financial crime prevention, regulatory obligations and the firm’s ethical standards. Provide clear, practical advice on evidence strategy, risk‑based options and when/what to elevate, ensuring decisions and documentation align with the firm’s policies.

Qualifications: Substantial hands‑on experience delivering client onboarding (including KYC/CDD) within professional services, banking or financial services, with end‑to‑end ownership of complex cases. Proven ability to write and defend risk rationales and make risk‑based decisions with confidence, even in the absence of perfect information. Demonstrable experience of engaging with clients/customers and stakeholders through strong written and verbal communication skills, facilitating a positive experience throughout regulated onboarding processes.

Additional experience we welcome:

• Ethical Standards Awareness: familiarity with professional body ethical standards and an understanding of how regulatory and ethical obligations interact in a client‑facing context.
• Stakeholder Influence: experience influencing Partners and Directors with diplomacy and clarity, driving outcomes without direct authority in a complex, matrix environment.

Core competencies:

• Integrity: Maintain a firm line on ethics, financial crime and regulatory compliance under commercial pressure.
• Commercial Acumen: Understand that onboarding is a business enabler, opting for compliant solutions rather than defaulting to “no”.
• Professional, human communication: Explain regulatory and information requirements clearly, respectfully and in plain language, and communicate confidently.
• Analytical rigour: Apply a logical, evidence‑led approach, testing assumptions and drawing conclusions from facts.
• Cross‑functional thinking: Connect contracts, regulation, commercials, delivery reality and legal risk, seeing how decisions in one area affect others.
• Systems & controls literacy: Understand how onboarding technology and controls are used, and work to improve them.
• Decisiveness: Make and defend risk‑based decisions even when information is incomplete.

Benefits & Flexibility: We support flexible working, reduced hours and job shares to help you balance work and life. Beyond the job, you can engage in secondments, fund local charities, invest in entrepreneurs and contribute to society— all in line with our values of purpose, curiosity and kindness. We’re looking for people who want to contribute, spark fresh ideas and go beyond expectations—people who want to proudly do what’s right for the firm, our clients, our people and themselves. It’s how it should be.