At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the ethics framework and ensure compliance with professional standards.
- Company: Join Gravita, a tech-enabled accounting firm supporting ambitious businesses.
- Benefits: Flexible working, career development, and a supportive team environment.
- Other info: Dynamic, fast-paced workplace with opportunities for personal growth.
- Why this job: Shape the future of accounting while promoting a strong ethical culture.
- Qualifications: Expertise in ethics, independence, and experience in professional services.
The predicted salary is between 80000 - 100000 € per year.
We’re Gravita: the accountants fuelling ambitious businesses. We’re a full service, tech-enabled firm, working with entrepreneurs and businesses to help them achieve their goals, and make an impact in the world. Our team use their incredible expertise alongside intuitive technology to help businesses and entrepreneurs plan better and grow faster. Our mission is to become the UK’s leading tech-enabled accounting firm for SMEs. We have ambitious goals and our high-calibre team work hard to achieve them. We are one team with one agenda, working collaboratively in a respectful environment to deliver a great service to our clients. So if you join us, you’ll not only be working on exciting client challenges, you’ll also be helping us shape the future of accounting.
The Role
To lead and own the firm’s ethics and independence framework, ensuring full compliance with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales Code of Ethics and Financial Reporting Council Ethical Standard, while embedding a strong ethical culture across the firm. The role has end-to-end accountability for ethics, including both personal and corporate independence, and acts as the firm’s senior subject matter expert and decision-maker on ethical matters. This is a Director-level leadership role with firm-wide remit.
- Head of Ethics: Owns design, implementation, and operation of the ethics framework
- Chief Legal & Risk Officer: Provides oversight, challenge, and escalation point
The role operates as a trusted adviser to partners and senior leadership, not solely a compliance function.
Key Responsibilities
- Ethics & Independence Framework Ownership
- Design and maintain a firm-wide ethics and independence framework aligned with professional and regulatory standards
- Translate principles-based regulation into clear, practical policies and guidance
- Ensure integration with wider risk, audit quality, and governance frameworks
- Personal & Corporate Independence
- Own both personal independence (partners and staff) and corporate/firm independence (entity-level relationships and services)
- Oversee and continuously improve: Financial interests monitoring, Firm independence assessments (including network considerations)
- Act as final decision-maker on complex independence matters
- Ethics Advisory & Decision-Making
- Act as the firm’s central authority on ethical matters
- Provide advice to partners and engagement teams on: Independence threats and safeguards, Conflicts of interest, Non-audit services, Client acceptance and continuance
- Exercise judgement on high-risk or sensitive cases, escalating only where appropriate
- Conflicts & Ethical Risk Management
- Oversee conflicts identification, assessment, and resolution processes
- Approve high-risk engagements and manage ethical risk exposure
- Ensure robust documentation and defensibility of decisions
- Culture, Training & Behaviour
- Lead the development of a strong ethical culture across the firm
- Design and deliver training tailored to partners, managers, and staff
- Promote ethical decision-making frameworks rather than rule-based compliance
- Support and strengthen speak-up / whistleblowing mechanisms
- Monitoring, Assurance & Continuous Improvement
- Establish and lead an ethics monitoring and assurance programme
- Conduct thematic reviews (e.g. independence compliance, conflicts handling)
- Identify systemic risks and implement improvements
- Regulatory Engagement & Inspection Readiness
- Ensure compliance with applicable ethical and independence standards
- Act as lead contact for ethics-related aspects of regulatory inspections
- Support responses to findings and remediation actions
- Breaches, Investigations & Enforcement
- Oversee identification, investigation, and resolution of ethics breaches
- Determine appropriate remediation and disciplinary outcomes (with HR where appropriate)
- Ensure lessons learned are embedded into policy and training
- Governance & Reporting
- Provide regular, high-quality reporting to: Appropriate governance Boards and Committees
- Develop and maintain ethics MI, including: Breaches and incidents, Independence compliance metrics, Query volumes and themes
Qualifications, Knowledge & Experience
- Deep expertise in: ICAEW Code of Ethics, FRC Ethical Standard
- Significant experience in audit, risk, or compliance within a professional services firm
- Demonstrable experience handling complex independence and ethical judgement calls
- Strong ability to influence senior stakeholders, including partners
- Experience building or transforming frameworks
- Operates with authority and independence of judgement
- Able to challenge senior stakeholders constructively
- Balances commercial awareness with ethical integrity
- Seen internally as a trusted, pragmatic adviser rather than a blocker
Your Career with Gravita
When you join Gravita, we’ll support you on your own growth journey. We want to be the place you learn, grow and unlock your true potential. We’ll work with you to build a progression plan to outline how you’ll grow at our company and everything we’ll do to help you get there. We’re also passionate about learning and development, to help you focus on your future.
The Nitty Gritty
Our standard working week is a 37.5-hour week on a hybrid basis. Core working hours are 10am - 4pm Monday to Friday. Flexible working and happy employees are at the top of our list here at Gravita and we have been working hard to support our teams through the fast-paced changes. Your development won’t be forgotten, our development support is extraordinary for a firm of our size. It’s a busy, fast-paced environment here at Gravita.
Ethics Director employer: Gravita
At Gravita, we pride ourselves on being a dynamic and supportive employer that champions the growth of our team members. As an Ethics Director, you will not only lead the charge in fostering a strong ethical culture but also benefit from our commitment to your professional development through tailored progression plans and exceptional learning opportunities. With a flexible working environment and a collaborative team spirit, Gravita is the ideal place for those looking to make a meaningful impact in the accounting sector while advancing their careers.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Ethics Director
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Get out there and connect with people in the industry. Attend events, join online forums, and don’t be shy about reaching out to potential colleagues on LinkedIn. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings!
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by researching Gravita’s values and mission. Understand their approach to ethics and independence, and think about how your experience aligns with their goals. This will help you stand out as a candidate who truly gets what they’re about.
✨Tip Number 3
Practice your pitch! Be ready to explain how your skills can contribute to building a strong ethical culture at Gravita. Highlight your past experiences with ethical decision-making and how you’ve navigated complex situations in the past.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, it shows you’re genuinely interested in joining the team at Gravita and being part of their exciting journey.
We think you need these skills to ace Ethics Director
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application:Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter for the Ethics Director role. Highlight your experience with ethical frameworks and compliance, and show how your skills align with Gravita's mission to support ambitious businesses.
Showcase Your Expertise:Don’t hold back on sharing your deep knowledge of the ICAEW Code of Ethics and FRC Ethical Standard. We want to see how you’ve applied this expertise in real-world scenarios, especially in audit or compliance settings.
Be Authentic:Let your personality shine through in your application. We’re looking for someone who can influence and advise senior stakeholders, so a genuine tone will help us see how you’d fit into our collaborative culture.
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to submit your application directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your details and ensures you’re considered for this exciting opportunity at Gravita!
How to prepare for a job interview at Gravita
✨Know Your Ethics Inside Out
Make sure you’re well-versed in the ICAEW Code of Ethics and the FRC Ethical Standard. Prepare to discuss how these principles can be applied in real-world scenarios, especially in relation to independence and ethical decision-making.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
As this is a Director-level role, be ready to demonstrate your leadership experience. Share examples of how you've successfully influenced senior stakeholders and fostered an ethical culture in previous roles.
✨Prepare for Complex Scenarios
Think through potential ethical dilemmas you might face in the role. Be prepared to discuss how you would handle conflicts of interest or high-risk engagements, showcasing your judgement and decision-making skills.
✨Emphasise Continuous Improvement
Talk about your approach to monitoring and improving ethical frameworks. Highlight any past experiences where you’ve implemented changes based on feedback or identified systemic risks, showing your commitment to ongoing development.
