Head of Compliance and Risk in Newport

Role: Head of Compliance and Risk – Interim

Rate: Competitive (subject to experience & interview competencies)

Type: Contract (via umbrella payroll company – Inside IR35)

Location: Bristol, BS1

Hours: 35 hours a week (full-time), Monday to Friday

Hartley Pensions are looking for a highly experienced and skilled professional who is prepared to lead and oversee our Compliance and Risk operations. Playing a vital role in enforcing high standards by ensuring the implementation of regulatory guidelines, we are seeking a Head of Compliance and Risk to act as our regulatory oversight during an important period of transition for the business.

Who are Hartley Pensions?

Hartley Pensions are a SIPP and SSAS pensions operator based in central Bristol. Since July 2022, the company has been in a trading administration. Under the administration of UHY Hacker Young, Hartley Pensions continues to operate an essential service to clients whilst preparing to transfer members to new UK-based operators and wind down the business.

Role

As the Interim – Head of Compliance and Risk at Hartley Pensions, you will be responsible for developing and implementing our Compliance and Risk framework, enforcing internal policies and procedures across our administrative teams to ensure adherence to regulatory guidelines as set out by the FCA. Additionally, you will be the point of contact for all compliance related queries. Your knowledge will be relied upon when the wider team seeks guidance and input on such matters. By offering diligent assessments and thorough analysis of processes, you will play a pivotal role in maximising the best outcomes for clients.

Your duties include (but are not limited to) the following critical areas of our services:

• Lead and provide oversight of compliance practices across all SIPP and SSAS functions.
• Responsible for ensuring the accurate and timely submission of regulatory returns to the FCA via their online platform RegData. Experience of submissions is essential.
• Keep up to date with regulatory changes, communicating updates to the wider business and ensuring these are enforced.
• Regular reporting of essential compliance data on performance metrics of teams to Hartley’s administrators and to the Operational Director.
• Oversight of CASS. This crucially entails the responsibility for ensuring the timely submission of CMARs to the FCA.
• Exercise due skill, care and diligence, observing proper standards of conduct in line with regulatory requirements. This involves engagement with the FCA and other regulatory bodies and providing information requests.
• Act as a reliable source of technical FCA knowledge, with a strong understanding of the COBS. Provide such insights to help guide frameworks on key processes, particularly surrounding SIPP transfers and administration.
• Liaison with second and third line on monitoring, audit, SMCR and complaints. Ensure that complaints, particularly those linked to conduct breaches, are fed into the SMCR monitoring process, with findings shared to the relevant regulatory authority.
• Responsible for the investigation and monitoring of errors, incidents, complaints and regulatory breaches and identifying through root cause analysis where operational improvements can be made.
• Supporting the onboarding team during the vetting processes.

About You

The following key points list the necessary attributes required to succeed in this role:

• You must have a strong SIPP and SSAS pensions compliance background. Therefore, we require our Head of Compliance and Risk to have a minimum of 5 years’ experience in a senior operational position in leading a firm’s compliance function.
• You must have extensive experience knowledge of pension laws and surrounding tax regulations. Most crucially, you must have experience submitting regulatory returns and all necessary compliance data to the FCA via RegData.
• As Interim – Head of Compliance and Risk, knowledge of The Consumer Duty in the context of SIPP product distribution and fair value is critical.
• In addition to this, you will possess an academic level of technical FCA knowledge, including COBS, AML and Financial Crime specifically from the Financial Crime Guide (FCG).
• Furthermore, you will have familiarity with HMRC’s Pensions Tax Manual regarding unauthorised payments.
• Expertise in CASS 7 rules regarding the segregation of client money, statutory trusts, and the required acknowledgement letters from banks.
• You must have excellent problem-solving capability with the ability to make decisions calmly and effectively under pressure.
• You will have demonstrable experience with GDPR regulations and ensuring the application of security protocols across the firm.
• Numerical proficiency must be an essential element to your skillset. A minimum Grade C/4 or above in GCSE Mathematics (or an international equivalent) is required.
• A competent standard of literacy is also critical. You will be dealing with complex legal documents, tax regulations and direct client communication. Therefore, your ability to read, interpret and write in a clear and professional manner is necessary for this position. A minimum Grade C/4 or above in both GCSE English Literature and English Language (or an international equivalent) is required.
• You must have a decent level of communication skills. It is highly important that as a representative of the firm, you can effectively communicate technical compliance information into lay terms to the wider team.
• The successful applicant must demonstrate high ethical standards when managing regulatory obligations.
• As Hartley’s Interim – Head of Compliance and Risk, it is essential that you hold a resilient character in ensuring that the maintenance of consistent standards is implemented across the firm.
• Additionally, we require our Compliance Head to hold a strategic mindset in being able to proactively identify areas within our existing functions that require improvement in ensuring the business remains compliant and manages risk effectively.
• A vital component to this mindset is the capability to make well-reasoned and critical decisions when information is complex and requiring expert led interpretation of statutory and regulatory guidelines.
• Furthermore, a personality of accountability and transparency is thus an essential attribute that must follow from this, where one must take ownership and set the necessary standards across the firm.
• In leading Hartley’s Compliance and Risk function, a keen eye for detail is crucial in ensuring the reviewing of complex SIPP portfolios, requirements of client assets (CASS reviews), and accurate record-keeping.
• We require a self-organised individual who can manage multiple workloads and projects, ensuring deadlines are met whilst overseeing robust compliance monitoring.

What we offer

• A highly competitive rate: We pay within the top 10% of employers in the industry.
• Meaningful impact: A rare opportunity to play a leading part in assisting a business through a crucial transitional period.
• Hybrid working: We allow hybrid options (up to 2 days from home a week) after successful completion of training period and where business needs permit.

Recruitment Process

Hartley Pensions follow a two-stage recruitment process. A 30-minute screening call. A 90-minute interview with competency-based questions. A final stage interview with UHY Hacker Young, Hartley Pensions’ administrators.

At Hartley pensions diversity is important to us. Growing, maintaining and promoting a diverse team is a top priority for us. We actively encourage individuals from all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives to apply. Join us in creating a workplace where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to thrive.

Please note, we have been in a trading administration since July 2022. This means that we cannot provide sponsorship to applicants at this time.