Compliance Vice President – Retail Investments and Pensions

Shape how we deliver good outcomes for retail investors in the UK. You will provide independent oversight and practical advice across discretionary and execution-only investing, partnering closely with the business and control functions. 

As Vice president in the Retail Investments Compliance team, you will provide second line of defense (2LOD) Compliance oversight and effective challenge to the UK pensions products business. Partner with Operations, Product, Client Servicing, and control functions to deliver timely, risk-based advice and help ensure robust governance, monitoring, and issue management across the pensions lifecycle, including a strong focus on FCA Consumer Duty outcomes.

Job Responsibilities

• Provide 2LOD Compliance coverage for UK pensions products, including the operational delivery model supporting UK personal pension products and related client journeys and controls.

• Act as a subject matter expert on relevant UK regulatory requirements impacting UK pensions products, and execute core Compliance activities across Governance & Oversight; Regulatory Management; Policies & Procedures; Training & Awareness; Monitoring & Testing; Issue Management; Risk Assessment/Reporting.

• Provide Compliance advice aligned to regulatory and operational risk tolerances, partnering with LOB stakeholders, regional/global Compliance, Internal Audit, Operational Risk and other Control functions.

• Assess, challenge, and escalate potential regulatory breaches and operational risk issues in line with established governance, with strong judgment on when/how to escalate.

• Provide documented Compliance input to pensions products business change (e.g., process changes, platform enhancements, client communications, new operational initiatives), identifying and helping mitigate Compliance risks.

• Maintain and review relevant Compliance policies, procedures, and supporting documentation for pensions operational processes and controls.

• Represent Compliance in governance forums; produce clear, management- and regulator-ready materials as required.

• Identify control issues, support root-cause analysis, agree corrective actions with stakeholders, and track delivery to closure.

• Support monitoring and testing activities, including thematic reviews and project support; provide cross-coverage within the team as needed.

• Contribute to effective collaboration across stakeholders to align expectations and deliver outcomes, particularly where pensions operations intersects with broader retail investments processes and communications.

 

Required Qualifications, Capabilities, and Skills

• Bachelor’s degree required.

• Strong knowledge of relevant UK retail financial services regulation as applicable, including MiFID / COBS, CASS, and MAR, and how these requirements interact with pensions-related operating models and client servicing.

• Strong understanding of FCA Principles and Consumer Duty as applied to pensions products/operations, including delivering good outcomes for retail clients.

• Sound judgment and independence, including ability to escalate effectively.

• Clear, concise written and verbal communication skills, including executive-level materials.

• Strong analytical skills, attention to detail, and strong documentation standards.

 

Preferred Qualifications, Capabilities, and Skills

• MBA / professional certification preferred.

• Compliance/Risk/Controls/Audit experience in a global financial institution.

• Pensions-specific regulatory familiarity (as applicable), including knowledge of UK personal pension products and broader UK retail financial services requirements that commonly drive pensions communications and operational processes (e.g., FCA Consumer Duty, UK MiFID 2, UK financial promotion regime, ISA regulations, PRIIPs, MAR).

• Experience with retail client operational matters relevant to pensions servicing and administration, including complaints handling, FOS investigations, Power of Attorney queries, and supporting bereavement matters.

• Experience supporting regulatory change management programs and/or new product development impacting operational delivery.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office.