Head of Regional Compliance, Middle East & Türkiye

Who we are

We are one of the largest international law firms in the world. With over 30 offices across the globe, we strive to exceed the expectations of our clients, providing them with the highest-quality advice and legal insight, which combines the firm’s global standards with in-depth local expertise.

Our firm, work and people span jurisdictions, cultures, and languages. We offer our clients a truly international perspective. We believe every career should be rewarding and stimulating - full of opportunities to learn, thrive, and grow. That’s why we’re so proud of our inclusive, friendly, and team-based approach to work.

You’ll find our clients in commercial and industrial sectors, the financial investor community, governments, regulators, trade bodies, and not-for-profit organisations. But no matter who they are or why they’ve reached out to us, we provide a world-class service every step of the way. And that’s possible thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit and conscientious approach to work that you’ll find across all of our teams.

Whichever area of the business you join, you’ll become an integral part an innovative, diverse and ambitious team of people. Clifford Chance is a place where the brightest minds and the best of colleagues meet.

The role

The Head of Regional Compliance, Middle East & Türkiye ("HRC") provides advice and guidance to partners, lawyers and business professionals across the full spectrum of risk and compliance issues as set out below. Manager reports to [the GHC and the designated RMP] and works closely with the Chief Risk and Compliance Officer ("CR&CO"), Money Laundering Reporting Officers, Regional Chief Operating Officer, Middle East & Türkiye "Regional COO"), the Risk & Compliance team, other Compliance Managers and Officers in the region (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and Istanbul) as well as the global network; and relevant Business Professional function managers to ensure that the Firm meets its obligations in relation to the areas set out below.

The HRC Compliance Manager is responsible for championing and leading and guiding the compliance function in the relevant office or country/region and being a trusted advisor to Partners, other fee earners, and business professionals. With in-depth knowledge of the legal industry and the Firm's priorities, as well as being expert in business support processes, the HRC Compliance Manager will confidently manage and own the compliance program locally/regionally. The HRC Compliance Manager is expected to form and develop excellent working relationships with their Regional COO, OMPs, in the region and other key stakeholders. The HRC Compliance Manager takes primary responsibility for the compliance function within the office or country/region, working with Compliance Managers and Officers and other Compliance contacts in offices within the region where applicable. The Compliance Managers may from time to time be expected to take on additional responsibility and those with country responsibility may be involved in leading regional initiatives.

Key responsibilities

The HRC's key responsibilities include the following:

• With the RMP and OMPs and compliance officers and contacts, lead the promotion and monitoring of compliance within the region, considering the compliance objectives set by the CR&CO.
• Design, develop and implement preventive monitoring mechanisms with respect to compliance objectives.
• Act as a regional point of contact for the CR&CO and GHC on local AML and CTF rules.
• Together with Compliance Officers and Compliance contacts and where appropriate the International Compliance Team, support the MLRO's in the region in the discharge of their duties including, for example, providing support on Suspicious Transaction Reports, mandatory annual AML training and preparing for regulatory audits.
• Lead the preparation and submission of all regulatory filings for the Dubai and Abu Dhabi offices. This includes overseeing the completion of annual AML returns, annual information returns, and coordinating responses to thematic reviews initiated by regulatory bodies. The Compliance Manager ensures that all submissions meet the required standards and deadlines.
• Attend all mandatory training sessions conducted by relevant authorities in the UAE, such as the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), and the Executive Office of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing (EOCN).
• Prepare and maintain the UAE Business Risk Assessment, aligning it with the UAE National AML Risk Assessment, regulatory expectations and internal controls.
• Work closely with the Client Acceptance Team in London to ensure that all UAE Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements are properly documented. This includes aligning procedures with the Client Acceptance Team’s Policies and Procedures and conducting regular file reviews to maintain quality control and consistency, including an annual audit of Abu Dhabi files.
• Act as the local Data Privacy Contact ("DPC") under the Firm's Data Privacy policy for our offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and take responsibility for Data Privacy issues arising in the region and guiding other Data Privacy Contact in the region, including ensuring strict compliance with Data Privacy regulations, co-ordinating the annual Data Privacy registration process where applicable and stimulate and promote awareness of the Firm's data privacy policy.
• Working closely with the Data Privacy Team, assist with the implementation of any global policies and processes in the context of extraterritorial data privacy regulations such as GDPR.
• Support the Regional COO, as required in relation to licensing renewals and applications.
• Lead offices in the region to create awareness of Clifford Chance global policies and procedures and provide compliance advice and guidance to partners, lawyers and business professionals. This includes:
  • Participating in the creation of new global policies and actively promoting awareness of and compliance with new global policies in the local office, including providing training tailored for offices in the region, including compliance induction training for all new joiners and trainees.
  • Monitoring compliance with global policies in the regional offices.
  • Where applicable and necessary, designing local policies that align with global policies and liaising with the GHC on any differences in local policies that may be required.
  • Identifying and analysing incidences of non-compliance and implementing rectification measures.
• In relation to our Anti-Bribery and Corruption Policy and gifts and hospitality policy:
  • Promote awareness of and compliance with the firm's Anti- Bribery and Corruption Policy
  • Together with the central team, advise teams in the region on queries relating to gifts and hospitality.
  • Be an advisor to the central compliance team on gifts and hospitality requiring central compliance approval in relation to any local restrictions or specific local concerns.
  • Proactively monitor local regulatory changes in the region which may have an impact on the operations of the Firm and existing policies and procedures and advise the RMP and OMP and central compliance function of any such changes and their impact potentially on the firm.
• Proactively identify and assess key regulatory and compliance risks of the region.
• Together with the GHC:
  • Implement, operate and develop the compliance management system for the offices in the region.
  • Identify compliance objectives for the offices in the region.
  • Monitor the development and implementation of mandatory risk and compliance training programmes.
  • Develop and/or implement new standardised compliance processes, rules and regulations.
  • Develop and implement an effective system for communicating compliance topics.
  • Develop a compliance culture and raise awareness of compliance issues and the Clifford Chance Compliance Policy.
  • Regularly report to the RMP and GHC on regulatory and compliance matters that may arise, including preparation of bi-annual reports to senior management.
• Other responsibilities that may be described in the Clifford Chance Compliance Policy from time to time or which may be ancillary to the responsibilities described above.
• Report promptly to the RMP, CR&CO and GHC on serious compliance violations in their respective country. Propose action aimed at preventing repeated violations in their respective country. Report other compliance violations promptly to offices or persons in a position to prohibit or sanction them.
• Report every six months to the GHC on compliance activities and compliance violations in their respective country.
• Report annually to the GHC on the assessment of any compliance risks which could lead to compliance violations or otherwise impair compliance objectives in their respective country.

Your experience

The successful candidate should meet the following criteria and have no less than 6 years prior working experience:

• Previous experience as a Compliance professional or other experience relevant to the role and its key responsibilities.
• Ability to work with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Good understanding of local bar regulations and law firms.
• Good understanding of local anti-money laundering, anti-bribery, data privacy and insider trading regulations.
• Experience in implementing internal policies and controls in relation to the above.
• Experience delivering compliance-related training.
• Professional compliance qualification will be considered favourably.
• Legal qualifications, particularly in the practice of common law, will be considered favourably.
• Ability to carry out responsibilities independently and take a leadership role.

Hybrid working

This role follows our 'balanced' hybrid working approach and as long as business needs allow, you will be supported to work in a hybrid way with the expectation of working from the office for a minimum of 50% of your time.

Equal opportunities

At Clifford Chance, we understand that our true asset is our people. Inclusion is good for our team and their families, our firm and society.

We are committed to treating all employees and applicants fairly and equally regardless of their gender, gender identity and expression, marital or civil partnership status, race, colour, national or ethnic origin, social or economic background, disability, religious belief, sexual orientation, or age. This applies to recruitment and selection, terms and conditions of employment including pay, promotion, training, transfer and every other aspect of employment.

We have a variety of flourishing employee networks. These networks are a place for colleagues to share experiences and advocate for change wherever they see an opportunity for improvement.

Our goal is to deliver an equality of opportunity, an equality of aspiration and an equality of experience to everyone who works in our firm.

Find out more about our inclusive culture here.