Location: London (Mayfair)
Salary: Competitive, dependent on experience
Type: Full-time preferred; part-time or flexible arrangements will be considered for the right candidate
Regulatory status: FCA SMF16/17 approval required
Reporting line: Works closely with the firm's SMF3 Executive Director function and senior leadership
About the Firm
Our client is a boutique, FCA-regulated wealth management firm based in Mayfair, London, serving a mixed book of retail and professional clients. It is a lean, owner-led operation, structured so that senior appointments carry genuine influence rather than sitting several layers removed from decision-making. As the firm continues to build out its senior team, robust compliance oversight sits at the centre of how it operates.
This is a firm where compliance isn't a back-office afterthought — it's treated as core to the business's credibility with clients and its standing with the regulator. The successful candidate will be joining at a point where that function is being actively strengthened.
The Role
As SMF16/17 holder, you will take formal FCA accountability for the firm's compliance framework and financial crime controls under the Senior Managers & Certification Regime (SMCR). This combines the Compliance Oversight function (SMF16) with the Money Laundering Reporting Officer role (SMF17) — a common pairing at firms of this size, where a single accountable individual owns both the regulatory compliance monitoring programme and the firm's AML/financial crime controls.
You will work closely with the firm's SMF3 Executive Director, forming the core of the firm's senior governance team, and will act as the firm's principal point of contact for FCA supervisory engagement. Given the firm's size, this is a hands-on role — you will be designing and running the compliance function personally, not delegating to a larger team beneath you.
What You'll Do
- Hold SMF16 (Compliance Oversight) and SMF17 (Money Laundering Reporting Officer) accountability under SMCR
- Design, implement and maintain the firm's compliance monitoring programme, covering both retail and professional client business lines
- Own the firm's AML and wider financial crime policies, procedures, monitoring and reporting, including suspicious activity reporting where required
- Act as the firm's principal point of contact for FCA supervisory matters, regulatory returns, and ad hoc regulator engagement
- Work closely with the SMF3 Executive Director and wider team to embed a strong, practical compliance culture across a small firm
- Keep the firm's policies and procedures current against evolving FCA rules and guidance, including SMCR requirements themselves
- Support staff training on compliance and financial crime obligations across the business
What You'll Bring
- Proven experience in a compliance oversight and/or MLRO capacity within a regulated financial services firm, ideally wealth management, investment advice, or a related regulated sector
- Strong working knowledge of SMCR, the FCA Handbook, and UK AML/financial crime regulation
- Comfort operating in a small firm environment, where you'll own the function directly rather than manage a large compliance department
- A track record supporting both retail and professional client business lines, with an understanding of how suitability and conduct obligations differ across the two
- Confidence engaging directly with the FCA and representing the firm in supervisory conversations
- Sound, practical judgement — the ability to translate regulatory requirements into workable day-to-day processes for a small team
Package and Working Arrangements
Salary is competitive and will be set according to experience. While the firm's preference is for a full-time appointment, part-time or flexible arrangements will genuinely be considered for the right candidate — this role can be discussed and shaped around what works for both sides during the process.
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