Head of Business Acceptance Operations

Job Description | Head of Business Acceptance Operations Business Acceptance — Legal & Risk Department

Department: Business Acceptance (Legal & Risk)

Location: London or Manchester

Role: Full time

Reporting line: Director of Legal & Risk

Final date to receive applications: September 11th 2026

You will be part of the Business Acceptance Team, reporting to the Director of Legal & Risk. The team manages the firm's end-to-end business intake process, including conflicts, anti-money laundering, and sanctions checks, ensuring that new matters and clients meet our regulatory obligations while supporting the firm's go-to-market strategy. The Business Acceptance Team consists of Senior Managers, Managers, Team Leaders, Senior Conflicts and Compliance Analysts, Conflicts and Compliance Analysts, Conflicts and Compliance Assistants, Paralegals and Administration Assistants.

The team operates from the UK, US, UAE, and Australia. The Business Acceptance Team is part of the Legal & Risk Department which provides support to the firm's Senior Management and to the wider business, to ensure that the firm develops and maintains the very highest standards of professional conduct, optimally manages its risk and sets a healthy risk culture, ensuring compliance globally with its legal and regulatory requirements.

• Overall responsibility for the delivery of operational excellence and exceptional stakeholder experience in relation to the firm's business acceptance services.
• Manage the Business Acceptance Team, ensuring appropriate training, support and guidance is provided to maximise development, both personally and technically.
• Oversee the new business intake process, with responsibility for identifying and managing potential risks associated with new business, while ensuring the timely global opening of clients and matters. This includes maintaining a proportionate, fit-for-purpose approach to conflicts and CDD that complies with all relevant regulatory requirements.
• Lead the development and management of the firm's new business acceptance policies, procedures, and systems. Leverage technology to enhance and streamline the matter inception process, driving efficiency through greater automation, standardisation, and centralisation of new business intake.
• Promote and encourage a continuous improvement and innovation mindset within the global team in relation to all working practices.

• Head the Business Acceptance Team, assume line management responsibility, including proactive performance management.
• Have principal responsibility and accountability for the Business Acceptance service provided to the firm, including (i) ensuring the team's service levels are maintained at a high level and that workload is managed by the team and completed, (ii) maintaining the trusted relationships between Business Acceptance and the firm's Partners and (iii) further building close links between the BA team and the firm's business.
• Analyse and resolve (or, where appropriate, facilitate resolution of) complex and challenging professional and commercial issues relating to business acceptance and client engagement, including those referred by Partners and the BA Team.
• Promote the department to the wider firm by building and maintaining a "trusted business partner" relationship with key stakeholders.
• Develop and implement structures, strategies and plans for the future development of the BA Team. Provide input and strategic direction for projects relevant to the Legal & Risk Department.
• Support the continuing professional development of the BA Team. Provide guidance and support to senior team members in their management of the day-to-day operations of Business Acceptance, ensuring adequate team coverage to meet business requirements.
• Lead on resource management within the team, including formulating business cases for any proposed new hires and other changes to the team's responsibilities, resources, promotions and structures.
• Ensure that all team members have appropriate training and that their work is quality checked to ensure the BA Team provides a consistently high level of service.
• Guide the team on more complex or sensitive issues and be a point of escalation for complex and sensitive issues where this is deemed appropriate.
• Deliver on strategic priorities and key initiatives in line with the firm's values. Elicit and manage business requirements across a variety of significant business-led change, process and technology projects and…