Client Onboarding Officer

Birketts is a full service, UK Top 50 law firm. With a heritage spanning 160 years, we have more than 700 lawyers and legal professionals based in Bristol, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Ipswich, London, Norwich and Sevenoaks. We advise businesses, government and public sector organisations and individuals in the UK and internationally across four principal practice groups: Real Estate, Corporate Services, Dispute Resolution and Private Client.

We are defined by our Next Level Law proposition. We work with our clients as a proactive partner, horizon scanning and thinking ahead to the changes, challenges or opportunities that they may face.

Next Level Law is also applied to our people. Our collegiate culture means everyone is encouraged to achieve their next level in everything they do.  RollOnFriday recently ranked us as the 5th best law firm to work at in 2024.

With our ambition to succeed, comes a strong desire to make a positive contribution to the communities we serve, and we are committed to delivering the objectives set out in our ESG strategy. Diversity plays an integral part in all that we do, with female partners comprising 40% of our partnership.

Working closely with the Corporate Services Division (the “CSD”) and the seven distinct Practice Groups within the division as well as with the Business Services (Risk and Compliance, Business Change), this is an exciting new role to improve the way the firm approaches client onboarding.  The successful candidate will create a blueprint for this embedded specialist in-division support role to be rolled out across the firm if successful at proof of concept stage. The CSD includes the following Practice Groups of lawyers and support staff: Banking, Commercial Services, Corporate, Employment, Immigration, Charities, Tax.

The CSD Client Onboarding Officer will have valuable expertise to support teams getting files open as efficiently as possible.  (S)he/they will act as a conduit between the lawyers in his/her/their Division and the experts in Risk and Compliance who specify the firm’s due diligence requirements.

Defining a new process: The primary point of contact in the CSD for client onboarding, you will determine how this role can add the greatest value to the file opening process.  Working with lawyers and administrative support, and Risk and Compliance, you will carve out the tasks you need to assume to make the process more efficient and effective. Depending on the number of fee earners, this could mean assuming responsibility for the full onboarding process – or taking over at the point of specifying and checking the evidence to satisfy AML requirements.

Offering Risk advice to the lawyers in the CSD Practice Groups: You will receive additional training to enable you to act as first level support to the Division.  This will allow you to support members of the Division by responding to queries that they would otherwise have escalated to Risk and Compliance.  Tasks will include checking that fee earners have provided sufficient detail to open a file; stipulating the evidence required for AML based on entity type; communicating with the client if required; verifying that the evidence provided is correct.  You may be given access to tools used by the Risk and Compliance team to further upskill you to deal with more complex queries.

Managing stakeholders: Build and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders (your team, Risk and Compliance, the client), ensuring their needs and expectations are met. Act as the primary point of contact for more questions that, in the current process, would slow down file opening.

Improving performance: Diligent ownership of this core function means that you will improve measurable outcomes for the Practice Groups in your Division.  You will: 

• reduce the time it takes for files to be opened through close management of matters
• improve client and lawyer AML and on-boarding experience
• bring down WIP that cannot be billed because AML is outstanding
• improve adherence to SRA regulations by sharing your increased knowledge of requirements with the Division.

Ideally you will have worked within a law firm, other professional services firm or a bank where AML requirements, sanctions checking and good governance rules also apply. Alternatively you may be a law graduate with an interest in law firms and/or governance and keen to experience working in a responsible high compliance legal environment.  

Previous involvement in change projects would also be highly desirable as are good software skills and ability to learn new systems and be something of a detective!

Skills:

• Excellent organisational and multi-tasking abilities.
• Superior communication and people skills.
• Ability to read and understand rules and regulations and correctly apply them.
• Ability to collaborate with multiple stakeholders to find solutions.
• Ability to set and monitor relevant metrics to identify the impact of change.
• Ability to understand, adopt and work with a range of new IT systems.

Attributes:

• Analytical thinker with a focus on process improvement.
• Meticulous with a strong focus on quality and accuracy.
• Initiative-taking and able to work independently.
• ‘Can-do’ attitude and ambassador for change.

At Birketts, our culture is driven by ambition and a commitment to positively impact all the communities we serve. We are dedicated to the success, development, and wellbeing of our colleagues, helping them achieve their goals and seize the opportunities that come with our growth. Alongside a flexible and inclusive work environment, we offer the following core benefits:

• 25 days holiday (FTE) plus Bank Holidays 
• Long Service holiday award – 1 extra week every 10 years continuous service
• Private Healthcare with BUPA (offered after probation is passed)
• Scottish Widows Pension Scheme (5% employer / 5% Employee)
• Staff Profit Share and Individual Performance Bonus Scheme 
• Salary sacrifice (Pensions, Staff Profit Share)
• Life Assurance - 4 x salary / Permanent Health Insurance
• Paid CSR Day
• Enhanced Maternity/Paternity Leave
• Subsidised gym membership
• Electric car scheme
• Agile/Hybrid Working Policy
• Dress for your Day Policy

https://www.birketts.co.uk/recognition-reward-benefits/

Birketts is a flexible business which has embraced a hybrid working model where our colleagues enjoy a mix of home and office working. We welcome applications from people looking for flexible, agile, and part-time roles and we are happy to explore your preferred working patterns as part of your application. 

Please note that this job profile is not an exhaustive list of duties but merely an outline of the key components of the role. You may be required by your line manager to take on additional responsibilities when requested.

Birketts is committed to being an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our policy is unequivocal: we do not tolerate discrimination based on age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, or sexual orientation.

We pride ourselves on being an inclusive organisation that actively promotes equality of opportunity for all, valuing the right mix of talent, skills, and potential. We welcome applications from a diverse range of candidates, and selection for roles is based solely on individual merit.