Clyde & Co
Head of Business Acceptance Operations
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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
Application closing date: September 11th 2026
The Team
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.
The Role
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.
Key Responsibilities
- 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 programmes. Regularly review the firm's new business acceptance procedures to ensure continuous improvement and efficiencies.
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Essential Skills & Experience
- Proven strong experience in leading a global Business Acceptance team (or similar team leadership) and mentoring/developing a team.
- Excellent management skills and a proven ability to lead and drive multiple work-streams, projects and processes under time pressure.
- Track record of excellent, trusted relationships with Partners and Senior Management staff within a law firm environment.
- Extensive senior level experience in commercial and strategic decision-making in relation to business acceptance within a law firm environment.
- Proven ability to analyse facts and scenarios thoroughly and efficiently, to proactively put forward resolutions to problems, and to confidently make decisions and judgments on complex issues.
- Strategic and creative thinker who can enhance the service offering and instil improvement culture within the team.
- Regulatory compliance and risk management experience in a legal or professional services environment. In-depth understanding and practical experience of conflicts, financial crime, and compliance issues.
- Excellent engagement skills, including interviewing, facilitating, mediating, presenting, and stakeholder management. Able to inspire, influence, and motivate others.
- Experience of building business cases, including identifying and categorising costs and benefits and identifying and shortlisting options for business change.
- Strong knowledge of Microsoft Office and Intapp applications.
- Innovative and able to manage and implement change even in the face of adversity.
- Service-oriented, with a pragmatic approach to supporting a business with technology.
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The Firm
When you work at Clyde & Co, you join a team of 500 partners, 2,400 lawyers, 3,200 legal professionals and 5,500 people in nearly 70 offices and associated offices worldwide. Our values are the principles that guide the decisions we make, unite us in our endeavours and strengthen our delivery, for both our clients and our firm. We work as one, excel with clients, celebrate difference and act boldly. We are committed to operating in a responsible way by progressing towards a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects the communities and clients it serves. We are devoted to providing an environment in which everyone can realise their potential, using its legal and professional skills to support its communities. We do this through pro bono work, volunteering and charitable partnerships, and minimising the impact it has on the environment, including through our commitment to the SBTi Net-Zero standard and the setting of ambitious emissions reduction targets.
Our Commitment
Clyde & Co is proud to be an equal opportunities employer. Our values encourage us to support fairness, celebrate diversity and prohibit all forms of discrimination in the workplace to allow everyone to excel at work. Therefore, we welcome and encourage all applications from suitably qualified individuals, regardless of background or identity. Learn more about our interview process.
A Note on Privacy
Please take a moment to read our privacy notice. This describes what personal information Clyde & Co (we) may hold about you, what it’s used for, how it’s obtained, your rights and how to contact us as a data subject. If you are submitting a candidate as a Recruitment Agency Partner, it is an essential requirement and your responsibility to ensure that candidates applying to Clyde & Co are aware of this privacy notice. This is the job description as constituted at present; however, Clyde & Co reserves the right to reasonably amend it in accordance with the changing needs of the business.
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