Head of Compliance, Ireland

Head of Compliance - Ireland

Job Description

As the Designated Person for the Regulatory Compliance managerial function of the Firm, the Head of Compliance for the Irish entities will have responsibility for developing, approving, and managing a Compliance Strategy which ensures the firm's, funds' and crew's adherence to Irish and other regulatory obligations.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Manages the Compliance Function, responsible for managing crew including oversight of the recruitment, training and performance management of crew. Liaises with other internal functions. Participates in development of departmental and project budgets. Ensures that Compliance department policies and procedures are designed, maintained, and are reviewed annually given the nature, scale and complexity of the Firm.
• Oversees the Fund activities undertaken on behalf of the Irish funds by both internal and external service and outsourced providers, including the transfer agents, fund accountants and custodians, as well as investment advisers, and other ancillary support functions provided by members within the Vanguard Group. Responsible for performing on-site visits of relevant delegates.
• Provides appropriate oversight of the regulated activities of the European branches of VGIL, working with the appropriate crew to provide comprehensive oversight and guidance in respect of the distribution activities carried out by the European branches to ensure that the branch operates within its regulatory permissions.
• Establishes the day to day oversight framework for achieving compliance including (but not limited to) - monitoring and communication of regulatory developments, the provision of crew induction and ongoing compliance training; management support and guidance on regulatory requirements; breaches and complaints management process; marketing and sales activities; roles and responsibilities for local market compliance. Reviews and maintains the regulated firm/fund fitness and propriety registration and compliance registers such as conflicts and restricted information. Assists the Firm in the creation of a monitoring and oversight framework that allows them to receive the information necessary to carry out their role as designated person.
• Provides regulatory guidance and appropriate oversight in respect of the creation, maintenance and assessment of existing and new Irish products.
• Oversees and directs the activities of the compliance monitoring team to ensure that the appropriate second line testing and monitoring of activities relating to the Irish regulated entities is undertaken in line with regulatory expectations.
• Monitoring compliance logs, and oversight of such logs to ensure they are appropriately maintained, in respect of investment breaches, pricing errors, complaints and compensation payments in respect of the Firm, all of which should be available for inspection by the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) on request.
• Acts as the primary contact for the CBI, coordinates regulatory information requests and prepares the for CBI inspections ensures that all regulatory returns are made completely, accurately and on a timely basis via the CBI Portal, liaising with all internal providers of such reporting and ensuring they are made aware and trained in their obligations, including changes to such reporting requirements.
• Provision of regular reporting to the Boards of the Irish companies, and the European Risk Committee, as well as to the International Chief Compliance Officer.
• Hires, evaluates, and supervises crew. Provides guidance and training as necessary to develop crew. Sets performance standards, reviews performance, and makes informed compensation decisions in accordance with all applicable Human Resources policies and procedures.
• Participates in special projects and performs other duties as assigned, including contributing to group wide projects.

Qualifications

• Significant Irish financial services experience within a compliance function, preferably within fund management.
• An appreciation of the UK and or US regulatory environment would be an advantage.
• Experience in relation to UCITS Fund regulations, and conduct of business/distribution rules.
• Proficient in the use of core Microsoft Office packages such as Word and Excel
• Undergraduate degree or an equivalent combination of training and experience.

Special Factors

• Vanguard is not offering visa sponsorship for this position.
• This is a Designated Person role.

How We Work

Vanguard has implemented a hybrid working model for the majority of our crew members, designed to capture the benefits of enhanced flexibility while enabling in-person learning, collaboration, and connection. We believe our mission-driven and highly collaborative culture is a critical enabler to support long-term client outcomes and enrich the employee experience.