The purpose of the role

As a Senior Compliance Officer, you will be responsible for ensuring the group complies with the regulatory requirements of the relevant regulator. The group’s regulators are Ofwat, Ofcom, WICS and Ofgem. You will be the first point of contact for the relevant regulator.

The ideal candidate must have significant regulatory expertise in a compliance role, within the water or telecommunications industry.

Responsibilities of the role

• Use regulatory expertise to ensure the business meets all relevant regulatory requirements.
• Identify and remediate any areas of non-compliance.
• Embed a strong compliance culture across the business. Role model expected behaviours and challenge behaviours that don’t align with expected behaviours.
• Work flexibly and collaboratively with the business to creatively resolve challenging issues, using knowledge of internal or external business issues.
• Provide industry specific input to allow the business to submit responses to regulatory documents such as consultations, requests for information and decisions.
• Quantify risk and implement necessary adjustments in the light of changes to the regulatory landscape.
• Update the business on its regulatory performance and feedback from the regulators. Provide pragmatic solutions to stakeholders in line with key business objectives.
• Provide industry specific expertise and input to allow the business to maintain a regulatory risk register which identifies compliance risks and mitigation plans.
• Maintain close, constructive working relationships with regulators, ADR providers, external advisers and industry peers.
• Present reports/presentations/updates to senior management and regulatory bodies as required.
• Proactively ensure training materials/standard terms and conditions/scripts/marketing/PR copy/any other business materials meet regulatory requirements.
• Conduct detailed customer account reviews for auditing purposes and to ensure fair, fact-based resolutions for customers. Lead the provision of feedback and additional training where required as a result of compliance risks.
• Lead “lessons learnt” exercises.
• Assist the Executive Complaints team where required with the following:
  • the resolution of executive and high-level complaints (as a point of escalation);
  • the preparation of Ombudsman case files/implementation of remedies.

What success in the role looks like

• Driving change to enable the achievement of key business objectives and regulatory requirements through timely and effective regulatory expertise.
• All regulatory requirements are met in line with a changing regulatory landscape.
• Demonstrate organisational awareness and see the bigger picture while working towards objectives
• Be known as a pragmatic expert in regulatory compliance and a real team player.

What you need to have already done to be right for this role

• Significant regulatory expertise in a compliance role within the water or telecommunications industry.
• Commercial awareness and the ability to balance business needs with regulatory requirements.
• Relatable and positive experience of working in a fast-paced transforming organisation, where everything isn’t perfect, but we’re working hard to get there.

The personal capabilities needed to excel in this role)

• The ability to distil complex rules and guidance into simple communications.
• A confident and concise communication style, both verbally and in writing.
• The self-awareness to identify own development needs and the desire to continually improve both self and the team.
• The ability to manage multiple tasks and work with minimal supervision.
• The ability to work successfully as part of a team - to bring people and teams together, to provide support to, and learn from, other team members, to challenge practices that don’t align with business values and to drive solutions.

Qualifications and other requirements

• Degree or equivalent.
• Significant prior experience of working in a regulated sector in a compliance role.
• Location: Within commuting distance of Verastar HQ, Sale, Manchester.
• IT literate, with knowledge of the effective use of Microsoft (Word, excel PowerPoint); essential.