Client & Matter Inception (CMI) Manager

Key responsibilities

- Line-manage the UK CMI team (Team Leads, Senior Officers): conduct regular 1:1s, annual/interim reviews, objectives and development plans; oversee recruitment, onboarding and probation. - Foster an inclusive, high-performance culture focused on quality, efficiency, client service and continuous development; recognise and address performance and wellbeing issues promptly. - Set clear priorities and expectations for the team, and monitor output to ensure the SLA is being met.

- Oversee end-to-end workflow management, with the Team Leads handling day-to-day allocation; set throughput targets; anticipate and address capacity constraints and backlogs. - Support the CMI Ops Manager to monitor multi-jurisdictional matters and coordinate with international OC offices to drive timely clearances and consistent governance standards. - Serve as senior point of contact for operational queries and escalate to the CMI leadership team where appropriate.

- Provide senior oversight on complex or sensitive CMI matters (e.g. significant client relationships, cross-border conflicts, reputational risk); make decisions within policy and recommend exceptions with rationale. - Ensure consistent application of conflicts, confidential information and information barrier procedures; partner with AML leadership on risk-based approaches, and enhanced due diligence. - Oversee delivery of training to ensure efficient progression through competencies, and conduct routine quality assurance on training outputs produced by CMI Officers and Compliance Assistants.

- Build strong relationships with Practice Group leads, senior fee earners and business services teams; act as primary liaison to the wider business on CMI processes and service. - Partner with Finance to support compliance with the Solicitors’ Accounts Rules and other financial controls. - Support new office launches, lateral hire onboarding and other firm-wide initiatives impacting CMI.

- Promote continuous improvement and prioritise changes that enhance quality, increase efficiency and improve the internal client experience. - You may also be required to step into Senior Officer level activity when required to resolve urgent bottlenecks or safeguard key client deliverables; for high-impact matters, act as senior incident manager coordinating stakeholders while technical ownership typically sits with a Team Leads.

What we’re looking for

As this role acts as a point of escalation within the team, we are looking for someone who comes from a CMI background within a regulated sector. More specifically we will be looking for the below:

Technical competence Expert analytical and research skills with strong attention to detail; able to interpret complex corporate ownership structures, multi-jurisdictional conflict scenarios and nuanced AML risks.

Organisation Highly methodical and organised with advanced prioritisation skills; able to manage multiple complex and urgent matters concurrently, delivering consistently to deadlines and a high standard.

Client centric Strong client service mindset and professionalism; effective in a global, multicultural environment with the ability to influence and build trusted relationships at all levels.

Commerciality Strong understanding of the commercial context of a global law firm; able to balance risk management with client service and pragmatic delivery.

Communication Delivers clear, concise and actionable advice; able to constructively challenge and probe for the right information.

Decision making Exercises sound judgement and makes timely, independent decisions; remains calm under pressure and in challenging situations. Clear understanding of escalation thresholds; able to own decisions within policy and recommend well-reasoned exceptions.

Management Strong delegation and supervision skills; able to lead a team effectively and maintain momentum even with repetitive tasks.

Career and development Committed to the development of others; provides feedback, mentoring and knowledge-sharing; sets and maintains quality standards and role-models OC values. Demonstrates a genuine interest in the regulatory industry, and a commitment to continued personal and professional development within this career field.

Salary and benefits

We offer competitive salaries and generous benefits. We value the health and wellbeing of our people and our wide range of initiatives and benefits support this.

Our recruitment process

Please note that although we include closing dates for our roles as a guide, we review and progress applications on a rolling basis. At [Employer hidden — view at passion-project.co.uk] we do not make any recruitment decisions using automated decision-making.

We are committed to providing an environment where you can perform to the best of your abilities at every stage of your recruitment experience and beyond. If you require any adjustments to be made during the application stage, interview process, or when working with us, please let us know in confidence.