Compliance Manager - UAE

Who we are

We are one of the largest international law firms in the world. With over 30 offices across the globe, we strive to exceed the expectations of our clients, providing them with the highest-quality advice and legal insight, which combines the firm’s global standards with in-depth local expertise.

Our firm, work and people span jurisdictions, cultures, and languages. We offer our clients a truly international perspective. We believe every career should be rewarding and stimulating - full of opportunities to learn, thrive, and grow. That’s why we’re so proud of our inclusive, friendly, and team-based approach to work.

You’ll find our clients in commercial and industrial sectors, the financial investor community, governments, regulators, trade bodies, and not-for-profit organisations. But no matter who they are or why they’ve reached out to us, we provide a world-class service every step of the way. And that’s possible thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit and conscientious approach to work that you’ll find across all of our teams.

Whichever area of the business you join, you’ll become an integral part an innovative, diverse and ambitious team of people. Clifford Chance is a place where the brightest minds and the best of colleagues meet.

The role

The Local Compliance Manager is the senior in-country lead for the Firm's compliance in the UAE, covering both the Dubai and Abu Dhabi offices. The role is responsible for ensuring that global compliance objectives are implemented in the UAE and that policies and processes are implemented locally in a way that meets UAE legal and regulatory requirements. The Local Compliance Manager is the senior in-country lead for the Firm's compliance in the UAE, covering both the Dubai and Abu Dhabi offices. The role is responsible for ensuring that global compliance objectives are implemented in the UAE and that policies and processes are implemented locally in a way that meets UAE legal and regulatory requirements.

Job purpose

The role reports to Head of Compliance, ME Markets and Türkiye ("HOC") and the designated Office Managing Partner ("OMP") and supporting the Chief Risk and Compliance Officer ("CR&CO"), the Money Laundering Reporting Officer ("MLRO"), the Global Compliance Team and local management, and relevant Business Professional leaders. The Local Compliance Manager is expected to act as a trusted adviser to partners, lawyers and business professionals, while also challenging decisions, escalating issues where necessary and maintaining oversight where there are compliance risks.

Key responsibilities

The Local Compliance Manager's accountabilities include the following areas. The allocation of responsibilities may evolve as the Compliance Policy, Compliance Framework, regulatory requirements and the Firm's business needs develop.

Local compliance leadership and governance

• Lead the implementation, operation and continuous development of compliance in the UAE, considering global compliance relevant topics and objectives, local laws and regulations, regulatory expectations and the Firm's strategy.
• Own day-to-day local delivery of the Compliance Framework in the UAE, with clear accountability and escalation to senior management where required.
• Act as the local representative for Compliance in the UAE and promote a positive compliance culture across partners, lawyers and business professionals.
• Maintain effective working relationships with local management and key stakeholders so that local and global compliance responses are coordinated and consistent.
• Develop and maintain a Technology and AI Risk Framework, aligned to legal sector regulatory expectations and industry best practice.
• Advise senior stakeholders (including CIO, CTO, Innovation teams, and partners) on risk, regulatory and reputational implications of technology adoption.
• Collaborate closely with key stakeholders to ensure that AI Risk oversight complements and supports the firm's information security, data privacy and enterprise risk management frameworks.
• Ensure alignment with firm-wide risk appetite and governance standards.

Risk assessment, horizon scanning and controls

• Identify, assess and document UAE compliance-relevant risks and compliance-relevant concerns, including risks arising from changes in law, regulation, regulator expectations, client requirements, Firm systems, local business activities or global policy developments.
• Lead local input into the Compliance Risk Assessment, the UAE risk register, UAE risk assessments and any Compliance Plan for new or changing compliance requirements.
• Design, implement and improve proportionate local controls and preventive monitoring mechanisms for compliance objectives, working with the HOC, CR&CO, Global Compliance Team and relevant subject matter experts.
• Monitor legal, regulatory and market developments in the UAE that may affect the Firm's compliance obligations or controls and advise the OMP, HOC and other stakeholders on impact, required action and timing.
• Identify incidences, trends or indicators of non-compliance, determine appropriate remedial steps with the relevant stakeholders and monitor completion of agreed actions.

Policies, processes, training and communications

• Lead local implementation of global compliance policies, processes and guidelines and ensure local awareness, understanding and adoption across the UAE offices.
• Where local requirements are more stringent, different or require a documented deviation from the global minimum, work with the Global Compliance Team to design, document, approve and communicate the local approach.
• Contribute UAE input to new or amended global compliance policies and processes, ensuring that local requirements and practical implementation issues are identified early.
• Lead the development, implementation and monitoring of mandatory risk and compliance training programmes, including local training needs, completion tracking, issue escalation and follow-up for non-completion or poor performance.
• Develop and deliver effective communications on compliance topics for the UAE, including new requirements, policy changes, regulatory developments, lessons learned from incidents and expectations for compliant conduct.

Monitoring, assurance, reporting and escalation

• Monitor compliance performance locally against agreed requirements, controls and indicators, including through reporting packs, file reviews, self-assessments, sample testing and issue tracking as appropriate.
• Prepare clear and timely reports for management, and other relevant stakeholders on compliance activities, compliance performance, incidents, breaches, material risks and remediation status.
• Report serious compliance violations promptly to management, and propose practical action aimed at preventing recurrence.
• Provide compliance related responses to internal audit, compliance assurance and regulator-facing review activity relating to the UAE offices, including scoping, evidence gathering, management responses and remediation tracking.
• Maintain appropriate records evidencing local compliance activity, decisions, approvals, risk assessments, controls, training, monitoring, reports and remediation.

AML and counter-terrorist financing

• Support the MLRO in discharging UAE AML, counter-terrorist financing, and counter-proliferation financing responsibilities, including suspicious transaction reporting, appropriate regulatory and filing processes and regulator-facing engagement.
• Lead coordination and preparation of UAE AML and related regulatory filings for the Dubai and Abu Dhabi offices, including annual AML returns, annual information returns and responses to thematic or supervisory reviews.
• Prepare and maintain the UAE Business Risk Assessment, ensuring alignment with relevant UAE national risk assessments, regulatory expectations, local business activities, the Firm's controls and the Client Acceptance Team's policies and procedures.
• Advise the Client Acceptance Team to ensure UAE KYC, screening and sanctions requirements are properly documented, including screening against the UAE Local Terrorist List and UN sanctions lists and coordinating any required reporting.
• Conduct or coordinate local file reviews, quality control activity and annual self-assessments of UAE AML compliance, including the annual Abu Dhabi file audit and related remediation tracking.
• Attend and cascade mandatory training or briefings issued by relevant UAE authorities and regulators.

Data privacy and information governance

• Act as the main point of contact for data privacy matters in the UAE, working closely with the firm's data privacy team. Help raise awareness of data privacy requirements and support the consistent application of the firm's data privacy policies, procedures, and controls across the office.
• Coordinate UAE data privacy compliance, including local regulatory requirements and annual registration processes for the Dubai and Abu Dhabi offices
• Engage with the data privacy team regarding the implementation of global data privacy requirements with extraterritorial effect, including GDPR where relevant.
• Work with central compliance, data privacy and information governance stakeholders to escalate incidents, advise on queries and manage process changes affecting the UAE offices.

Other compliance topics and local regulatory support

• Provide advice and guidance to partners, lawyers, and business professionals on a range of compliance matters, including anti-bribery and corruption, gifts and hospitality, personal conflicts of interest, whistleblowing, market conduct and insider trading. Support the business in understanding and complying with the firm's broader compliance framework and regulatory obligations.
• Advise local management, as required, in relation to maintaining the Firm's UAE licences and related regulatory filings, while recognising the allocation of responsibilities between Compliance, Legal, Finance, HR, IT, Procurement and other functions under the Compliance Framework.
• Act as a first point of contact for UAE compliance questions, incidents, breaches or concerns and route matters to the appropriate global or local owner where another function has primary responsibility.

Reporting obligations

• Report promptly to the management where appropriate, on serious compliance violations in the UAE, together with proposed action aimed at preventing repeated violations.
• Report every six months to management on UAE compliance activities, compliance performance, compliance violations and material remediation activity, in the format and timing stipulated by the HOC.
• Report annually to the HOC on the assessment of UAE compliance risks that could lead to compliance violations or otherwise impair compliance objectives, including changes in law, regulation, business activity or control effectiveness.
  
  
  
  

Your experience

The successful candidate should have significant relevant experience and should be able to operate as a senior, credible and independent compliance professional in a complex, international professional services environment. The following experience and capabilities are expected:

• Significant experience in compliance, risk, regulatory, legal or a closely related function, with demonstrable responsibility for implementing policies, controls, monitoring, reporting and remediation.
• Good understanding of the regulatory environment for legal consultancy firms and international law firms operating in the UAE, including Dubai, DIFC, Abu Dhabi and ADGM contexts as relevant to the Firm.
• Good working knowledge of UAE AML, counter-terrorist financing, sanctions, counter-proliferation financing, anti-bribery and corruption, data privacy and market conduct requirements, including how these interact with global law firm policies and controls.
• Ability to translate legal and regulatory requirements into practical, proportionate controls, processes, training and communications for partners, lawyers and business professionals.
• Strong judgment, independence and confidence to challenge appropriately, escalate serious issues and advise senior stakeholders on risk, impact and remediation.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build effective relationships and work collaboratively with partners, senior management, global compliance colleagues, business professional leaders, external advisers, and regulators.
• Experience conducting or supporting risk assessments, file reviews, compliance monitoring, assurance activities, incident management, and the preparation of management reporting.
• Experience delivering compliance training and communications to varied audiences.
• Professional compliance, legal, or regulatory qualifications are desirable.
• Able to independently manage a wide range of compliance responsibilities, balance competing regulatory requirements and business priorities, and successfully lead local or regional projects from initiation through to completion.
  
  
  
  

Hybrid working

This role follows our 'balanced' hybrid working approach and as long as business needs allow, you will be supported to work in a hybrid way in line with the hybrid working policy.

Equal opportunities

At Clifford Chance, we forge an inclusive culture, where diverse perspectives are recognised and valued. It’s a culture where everyone has equal access to opportunities to thrive and succeed. We are guided by our values-based Code, which sets high standards of conduct and has a principle focused on being inclusive.

We comply with the law and regulations in every location where we operate and we are committed to delivering fair and equal access to all applicants and employees irrespective of background. This applies across all aspects of employment from recruitment and selection to development, progression, and day-to-day working life.

Our global network of affinity, faith and support groups are open to all. These communities help to create an environment where everyone at the firm can feel they belong and can reach their full potential.

Find out more about our inclusive culture here.