Head of Risk & Compliance

Methodfi; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 130,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading tech startup is seeking a Head of Risk & Compliance to oversee compliance functions and manage a high-performing team. Located in London with a hybrid model of 2-3 days onsite, this role requires over 5 years of experience in a regulated environment, strong knowledge of AML, and the ability to implement compliance strategies. The ideal candidate will mentor junior staff while ensuring a robust compliance framework is in place. Attractive salary and equity options available.

Benefits

Meaningful early-stage equity

33 days' annual leave

Pension contribution

20% off legal fees

Top-spec equipment

Regular team building activities

Qualifications

• 5+ years in a SRA-regulated law firm with operational compliance experience.
• Strong generalist knowledge across AML, conflicts, and data protection.
• Proven experience building and managing teams.

Responsibilities

• Translate group strategy into practical compliance processes and guidelines.
• Lead and mentor Compliance Operatives for quality assurance.
• Oversee all compliance functions including AML and data protection.

Skills

Operational compliance

Regulatory knowledge (AML, data protection)

Team leadership

Pragmatic mindset

Tools

Airtable

Tally

Slack

Job description

Head of Risk & Compliance

Salary: £130,000-£160,000 + share options

Location: London/Hybrid - 2-3 days per week onsite

About Lawhive

Our mission is to make the law accessible to everyone.

The legal industry is built on technology and process that hasn’t been updated in hundreds of years - that’s why we’ve reinvented the entire model from the ground‑up with our own bespoke AI operating system at the core.

Lawhive is a regulated law firm with an AI-native platform built to amplify expertise and revolutionise the way people practice law, leading to exceptional outcomes for clients and lawyers.

Lawhive Labs is how we bring this vision to life. It’s our frontier lab that combines top engineering, design, AI and legal talent from around the world, joining forces to build the future of law.

We’re backed by top‑tier investors including Google Ventures, Balderton Capital and TQ Ventures and in December 2024 we secured $40M Series A funding round to facilitate international expansion and to grow our team, representing one of the five largest Series A rounds in Europe for 2024.

We’re headquartered in London and in 2025 successfully launched in the US…and we’re just getting started.

Risk & Compliance at Lawhive

We are both one of Europe’s fastest‑growth tech start‑ups and an ABS with multiple regulated law firms within our network that provide legal services to customers to help improve access to justice.

As a result we have to support our extensive (and ever‑growing) network of consultant lawyers spread all over the UK with their compliance needs and ensure that Lawhive’s clients receive the highest quality of legal advice.

In order to do this we need a market‑leading and future‑proof risk and compliance function capable of managing multiple competing priorities daily, providing robust strategic advice to the business and ensuring that all our regulatory requirements are met through our novel and tech‑native approach to providing legal services.

We have a small, high‑performing team currently at Lawhive and are looking to scale our team and their output to further enable and fast‑track our growth.

The Role

As Head of Risk & Compliance, you will serve as the dedicated go‑to compliance authority within the business, working directly under the COLP/COFA. Your mission is to execute on the group compliance strategy, embed a robust compliance framework, and ensure that all day‑to‑day compliance functions run smoothly. This is a pivotal role for a highly capable compliance professional with the ambition and potential to grow into Group Head of Compliance as we scale.

What You’ll Do:

• Framework & Policy Execution: Translate group strategy into practical processes, controls and guidance
• Team Management & Development: Directly lead and mentor Compliance Operatives both for Lawhive Legal and our newly acquired firm, Woodstock Legal Services, managing workloads and quality‑assuring outputs
• Operational Oversight: Oversee all BAU compliance functions (AML, conflicts, data protection, etc.) and act as the first line of escalation from the Operative
• Monitoring & QA: Conduct regular file reviews and spot checks; report key findings and risks to the business
• Advisory & Support: Serve as a trusted, solutions‑focused compliance advisor to lawyers and business leaders
• Help to develop and shape cutting‑edge AI tools built in‑house to optimise and deliver compliance support to our businesses in a timely and professional manner

What You’ll Bring

Someone who'll come in and establish themselves as the go‑to person for compliance across the Lawhive group, and who enjoys building and scaling a team and putting their own stamp on it while executing on company‑led strategy. You’ll need a genuine passion to build a career in risk and compliance with strong demonstrated experience working within highly regulated environments and proven experience building and managing teams. We need someone ambitious, with the drive to grow into a Group Head of Compliance role and actively contribute towards Lawhive’s global ambitions.

Requirements:

• Experience: 5+ years in a SRA-regulated law firm with proven operational compliance experience, ideally with exposure to building or scaling processes
• Knowledge: Strong generalist knowledge across AML, conflicts, data protection, and SRA Accounts Rules
• Leadership: Experience or aptitude for supervising/mentoring junior staff.
• Mindset: Pragmatic, commercial, and autonomous, with a clear appetite to step up into a leadership role as the business grows

Nice to Have:

• Experience working within a remote/hybrid start‑up environment
• Cross jurisdictional/international exposure within the compliance sector
• Experience working with process building resources such as Airtable, Tally, Slack etc.

Interview process

• Introductory call with our Talent team
• 1:1 with your hiring manager
• Technical interview / practical skills assessment
• Culture‑fit interview with one of our Founders focusing on approach to work and alignment with Lawhive’s continued growth.
• We offer!

Benefits

• 💰 Meaningful early‑stage equity at one of Europe’s fastest growing startups
• ✈️ 33 days’ annual leave (25 + bank holidays) plus your birthday off
• 💰 Pension contribution via Nest
• 💷 20% off legal fees through Lawhive
• 💻 Top‑spec equipment
• ⛳️ Regular team building activities and socials!

Diversity at Lawhive

At Lawhive we know that diversity of thought is critical to delivering outlier outcomes. As such, we’re always working hard to ensure we build a diverse, inclusive team. We’re not yet where we want to be but as we scale we’ll only ever increase the focus we apply to this.