Function: Risk & Compliance (Legal)

Location(s): London; UK or Europe(Hybrid)

Contract Type: Permanent

Role Purpose

The Compliance Manager will support the business to achieve its strategic objectives whilst ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and organisational policies and procedures.

About the Team

The Risk and Compliance team supports CDP in the design of effective controls to mitigate risks and support compliance with policy and regulatory requirements. The team plays a crucial role in supporting the organisation in understanding and meeting its regulatory obligations, advising management on risk appetite and risk-based decision making, and providing assurance to the Board on CDP’s management of its risk profile and compliance with internal rules and external laws and regulations.  

About CDP  

CDP is a not-for-profit charity that runs the global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts. The world’s economy looks to CDP as the gold standard of environmental reporting with the richest and most comprehensive dataset on corporate and city action. In 2021 we launched our new five-year strategy: Accelerating the Rate of Change - find out more here. Visit  https://cdp.net/en or follow us @CDP to find out more.  

Key responsibilities include:  

• Working with the Legal and Policy teams to drive the development and implementation of compliance measures and key controls to comply with evolving regulation of ESG ratings providers.
• Ensuring that Board risk appetite and corporate policies are reflected in processes.
• Assisting the organisation in the design and operationalisation of effective controls.
• Leading the design of a risk-based annual audit and compliance programme. Conducting spot checks and internal audit and compliance activity across processes spanning the organisation to assess their robustness and fitness for purpose, reporting on findings and providing clear recommendations and follow up.
• Working with the Risk Manager on developing Risk & Compliance Self Assessments and associated second line assurance, and helping the organisation move towards a three-lines-of-defence model.
• Ensuring that directorates include compliance require-ments (including training) in budget planning.
• Leading on raising awareness of compliance obligations and embedding these in process across CDP.
• Ensuring that compliance, integrity and privacy concerns and improvement opportunities are identified and effectively addressed through workshops, consultations, training sessions and the provision of clear guidance documents.
• Coordinating and carrying out compliance reports and investigations.
• Developing and continuously improving compliance monitoring and control systems to ensure continuing compliance, cost effectiveness and timeliness.
• Maintaining knowledge of corporate policies, regulations, charity and company law, and laws pertaining to matters such as safeguarding, data  privacy, health and safety etc at least in the UK, and with awareness of major trends in this area across major jurisdictions.

You will have the following skills and experience:

• Bachelor's degree in suitable field or equivalent professional qualification.
• 5+ years compliance/ audit experience.
• Demonstrable understanding of operational risk.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to quickly process information and relate that to the workings of CDP.
• Experience of working in a large complex organization effectively delivering, developing and embedding risk management practices.
• Strong analytical skills and judgement, with ability to handle large quantities and different types of data, analyze options, and present recommendations.

Salary and benefits:  £45,000 - £65,000 per annum, 30 days’ holiday (plus bank holidays), generous non-contributory pension provision, Employee Assistance Programme, life assurance, training and development, flexible working opportunities and other benefits.

Final offer amount depends on multiple factors such as candidates experience and expertise, geographic location, total compensation, and market data. Benefits will be offered based on specific regional requirements. Interested applicants must be eligible to work legally in one of CDP’s registered offices. We cannot sponsor for this role.

Before you apply 

We’ll only use the information you provide to process your application. For more details on how we use your information, see our applicant’s privacy notice. By uploading your CV and covering letter, you are permitting CDP to use the information you have provided for recruitment purposes.  

How to apply: 

Please upload your CV in the application form along with a covering letter as an additional document setting out how you meet the required skills and experience for this role, which should be no more than a page. We will be reviewing applications on a rolling basis. The closing date is 20th May, 2025. We are looking for the successful candidate to start as soon as possible.