Head of Risk & Compliance (6 Month FTC)

Salary: £90,000-£120,000 Location: Flexible/Hybrid 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-growing tech startups and an SRA-regulated Alternative Business Structure (ABS) on a mission to make legal help accessible to everyone. Backed by top-tier investors including Google Ventures, Balderton Capital, and TQ Ventures with a $40M Series A behind us, we are growing fast and reimagining what a general-practice law firm can be through our bespoke AI operating system. Lawhive Limited is our technology company; Lawhive Legal Ltd is our SRA-regulated law firm through which all legal services are delivered. Within a clear Three Lines of Defence (3LoD) framework, we operate a technology-native law firm that supports an extensive network of consultant lawyers across the UK alongside an in-house delivery model. To support our rapid growth, we are looking for a Head of Risk & Compliance to step in as our designated COLP, MLCO, MLRO, and DPO. In this independent Second Line role, you will take full ownership of our compliance framework, complete the embedding of remaining platform capabilities, and ensure our controls continue to operate seamlessly alongside our cutting-edge tech.

As Head of Risk & Compliance, you will serve as the reliable, independent Second Line authority for compliance across Lawhive Legal Ltd. Holding the core statutory roles (COLP, MLCO, MLRO, and DPO), your mission is to maintain uncompromised adherence to regulatory principles while demonstrating sharp commercial awareness to enable business growth safely. Having nearly completed an extensive programme to strengthen our firm-wide framework, this role offers a high degree of ownership and direct access to the Board.

Statutory Compliance: Hold the COLP, MLCO, MLRO, and DPO roles for Lawhive Legal Ltd with direct Board access, managing SRA relations and regulatory notifications, ownership of the EWRA. Control Embedding & System Adoption: Partner with tech and ops teams as platform features land, ensuring automated compliance gates for onboarding, AML, conflicts, and client money are fully embedded and operationalised. Commercial 2LoD Oversight: Deliver independent Second Line monitoring, challenge, and advice across regulatory, conduct, and financial crime risks. Financial Crime & SAR Management: Evaluate internal SARs, file external SARs, manage high-risk AML escalations, and maintain financial crime risk registers. Breaches & Escalations: Own the compliance breach framework, oversee incident/complaint reporting, and manage SRA reportability assessments. Pragmatic Advisory: Provide authoritative regulatory guidance to business leaders and legal teams to support innovation while safeguarding standards. Independent Judgement: Exercise independent regulatory judgement, challenge senior stakeholders constructively, and escalate issues when required. What