Risk and Compliance Recruitment

Risk and compliance oversight in UK businesses sits primarily with the CFO or Finance Director. For most SMEs and mid-market businesses, the senior finance leader owns the regulatory framework, manages relationships with auditors and regulators, and ensures the business operates within its legal and financial obligations. FD Capital’s background in senior finance recruitment means we understand this brief well.

For businesses that have grown to the point where dedicated risk and compliance leadership is required — a Chief Risk Officer, Head of Compliance, or Director of Risk — we recruit those roles alongside our core CFO recruitment and Finance Director practice.

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“Adrian worked with us as our Fractional CFO for six months and we are genuinely grateful for the contribution he made. His financial expertise and calm, professional approach gave us confidence in our numbers and supported better decision-making across the business. I would recommend Adrian and FD Capital without hesitation.” — Josh Haugh, MAS Technicae Group (International) Ltd, West Sussex”

Depending on the size and regulatory complexity of the business, risk and compliance leadership takes different forms:

CFO and Finance Director with risk and compliance responsibility

The most common structure in UK SMEs. The CFO or FD owns enterprise risk management, regulatory compliance, and financial controls as part of their broader brief. Our Finance Director recruitment process identifies candidates with specific regulatory experience where the brief requires it.

Chief Risk Officer (CRO)

A dedicated CRO is typically found in regulated financial services businesses, larger corporates, and businesses operating in sectors with significant regulatory exposure. The CRO reports to the board or CEO and owns the enterprise risk framework independently of the finance function.

Head of Compliance

Common in financial services, healthcare, energy, and professional services. The Head of Compliance manages the regulatory relationship, oversees internal controls, and ensures the business meets its obligations to the FCA, PRA, or relevant sector regulator.

Director of Risk

Sits between the operational and strategic levels — typically managing risk frameworks, conducting enterprise risk assessments, and reporting to the CFO or CRO. Common in larger organisations where risk management is a standalone function.

Interim risk and compliance appointments

For businesses that need risk and compliance expertise for a defined period — a regulatory review, an audit cycle, or a gap between permanent appointments — an interim CFO with regulatory experience or a dedicated interim compliance specialist can be placed quickly.

Adrian Lawrence FCA, founder of FD Capital, has built a risk and compliance recruitment practice serving FCA-regulated businesses, financial institutions and corporate governance-focused organisations that require experienced risk and compliance professionals at all levels from Compliance Officer through to Chief Risk Officer. As a Fellow of the ICAEW, Adrian understands the regulatory environment in which compliance professionals operate, including the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, AML and financial crime obligations, and the conduct and prudential requirements that regulated businesses must manage as central components of their operating model. FD Capital’s risk and compliance recruitment assesses candidates on their technical regulatory knowledge, their track record in managing regulator relationships and their ability to build compliance cultures that go beyond box-ticking to genuinely embed good conduct throughout the business. Contact FD Capital to discuss your risk and compliance recruitment requirements.

Published Research & Thought Leadership Adrian Lawrence FCA, founder of FD Capital, actively contributes to advancing the understanding of fractional and interim finance leadership in the UK. His recent peer-reviewed publications on ResearchGate explore the strategic impact of these flexible executive models on business growth, transformation, and scalability — particularly for SMEs, scale-ups, and PE/VC-backed companies.

• The Evolution of Fractional CFO Leadership in Modern UK Businesses (March 2026) — Examining how fractional CFOs are reshaping financial strategy in dynamic markets.
• The Strategic Role of Fractional and Interim Executives in Supporting Organisational Growth and Transformation (March 2026, co-authored) — Insights into how these roles drive efficiency, fundraising success, and long-term value creation.

These works build on Adrian’s 20+ years of hands-on experience in executive finance recruitment and reflect FD Capital’s commitment to evidence-based, high-impact solutions. Our placements draw directly from these principles to deliver shortlists in 3–7 days that align with real-world strategic needs.

FD Capital operates in accordance with recognised executive search standards and professional recruitment best practices. We support the principles outlined in the UK government’s executive search code of conduct.

UK businesses across all sectors face an expanding regulatory environment. The FCA’s governance framework applies directly to financial services firms, but regulatory complexity in healthcare, energy, data protection, and professional services has increased substantially in recent years. For businesses in these sectors, senior risk and compliance leadership is no longer optional — it is a board-level requirement.

The Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR) in financial services has raised individual accountability for risk and compliance significantly. Businesses operating under SMCR need senior leaders who understand their personal obligations, not just the firm’s regulatory framework.

The Institute of Risk Management defines the competency framework for senior risk professionals in the UK. Beyond formal qualifications, the risk and compliance leaders who add the most value at board level combine:

• Sector-specific regulatory knowledge — FCA, PRA, ICO, CQC, or sector equivalent
• Practical experience building and operating risk frameworks, not just advising on them
• The ability to communicate risk to non-specialists — boards, investors, and operational teams
• Commercial judgement — risk management that enables the business rather than obstructs it
• Relationships with regulators — particularly important for businesses in ongoing regulatory dialogue

• Finance-first understanding: risk and compliance at senior level is almost always a finance function issue. Our background in CFO and FD recruitment means we approach risk briefs with the right lens.
• Sector coverage: financial services, healthcare, energy, professional services, and PE-backed businesses across all sectors.
• Permanent, interim and fractional: we recruit risk and compliance leaders across all engagement models depending on the brief and the business’s needs.
• Honest assessment: if a business needs a dedicated CRO rather than a CFO with compliance experience, we say so. If the risk brief can be covered by the right FD hire, we say that too.
• Active network: our senior finance network includes CFOs and FDs with specific regulatory backgrounds in financial services and other regulated sectors.

“FD Capital has supported SBS Insurance Services over the past three years through the provision of a Fractional FD/CFO. Their expertise has made a significant difference in professionalising our finance function and delivering accurate, timely management information—exactly what our business needed to grow with confidence.”  Tracey Rees COO SBS Insurance Services Ltd

Do you recruit compliance roles in financial services?

Yes. Financial services is the sector with the most structured demand for dedicated compliance professionals in the UK. We recruit Heads of Compliance, Deputy Compliance Officers, and senior risk roles for FCA and PRA-regulated businesses. For highly specialist roles — MLRO, for example — we work with specialist partners where the brief requires it.

Can a CFO cover risk and compliance, or do we need a dedicated hire?

For most businesses below £100m revenue, the CFO or FD can own the risk and compliance brief as part of their role. Dedicated risk and compliance leadership typically becomes necessary when the regulatory burden is significant enough to consume meaningful CFO time, when the business is subject to ongoing regulatory scrutiny, or when the board requires independent risk oversight separate from the finance function.

How long does a risk and compliance search take?

For CFO or FD roles with risk and compliance as part of the brief, our standard process applies — typically six to ten weeks to shortlist. For dedicated CRO or Head of Compliance searches the timeline is similar, though the candidate pool for specialist senior roles in regulated sectors can be narrower. Interim placements can move significantly faster.

What sectors do you cover for risk and compliance recruitment?

Financial services, professional services, healthcare, energy, technology, and PE-backed businesses across sectors. Our broader executive recruitment capability covers regulated industries where risk and compliance leadership sits at the C-suite level.

Financial Crime and AML Recruitment

Many risk and compliance searches are driven by the firm’s financial crime obligations. Under the Money Laundering Regulations and FCA supervision, regulated firms must maintain an effective anti-money laundering framework led by a Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO, SMF17), supported in larger firms by financial crime analysts, sanctions and transaction monitoring specialists, and in some structures a deputy or alternate MLRO. FD Capital recruits across this full financial crime spectrum — from the named SMF17 holder through to the analysts who run day-to-day customer due diligence, sanctions screening and suspicious activity reporting.

Financial crime hiring frequently sits alongside a wider compliance build-out, particularly where a firm is responding to FCA supervisory attention, preparing for authorisation, or addressing findings from a Section 166 skilled person review. Where a firm needs dedicated AML leadership we recruit directly into MLRO and AMLRO roles, and for broader financial crime functions into our financial crime recruitment practice. For firms structuring the whole second line at once, we cover the full picture through our compliance recruitment service.

Risk and Compliance Recruitment in London and Across the UK

London concentrates the majority of the UK’s FCA-regulated firms — asset managers, wealth managers, payments and e-money firms, fintechs, insurers and investment firms — and with them the deepest demand for risk and compliance leadership. FD Capital recruits risk and compliance professionals across the City, the West End and Canary Wharf, as well as nationwide for firms in Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh and the regional financial centres. Whether a firm needs a permanent Head of Compliance, an interim risk lead covering a gap, or a fractional compliance officer for a smaller authorised firm, our network spans both the London market and the wider UK.

Demand in the London compliance market is shaped by the concentration of authorised firms and the regulatory intensity that comes with it. Firms competing for the same compliance and risk management talent benefit from a specialist search partner who understands the SMCR approval process, the realistic salary benchmarks across firm types, and the difference between a candidate who can hold a senior manager function and one who cannot. Our compliance salary guide sets out current benchmarks across compliance officer, manager, MLRO and CRO roles.

Risk Management and Regulatory Recruitment

Risk management as a discipline extends beyond regulatory compliance. A firm’s risk function covers enterprise, operational, credit, market and conduct risk, and at board level is increasingly led by a Chief Risk Officer with overall responsibility for the risk framework and the three lines of defence. FD Capital recruits risk managers, heads of risk and Chief Risk Officers for both FCA-regulated firms and businesses outside direct regulation that nonetheless need structured risk governance. We also recruit regulatory specialists — regulatory reporting leads, prudential risk professionals and the technical reporting roles that sit between finance and compliance at regulated firms.

For firms building risk management capability at board level, our Chief Risk Officer recruitment practice covers permanent, interim and fractional appointments. Where the requirement is regulatory reporting or prudential expertise, we recruit through our regulatory reporting recruitment and Head of Regulatory Reporting services. Every search is led personally by Adrian Lawrence FCA, a verified Fellow of the ICAEW. To discuss a risk, compliance or regulatory appointment, call 020 3287 9501.

If you are looking to appoint a CFO or FD with regulatory expertise, a dedicated CRO or Head of Compliance, or an interim risk professional, contact us with your brief.

Tell us about your hire — or call 020 3287 9501.

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