Head of Authorisations

Morgan Hunt are currently working with a Professional Regulatory Body in their search for a permanent Head of Authorisations to provide strategic leadership and operational management to a team responsible for the authorisation of regulated organisations and individuals.

You will work collaboratively with the Leadership Team to move the organisation, and the Authorisations Team, forward through a programme of continuous improvement and organisational development, in order to achieve the organisation's overall strategic objectives. You will proactively build good relationships with a diverse set of stakeholders (internal and external) to raise the profile of the Authorisations Team and fully support the delivery of the organisation's overall objectives and the collective vision for the organisation to be a respected regulator.

You will lead a team of around 17 individuals (including two managers), ensuring development and effective delivery of the Authorisations Team's Operational Plan (while applying legal knowledge and leadership expertise to respond to changes to market service demands). You will provide technical and legal advice to the team on regulatory decision making, while monitoring the effectiveness and quality of the team's engagement with and assessment of organisations and overall decision-making.

The successful applicant will be a Qualified Lawyer, with excellent people management skills and significant experience providing both strategic leadership and operational management (ideally across the Professional Regulation or Membership Sectors). You will be a collaborative individual, with the ability to evaluate the bigger picture and drive change and improvement (especially through challenging situations). You will have an understanding of how to apply a risk-based regulatory framework in practice, with strong knowledge of regulation, public law, statutory appeals, and judicial reviews.

Job Title: Head of Authorisations

Location: Hybrid (4 days per month in the London Office)

Annual Salary: £75,000 - £90,000

Job Type: Permanent

Hours: Full-Time (37.5 hour week)

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development and effective delivery of the Authorisations Team's Strategic / Operational Plan in a changing market environment, and apply legal and technical expertise to:
• Establish and maintain, (in close conjunction with the Risk and Data Insights function), an appropriate risk-based approach to the allocation of resources and degree of scrutiny of applications
• Monitor the effectiveness and quality of the Authorisation Team's engagement with and assessment of organisations and overall decision-making
• Provide legal and technical advice on regulatory decision-making
• Ensure that the accuracy and quality of application processing is delivered to the highest standards.
• Ensure recommendations / decisions are evidence-based and correctly documented.
• Ensure that peaks in applications are managed appropriately through appropriate forecasting and planning
• Ensure adequate preparation and planning for new application types and changes in regulatory policies
• Championing a culture of continuous improvement and customer service excellence amongst the team in order to deliver best-in class regulatory and operational processes.
• Implement and maintain key management controls to ensure that potential risks and issues are mitigated and the organisation's reputation as a public interest regulator is maintained (e.g. quality assurance, robust management information and operational risk management
• Ensure that the Professional Standards Team is made aware of key policy issues arising from authorisations to enable them to assess the need for changes to regulatory policy within the Authorisation Framework
• Provide inspirational leadership and effective engagement in both Authorisation and across the organisation

Person Specification

• Legally qualified and able to hold a practising certificate as either a solicitor or barrister
• Understanding of legal qualification, legal practice or higher education
• Excellent technical knowledge of the relevant law and regulation
• An understanding of how to apply a risk-based regulatory framework in practice
• Strong leadership capability and people management experience
• Experience of reporting to a Board and its committees
• Experience of leading high performing teams in complex, high volume operational processing settings
• Experience of working in complex regulatory / legislative settings
• Proven experience of driving continuous improvement and excellence in customer service
• Good level of understanding and experience of delivering systematic / holistic change management programmes
• Proven ability to manage operational risk
• Excellent analytical skills and experience of developing and using robust Management Information / KPIs

Please contact to find out more information regarding this fantastic opportunity for a Head of Authorisations.

Morgan Hunt is a multi-award-winning recruitment business for interim, contract and temporary recruitment and acts as an Employment Agency in relation to permanent vacancies. Morgan Hunt is an equal opportunities employer. Job suitability is assessed on merit in accordance with the individual's skills, qualifications and abilities to perform the relevant duties required in a particular role.