Head of client intake & conflicts

Bristol (Hybrid – 3 Days per Week in Central Bristol Office)

Senior Leadership Role | Professional Services

A leading international professional services firm is seeking an exceptional Head of Client Intake & Conflicts to lead, shape and transform a critical business function at the heart of the organisation.

This is a rare opportunity for an experienced risk, compliance, client onboarding or conflicts professional to take ownership of a firm-wide intake and conflicts function that plays a pivotal role in balancing regulatory excellence, operational efficiency and commercial growth.

Reporting into senior leadership within Risk & Compliance, the successful candidate will provide strategic direction, operational leadership and end-to-end accountability for the client intake, conflicts and matter opening lifecycle. They will lead a team of approximately 50 professionals across Client & Matter Inception (CMI) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML), oversee key regulatory controls, and drive the ongoing evolution of people, processes, technology and service delivery across both UK and international operations.

The Opportunity

The Head of Client Intake & Conflicts will be responsible for the vision, strategy and performance of the firm's client onboarding, conflicts and matter inception function, ensuring that new business is assessed, approved and onboarded efficiently, consistently and in line with the organisation's regulatory obligations and risk appetite.

This role combines strategic leadership with operational oversight and will suit someone who enjoys influencing at the highest levels of an organisation while remaining close enough to the operation to drive meaningful change.

The successful candidate will:

• Own and lead the end-to-end client intake, conflicts and matter opening service, from instruction through to onboarding and associated risk clearances.
• Define and deliver the strategic roadmap for the function, aligning operational capability with wider business objectives.
• Lead, inspire and develop a team of approximately 50 professionals across CMI and AML through a multi-layer management structure, creating a high-performing and inclusive culture.
• Act as the senior escalation point for complex, high-profile and sensitive conflicts, onboarding and work acceptance matters.
• Partner closely with senior stakeholders across Risk, Compliance, Finance, Operations and the legal business to ensure seamless service delivery.
• Drive major transformation initiatives, including process redesign, technology optimisation and data-driven improvement programmes.
• Oversee relationships with international offices, promoting consistency, governance and best practice across multiple jurisdictions.
• Ensure the firm's approach to conflicts management, AML, sanctions, financial crime, data protection and professional conduct remains robust, proportionate and commercially focused.

About You

This position requires a proven leader who can combine technical expertise with commercial awareness and exceptional stakeholder management skills.

Applicants are likely to bring:

• Significant experience leading a client intake, conflicts, client onboarding, AML, financial crime, work acceptance or related risk function within a law firm or professional services environment.
• Experience leading sizeable operational teams, ideally through multiple management layers, with responsibility for service delivery, performance and employee engagement.
• Deep expertise in conflicts management and client acceptance processes, together with a strong understanding of regulatory and risk frameworks.
• Experience operating at senior leadership level, with the credibility to influence partners, executive stakeholders and business leaders.
• A track record of leading large-scale operational change, transformation and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Strong people leadership skills, including developing managers, building capability and creating high-performing teams.
• Experience of market-leading intake and conflicts technologies such as Intapp and Elite/3E, alongside a data-led approach to service management and performance improvement.
• Sound commercial judgement and the ability to balance regulatory requirements with business objectives.
• Excellent communication skills, with the confidence to challenge, influence and build consensus across a complex stakeholder environment.

Why This Role?

This appointment offers the opportunity to shape a strategically important function within a highly respected international organisation. The successful candidate will have genuine influence over how client intake, conflicts management and risk services evolve, while leading major transformation initiatives and contributing to broader business strategy.

The role offers significant visibility across the firm and the chance to work closely with senior leadership on matters that directly impact client relationships, regulatory compliance and sustainable growth.

Location: Central Bristol (hybrid working with an expectation of approximately three days per week in the office)

Team Size: Approximately 50 professionals across Client & Matter Inception and AML functions

Type: Permanent

Salary: Competitive executive-level package commensurate with experience, including comprehensive benefits.

Ideal Background

This role requires an experienced senior leader who can operate confidently at executive and Board level while providing strategic and operational leadership to a large, multi-disciplinary function.

The successful candidate will inherit strong technical expertise across Client Intake, Conflicts and AML, including dedicated subject matter experts and experienced managers. As such, the emphasis is on leadership, governance, stakeholder management, service excellence and transformation rather than being the firm's technical expert in every aspect of AML or conflicts.

Candidates are likely to bring:

• Experience leading large operational, risk, onboarding, compliance or client acceptance functions within a law firm, professional services organisation or regulated financial services environment.
• A track record of managing sizeable teams through multiple layers of leadership, creating high-performing cultures and delivering service excellence at scale.
• Experience operating at executive, Board or partner level, with the credibility and presence to influence senior stakeholders and drive strategic decision-making.
• Strong commercial acumen and the ability to balance risk management, regulatory requirements and business growth objectives.
• Experience leading organisational change, process improvement, technology transformation or shared services operations.
• A data-driven approach to service management, workforce planning and operational performance.

While experience of legal conflicts, client onboarding or matter inception would be advantageous, the organisation is open to considering exceptional candidates from wider professional services or financial services backgrounds who have led comparable risk, compliance, client onboarding, KYC, financial crime or operational functions.

This is an opportunity for a strategic leader to shape the future direction of a critical business function, rather than a role requiring day-to-day technical ownership of AML or conflicts matters.