Complaints & Compliance Officer - #2128739

Complaints, Compliance & Data Protection Officer – Solicitors

Housing Disrepair Experience Essential | Personal Injury Experience Desirable

We are looking for an experienced Complaints, Compliance & Data Protection Officer to join our established law firm and take a key role in supporting our complaints handling, regulatory compliance and quality standards.

This is an ideal opportunity for someone with a strong background in Housing Disrepair, whether gained through fee earning, supervision, complaints or compliance, who understands the practical realities of managing client matters within a busy solicitors' practice.

The successful candidate will work closely with management and fee earners to ensure that complaints are investigated thoroughly and fairly, regulatory requirements are met, and lessons arising from complaints, file reviews and client feedback are used to continually improve our service.

Key Responsibilities

1. Taking responsibility for the investigation and management of client complaints from initial acknowledgement through to Final Response.
2. Reviewing files, correspondence, attendance notes and call recordings to establish an accurate chronology and assess concerns raised.
3. Drafting clear, balanced and comprehensive complaint responses and managing correspondence from the Legal Ombudsman and regulatory enquiries.
4. Managing Subject Access Requests (SARs) from receipt through to disclosure, ensuring requests are identified promptly and dealt with within applicable statutory timescales.
5. Reviewing files and electronic records to identify personal data within the scope of a SAR and considering appropriate redactions, third-party information, legal professional privilege and other applicable exemptions.
6. Preparing and issuing SAR responses and maintaining an accurate SAR/Data Protection Register.
7. Assisting with wider UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 matters, including data breaches, requests for information, retention and confidentiality issues.
8. Identifying potential professional negligence issues and circumstances which may require escalation to management and/or notification to the firm's Professional Indemnity Insurers.
9. Maintaining accurate complaints, compliance, risk and data protection registers.
10. Monitoring complaint and SAR trends and identifying recurring issues, training requirements and opportunities for improvement.
11. Undertaking file audits and call monitoring to assess client care, quality and regulatory compliance.
12. Working with supervisors and fee earners to implement corrective action where issues are identified.
13. Assisting with the firm's wider SRA regulatory and compliance obligations, policies and procedures, and supporting the firm's COLP/COFA and management team as required.
14. Monitoring compliance with client care requirements, confidentiality, data protection, AML and file management standards.
15. Ensuring appropriate records are maintained to evidence supervision, training and ongoing competence.
16. Helping to develop and deliver internal training arising from complaints, SARs, audits and compliance reviews.

About You

We are particularly interested in candidates who have:

1. Strong Housing Disrepair experience – essential.
2. Previous experience within a solicitors' practice, with experience of investigating and responding to client complaints.
3. Practical experience of dealing with Subject Access Requests within a legal environment.
4. A good working knowledge of the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018, including SAR timescales, disclosure, redaction, third-party data and exemptions.
5. A sound understanding of the SRA Standards and Regulations and the regulatory obligations applying to solicitors' practices.
6. Knowledge of the Legal Ombudsman complaints process.
7. An understanding of professional indemnity insurance and the identification and notification of potential circumstances.
8. Experience of file auditing, supervision, quality assurance or risk management would be advantageous.
9. Personal Injury experience would be highly desirable, although not essential.
10. Experience using legal case management systems and confidence reviewing large electronic files, correspondence histories and audit trails.
11. Excellent written communication and analytical skills, with the ability to deal objectively with complex or sensitive complaints and data requests.

The Person We Are Looking For

This role requires someone who can look beyond simply responding to a complaint.

We want somebody who can establish what happened, why it happened and whether anything needs to change as a result.

You will therefore need to be pragmatic, organised and confident in making decisions, while recognising when an issue requires escalation. You should be comfortable dealing with difficult or sensitive client correspondence and able to remain objective when reviewing allegations concerning the firm's service.

You do not necessarily need to be a qualified solicitor. We are equally interested in experienced Housing Disrepair fee earners, supervisors or compliance professionals who have the necessary knowledge and experience to undertake the role.

Why Join Us?

Sheldon Davidson Solicitors is an established practice which continues to evolve, with Housing Disrepair forming an important area of the firm's work.

This is an opportunity to take ownership of a role which will have a genuine influence on the firm's approach to client service, complaints, compliance, training and risk management, working directly with senior management and colleagues across the business.

Salary: Competitive and dependent upon experience
Location: Whitefield, Manchester
Hours: Full-time but would also be open to Part-time
Experience: Housing Disrepair experience essential; Personal Injury experience advantageous but not essential