
Gareth Ellison
Compliance Officer
Keeping the business on the right side of the rules
Compliance officer with eleven years in financial-services compliance in Manchester, the last six owning the compliance function for a mid-sized firm. Keeps the business compliant with FCA regulation, AML and conduct rules — monitoring, advising the business, managing the compliance framework, and handling the regulator. Built a risk-based monitoring programme that strengthened oversight and stood up well to an FCA review. Manages policies, training, financial-crime controls, and the suspicious-activity and reporting process, and advises management on regulatory risk and change. Strong on the detail of the rules and on translating them into something the business can actually follow. Firm but pragmatic, and trusted to give straight advice. Looking for a compliance-officer or compliance-manager role with a regulated firm that takes its obligations seriously.
Manchester Financial Services - Manchester, UK
Compliance Officer April 2016 to Present 10 years & 3 months
Built a risk-based monitoring programme that strengthened oversight and stood up to an FCA review.
Advise both the business and the senior management on regulatory risk, on change and on conduct.
Manage all the policies, the compliance training and the financial-crime controls right across the firm.
Handle all of the suspicious-activity, the reporting and all the regulator-liaison work across the firm.
Translate the complex regulation into clear, practical guidance that the whole business can actually follow.
North West Investment Group - Manchester, UK
Compliance Analyst / Advisor August 2011 to March 2016 4 years & 8 months
Supported the AML checks, policy updates and staff training across the business.
Learned the regulation, the financial crime and compliance frameworks on the job.
Gained the CISI diploma and then moved into a compliance-officer role.
North West Investment Group - Manchester, UK
Compliance Assistant June 2009 to July 2011 2 years & 2 months
Helped run the AML checks and maintain the policy and training records.
Learned the basics of financial regulation and the compliance frameworks on the job.
Then earned the move into a full compliance-analyst role from there.
University of Manchester
LLB (Hons) Law (September 2008 to June 2011)
Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
Diploma in Investment Compliance (CISI) (January 2014 to June 2015)
Held up to FCA review
Straight, practical advice
AML Systems Upgrade
Compliance Officer (January 2019 to October 2019)
Conduct & Training Programme
Compliance Officer (February 2020 to July 2020)
Diploma in Investment Compliance (CISI)
CISI (June 2015 to Present)
Financial Crime & AML (ICA)
International Compliance Association (April 2019 to Present)
- Regulatory Compliance
- FCA Regulation
- AML & Financial Crime
- Compliance Monitoring
- Conduct Rules
- Policy & Framework
- Risk Assessment
- Regulator Liaison
- Compliance Training
- Reporting