Head of Legal

Overview

SHRM TRUSTEES (BVI) LIMITED

HEAD OF LEGAL

JOB DESCRIPTION

Role Purpose

Reporting to the Managing Director, the Head of Legal supports, oversees, and directs SHRM’s legal, corporate governance, and regulatory compliance functions. This senior role is responsible for helping to ensure that the Company’s fiduciary operations are conducted in accordance with applicable legal, regulatory, and industry requirements. The role supports the Board in strengthening governance, enhancing operational excellence, implementing legal technology and artificial intelligence solutions, managing complex fiduciary matters and positioning the business for long-term sustainable growth and strategic opportunities.

 Regulatory and Governance Focus

The role includes supporting adherence to the BVI Financial Services Commission framework, all applicable laws and regulations, relevant industry standards, and sound risk management practices. In doing so, the Head of Legal helps protect the Company, its clients, and the integrity of SHRM’s corporate and fiduciary services and compliance function.

 Key Responsibilities

• Regulatory Compliance & Risk: Lead the development, review, and execution of the Company’s regulatory framework, ensuring full adherence to the BVI Regulatory Code, applicable financial services legislation, anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing requirements, sanctions obligations, data protection requirements, and internal policies and procedures. Provide legal and practical support to SHRM’s Compliance Department and MLRO Officer in the implementation, monitoring, and enhancement of the Company’s compliance programme, including policies, procedures, controls, risk assessments, regulatory filings, and internal reporting.
• Compliance Department Support: Work closely with the Compliance Department to provide legal guidance on client onboarding, customer due diligence, enhanced due diligence, ongoing monitoring, screening, record keeping, periodic reviews, remediation exercises, and responses to internal compliance queries. Assist in identifying regulatory risk, escalating material issues, and ensuring appropriate follow-up actions are documented and completed in a timely manner.
• MLRO Officer Support: Assist and support the MLRO Officer with the review and assessment of compliance matters, suspicious activity concerns, sanctions or adverse media findings, regulatory notifications, and requests for information from competent authorities. Support the preparation of reports, registers, memoranda, and board or committee materials relating to AML/CFT, sanctions, compliance monitoring, breaches, and remedial actions, while maintaining strict confidentiality and appropriate governance standards.
• Operations & Risk: Lead legal and governance initiatives that improve operational efficiency, reduce regulatory risk and enhance enterprise value, including legal process optimisation, AI implementation, automation projects, policy modernisation and support for strategic transactions, acquisitions, restructurings or business sale initiatives.
• Artificial Intelligence: Lead the evaluation, implementation and governance of artificial intelligence and legal technology solutions across the legal, compliance and fiduciary functions, ensuring appropriate governance, confidentiality, regulatory compliance and operational efficiency.
• Fiduciary & Trust Advisory: Provide expert legal counsel on complex trust structures, offshore corporate frameworks, foundations, and wealth management mandates.
• Corporate Governance: Implement and oversee board governance procedures, ensuring directors understand and fulfill their statutory duties under the BVI Business Companies Act. Advise the Board and senior management on governance best practice, directors’ duties, regulatory developments, enterprise risk management and legal issues affecting the Company’s strategic objectives
• Contractual & Commercial: Draft, review, and negotiate high-value trust deeds, fiduciary agreements, and vendor contracts.
• Client Support & Engagement: Serve as the dedicated legal touchpoint for UHNW individuals, family offices, and external advisors. Actively participate in client onboarding, structural reviews, meetings and the resolution of complex legal inquiries to build long-term trust.
• Team Leadership: Support and mentor the corporate, fiduciary and compliance teams, fostering a culture of risk awareness and operational excellence.

 

Qualifications & Requirements

• Education & Admission: Bachelor of Laws (LLB), Juris Doctor (JD), or equivalent. Must be admitted to practice in the BVI or a recognized Commonwealth jurisdiction.
• Experience: 10+ years of post-qualification experience (PQE), with several years’ operating in the offshore financial services sector (preferably trust or fiduciary). Experience gained within an internationally recognised law firm with a leading private wealth or trust practice. Demonstrable experience advising UHNW individuals, family offices and professional trustees.
• Expertise: Advanced knowledge of BVI trust law, company management, and anti-money laundering (AML/KYC) regulations. Significant experience in both contentious trust litigation and non-contentious private client or fiduciary advisory work.
• Accreditations: Relevant designations such as STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) or ICSA (Chartered Governance Institute) are strongly preferred. Membership of ACTAPS or equivalent specialist trust litigation organisation desirable.
• Soft Skills: Exceptional commercial acumen, high ethical standards, and the ability to interact seamlessly with ultra-high-net-worth clients and at board and executive level.
• Technology & AI Proficiency: Strong Microsoft Office skills, including practical knowledge of Microsoft productivity tools, together with a sound understanding of artificial intelligence, emerging legal technology, and their responsible application within legal, regulatory, compliance, and fiduciary services environments.

To Apply: Qualified candidates are encouraged to submit their resumes to Reid.Thurlow@shrmbvi.com addressed to the Managing Director.