Personal Independence Manager

Job Description

Our purpose focuses on how we contribute to society, and how our business decisions can contribute to greater trust and solving important problems. In order to achieve our purpose and deliver a first-class service to our clients, we need first-class supportinternally. The people who power us - our internal teams - have a vital role to make sure we have all the right resources, services and technology to be the best we can be. Not all of us work directly with external clients. We have a vacancy for 3 Managers to join our team in important roles to oversee various independence processes which support the firms Partners and staff to comply with the independence rules. The Firm & Personal Independence Team is part of the Independence team within One Firm Risk Management that supports compliance with the independence rules that apply to the firm and its Partners and staff. The Firm & Personal Independence Team currently comprises 15 staff based in Embankment Place, London and a team of approximately 20 people in a Service Delivery Centre (SDC) in Katowice, Poland, which undertakes a number of activities to support the UK teamand ensure Partners and staff comply with the Independence rules. The role would suit an individual who has:

• Existing independence knowledge or a desire to develop this
• Planning and project management skills
• Organisational skills and ability to prioritise
• A good attention to detail
• Ability to work on multiple projects at the same time
• Ability to work under pressure
• Excellent interpersonal skills at all levels
• A flexible and accommodating style
• Ability to communicate difficult messages

Previous high level knowledge of the independence rules would be beneficial but is not a requirement. On the job training on these elements of the role will be provided. Whilst prior independence knowledge is preferable, what is more important is that you havea willingness to learn a new technical area, a client service mentality, excellent coaching and communication skills and want to join a dynamic team that provides critical business support to the firm in a complex and changing regulatory environment. The Firm & Personal Independence Team are responsible for a number of large UK firm wide projects including:

• Annual Personal Independence Confirmation process
• Personal Independence Compliance Testing of Partners, staff and Partner candidates

In addition, other specific projects can arise during the year in relation to on-boarding new audit clients, changes in the independence rules and changes to the firms operational structure. Key responsibilities in the role include:

• Management of various independence processes and activities
• Oversight of activities undertaken by the SDC in these areas
• Review of independence analysis undertaken by staff at the SDC and junior members of the UK team
• Coaching and development of junior members of the UK team
• Delivery of ad hoc independence projects
• Liaising with other functional teams such as the Partner Office
• Providing independence advice to Partners and staff across the firm

The role will report to a Senior Manager in the team. Prior knowledge of the independence rules either as an accountant or in an existing independence, risk management or compliance role would be advantageous. However, as this role requires far more than technical knowledge, we are looking for an individual with good all round skills, including:

• Communication - Good communication skills (written and verbal) and need to be able to communicate confidently and professionally with people at all levels.
• Personable - Ability to build professional working relationships with team members, engagement teams, regulators, support staff and with the wider PwC network.
• Team player ; works effectively within a team, seeks coaching where appropriate and communicates progress effectively. Confident in managing more senior peoples expectations.
• IT Skills - Proficient in using the firms standard IT applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Google). Confident to apply IT skills to work across new systems/applications specific to the activities of the team. Numerate, analytical and comfortable withnumbers.
• Approach - Good time management and organisation skills with an ability to prioritise workloads. Proactive, self-motivated and able to take responsibility for own work under own initiative. Takes pride in delivering accurate and thorough work.
• Deadline focused- Able to work under pressure to prioritise and deal with a number of tasks in a calm and efficient manner.
• Personal development - Takes responsibility and demonstrates enthusiasm for enhancing and extending own skills, seeking feedback, identifying important development themes and priorities for development and progression. Takes the opportunity to develop others.