Compliance & Regulatory Affairs (with Legal Support) Director (Germany) in Frankfurt am Main

Business Unit: Legal And Compliance Industry: No Industry Overview Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) is a leading global investment bank recognized for delivering independent strategic and financial advice to corporations, financial sponsors, and governments. With uniquely deep industry expertise, broad international reach, and a partnership approach rooted in trust, the firm provides innovative, integrated solutions across mergers and acquisitions, capital solutions, financial restructuring, and financial and valuation advisory. Our unmatched transaction volumes provide differentiated, data-driven perspectives that help our clients achieve their most critical goals. To learn more about Houlihan Lokey, please visit HL.com.

Job Purpose Houlihan Lokey ("HL") is seeking a Compliance & Regulatory Affairs (with Legal Support) professional to strengthen its team in Frankfurt, Germany. Working as part of the wider international (non-US) Legal & Compliance team, alongside the local German Compliance Officer / MLRO, and local advisors, the primary focus of the role will be to lead, oversee, and execute the regulatory compliance programme and financial crime prevention framework (AML/CFT, sanctions, market conduct, and governance) of HL’s entities in Germany (which includes a BaFin regulated entity with branches in Paris, London and Madrid) and Switzerland, while providing dedicated legal support on core commercial transactions and corporate matters. It is anticipated that the role will have a primary focus on compliance and regulatory matters with the remainder dedicated to supporting legal work. The role will have a principal reporting line into the German Compliance Officer and an additional co-ordination line into the General Counsel Europe.

Primary Responsibilities

• Engaging with the Financial Restructuring (FR), Corporate Finance (CF) and Financial and Valuation Advisory (FVA) business units to evaluate, monitor, and provide proactive compliance advisory on potential regulatory, compliance, and other risks presented by those activities, including conduct of business, market abuse rules, and transaction clearance.
• Preparing and delivering periodic Compliance, Board, and other regulatory risk reporting for senior management, local Management/Supervisory Boards, and international governance committees.
• Supporting HL’s Legal department in relation to specific German matters, notably: Drafting and negotiation of engagement letters, Review of confidentiality agreements and other legal documentation, Providing other commercial legal advice and corporate governance support.
• Working with corporate departments and senior management to develop and implement best practices regarding handling of confidential and material non-public information, information barriers and Wall-Crossing protocols.
• Implementing, monitoring, and maintaining robust compliance procedures and controls for the Firm’s business activities and regulatory programmes, including maintaining Compliance Manuals, Codes of Ethics, AML/CFT Manuals, MaComp/WpIG policies, Risk Manuals and other policies as required, as well as recommending and drafting updates/revisions as necessary to ensure ongoing alignment with evolving BaFin, Deutsche Bundesbank, and EU regulatory standards.
• Oversight and execution of client due diligence / onboarding (KYC, AML risk rating, and sanctions screening), the Restricted List and related issues, including coordination with deal teams on conflict clearing.
• Assuming the Deputy MLRO (Stellvertretender Geldwäschebeauftragter) roles for the German Houlihan Lokey entities and other formal 'officer' roles as relevant and appropriate (e.g. Deputy Compliance Officer, outsourcing officer, ESG).
• Serving as a key liaison for German regulatory authorities (BaFin, Deutsche Bundesbank) and managing the preparation and coordination of statutory annual audits (WpHG/WpIG compliance audits) and regulatory inquiries.
• Developing, maintaining, and delivering targeted compliance, AML/CFT, and market conduct training programmes for staff across the German and Swiss entities to foster a proactive compliance culture.

Basic Qualifications

• University degree in Law, Business Law (Wirtschaftsrecht), Finance, Economics, Business Administration, or a related discipline.
• A fully qualified German legal degree (First and/or Second State Law Examination, Volljurist, Diplom-Jurist, or equivalent legal qualification) is ideal, but not mandatory.
• Minimum of 2+ years of relevant professional experience in regulatory compliance, financial crime prevention / AML, or legal & compliance within an investment bank, financial services institution, supervisory authority (e.g., BaFin), or specialized compliance/legal consultancy practice.
• In-depth understanding of applicable German and European financial laws, regulations and guidance, particularly as it relates to BaFin (including WpIG, WpHG, MaComp, GwG, MiFID II, MAR, and DORA) in Germany.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work with all levels of personnel with a high degree of integrity and maturity.
• Proactive, hands-on, and collaborative attitude is essential, with a readiness to take responsibility and be held accountable.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, in both German and English, with an ability to present ideas and information clearly, logically and succinctly.
• Attention to detail, with excellent organisational skill, with the ability to project manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Ability to work to tight deadlines/under pressure with limited supervision.

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) is a leading global investment bank recognized for delivering independent strategic and financial advice to corporations, financial sponsors, and governments. With uniquely deep industry expertise, broad international reach, and a partnership approach rooted in trust, the firm provides innovative, integrated solutions across mergers and acquisitions, capital solutions, financial restructuring, and financial and valuation advisory. Our unmatched transaction volumes provide differentiated, data-driven perspectives that help our clients achieve their most critical goals. To learn more about Houlihan Lokey, please visit HL.com.