Resolution reeling in compliance staff

Recruiters say Resolution Life has been at the forefront of recent demand for risk and compliance personnel and its appetite looks far from sated.

In the three years since Resolution was founded, it has swallowed up a large proportion of the UK's closed with-profits funds, creating a multitude of new administration jobs in Glasgow. Earlier this month the company revealed it was engaged in conversations with both potential suitors and targets that yet could see more jobs moving to the city.

However Glasgow-based recruiters report that Resolution is far from the only game in town. Demand for compliance staff is being generated across the finance sector, at all levels. Recruiters report particular demand for people with experience in dealing with regulatory issues from City watchdog, the Financial Services Authority.

A leading west coast recruiter told us: "There has been ramping up on the life side because of Resolution. Right now we are seeing demand for jobs across the board in operational and credit risk as well as compliance and regulatory risk."

The posts on offer are not just entry level. Senior positions are up for grabs with salaries ranging from 35,000-40,000 for customer management risk manager and fraud strategy managers up to 80,000-100,000 for head of capital management and director of portfolio risk.

The wave of compliance roles isn't limited to the West Coast. Mathew Evans of recruitment firm Jonathan Wren says that Edinburgh firms are growing their compliance teams on the back of business wins and expansion.

He told us: "If there is a person looking to move up from London then they certainly won't struggle to find a job."