Head of Advice & Sales Governance (Financial Planning & Brokerage)

Role Overview

The purpose of this role is to design, lead and continuously strengthen the governance and compliance framework for advice and sales activity across both Brokerage and Financial Planning within Advice Solutions.You will ensure that our advice and distribution models remain safe, sustainable and aligned to evolving Irish, EU and global regulatory expectations, whilst enabling the business to deliver on its strategic and commercial objectives. You will shape policy, standards and ways of working, provide expert counsel to senior Distribution leadership, and lead cross‑functional initiatives that improve risk management, operational efficiency and business integrity.

Team Background

This role is across all distribution channels in Advice Solutions and covers both Brokerage and Financial Planning. The role will report to the Director of Financial Planning. This is a senior first‑line leadership role that sets the direction for how Advice Solutions manages sales and advice risk, oversees adviser remuneration frameworks, and embeds high governance standards in day‑to‑day practice. As Head of Advice and Sales Governance you will lead and inspire governance and compliance teams spanning both Brokerage and Financial Planning, driving cultural change, developing talent and ensuring our frameworks, controls and training remain fit for a complex and fast‑changing regulatory environment.

More specific responsibilities will include

As Head of Advice and Sales Governance, you will be involved in:

• Delivering a strong Governance framework and first‑line oversight: 
  
  • Establish, implement and continuously improve a robust Sales Governance Framework covering advice and sales activities across Financial Planning and Brokerage.
  • Provide direct first line oversight of sales governance and compliance, ensuring frameworks, controls and processes are consistently applied across both channels.
  • Identify, assess and mitigate sales and advice risks, drafting and maintaining governance policies and standards to reflect regulatory developments and business needs.

• Regulatory, risk and policy leadership

• • Lead out on advice risk governance, including the design and oversight of compliance frameworks and associated resource allocation.
  • Act as primary point of contact for internal and external stakeholders on sales and advice governance matters, including regulators, auditors, second and third line functions and Board‑level stakeholders.
  • Oversee regulatory incident response, including breaches, notifications and remediation activity, ensuring timely, well‑governed resolution and learning.

• Strategic counsel and business partnering

• • Provide counsel and support to Senior Distribution leadership in delivering divisional risk, compliance and governance objectives.
  • Sit on the Financial Planning leadership team and contribute to strategic decision‑making on the evolving role of advice, ensuring governance and regulatory considerations are fully embedded.
  • Provide consultancy support to Brokerage leadership to ensure Irish Life remains a thought leader in compliance and regulatory support across its intermediary franchise.

• Adviser remuneration and commercial integrity

• • Oversee adviser remuneration frameworks and ensure compliance with relevant regulatory guidelines, with ultimate reporting to the Board as required.
  • Balance robust governance with support for commercial objectives, ensuring that controls strengthen – rather than inhibit – sustainable growth and customer outcomes.

• Training, culture and continuous improvement

• • Lead training and awareness initiatives on best practice in sales and advice governance, building a strong risk and compliance culture across Financial Planning and Brokerage.
  • Drive cross‑functional continuous improvement initiatives, including process automation and the adoption of emerging technologies to enhance governance effectiveness and efficiency.
  • Champion cultural change and foster a high‑performance environment within governance and compliance teams, with a strong focus on talent development and succession.

What you will help us to achieve

The ideal candidate will have / be: 

• Proven senior leadership experience in financial services, with significant time spent in governance, compliance, risk or sales oversight roles, ideally linked to advice or distribution businesses.
• Deep expertise in Irish and EU regulatory frameworks relevant to advice and sales (e.g. CPC, EIOPA, IDD, GDPR), with a strong track record of leading compliance or governance functions.
• Strong governance, risk management and policy development skills, with the ability to translate complex regulation into practical business solutions that support strategic objectives.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with experience engaging regulators, auditors and cross‑functional senior leaders on sensitive and complex issues.
• Experience leading teams, developing talent and driving cultural change in a high‑performance, highly regulated environment.
• Professional qualifications in compliance, risk or financial services are highly desirable.