Ethics and Compliance Lead
Legal
SmartSuite for the Ethics and Compliance Lead
The Ethics and Compliance Lead runs the ethics program: the code of conduct, conflicts of interest, gifts and hospitality, training, the speak-up channel and the investigations that follow. They make sure the culture matches the policies and report ethics metrics to the board.
Reports to:
What you own
The Ethics and Compliance Lead runs the ethics program: the code of conduct, conflicts of interest, gifts and hospitality, training, the speak-up channel and the investigations that follow.
- Maintain the code of conduct and related policies
- Run the conflicts of interest and gifts and hospitality disclosure processes
- Operate the speak-up channel and triage reports
- Oversee ethics investigations and case management
- Deliver ethics and compliance training and track completion
- Report ethics metrics and culture indicators to leadership and the board
At a glance
The GRC processes this role owns, touches and depends on.
Owns
accountable for the process
Touches
contributes or approves
Depends on
consumes its output
How the GRC processes connect
Three lines of defence set the frame; the chain shows where each process hands off to the next. Colours follow the Ethics and Compliance Lead: navy is owned, blue is touched, grey is depended on.
- First lineThe business and its control ownersRun the processes, own the controls, fix the issues
- Second lineRisk, compliance and the domain programmesSet the frameworks, assess, monitor and advise
- Third lineInternal auditIndependent assurance to the board and audit committee
Reporting lines
Who this role reports to, who reports to them, and the peers they work with most.
Reports to
Chief Compliance Officer
See the roleDirect reports
Works closely with
General Counsel
See the roleHR Operations Manager
See the roleFraud Risk Manager
See the rolePolicy and Governance Manager
See the roleHow SmartSuite supports the Ethics and Compliance Lead
The Ethics and Compliance Lead runs the ethics program and answers to the Chief Compliance Officer, the board and the regulators who judge whether the program works. SmartSuite evidences attestations, disclosures, cases and training in one record, so the board sees the state of the culture rather than a count of policies.
Run the code, policies and training you own
The code and its related policies in Policy Management carry review schedules, approvals and version history, so you can show which version an employee attested to and exactly when it changed.
Compliance Management suiteEthics and compliance training requirements are tracked against roles and completions recorded, with reminders to the overdue, so completion rates are a live figure rather than one you compile each quarter.
Compliance Management suiteEach policy links to the risks and obligations it addresses, including FCPA and UK Bribery Act exposure, so when the Fraud Risk Manager reassesses a risk the policies that mitigate it are visible.
Compliance Management suiteWork with legal, HR, fraud and governance
Each case in Complaints Tracking carries its investigation steps, findings and outcome, with the remediation that follows tracked in Issues Management, so the General Counsel and the HR Operations Manager can see that similar cases were handled consistently.
Compliance Management suiteReports arrive through forms that capture what triage needs and route by category, with the acknowledgement and feedback steps the EU Whistleblowing Directive requires tracked as tasks.
Compliance Management suiteWhere a speak-up report concerns fraud, the case links to the Fraud Risk Manager's investigation rather than duplicating it, so one record carries the evidence and both programs see the outcome.
Compliance Management suiteReport ethics metrics and culture to the board
Attestation rates, training completion, disclosures and case outcomes are kept with full history, so when prosecutors or regulators evaluate the program, the evidence of a working one is already in the record.
Compliance Management suiteDashboards combine disclosures, training, case volumes and time to close with culture indicators gathered through structured workflows, so the board sees whether the culture matches the policies.
ESG Management suiteThe AI Assistant in a SmartDoc field drafts the ethics section of the board report from the recorded metrics and case summaries, so your time goes into judgment about the culture rather than into assembling the numbers.
Compliance Management suitePolicy management. Manages the code of conduct and ethics policies with attestation tracking so every employee's acknowledgement is evidenced.
Compliance management. Runs disclosure workflows for conflicts, gifts and hospitality with approvals and a searchable register.
Issues and actions. Handles speak-up reports and investigations as confidential cases with restricted access, tasks and outcomes.
Reporting. Provides dashboards of training completion, disclosures and case metrics for board reporting.
Products this role uses most
Industry reference
The US Sentencing Guidelines (§8B2.1) and the DOJ's compliance program evaluation expect a code of conduct, training, a confidential reporting channel and consistent discipline. ISO 37301:2021 covers the program; ISO 37002:2021 covers whistleblowing management. SOX Sections 301 and 806 protect whistleblowers at listed companies, and the EU Whistleblowing Directive requires internal channels across member states.
Anti-bribery law shapes the content: the FCPA and the UK Bribery Act's adequate-procedures defense. Financial firms add FINRA conduct rules; healthcare providers follow OIG guidance on codes and hotlines; US federal employees follow the Standards of Ethical Conduct (5 CFR 2635).
Related roles
Chief Compliance Officer
See the roleExplore Further
Guides and definitions from the GRC Knowledge Center and the What-is glossary, chosen for this role.
Frequently asked questions
The Ethics and Compliance Lead runs the ethics program: the code of conduct and related policies, the conflicts of interest and gifts and hospitality disclosure processes, the speak-up channel and the triage of reports, ethics investigations and case management, ethics and compliance training and its completion, and the ethics metrics and culture indicators reported to leadership and the board. The US Sentencing Guidelines, the DOJ's compliance program evaluation and ISO 37301 all expect exactly those elements to exist and to be evidenced.
Policy Management manages the code of conduct and the ethics policies with attestation tracking, so every employee's acknowledgement is evidenced with who attested, to which version and when. The Ethics and Compliance Lead sees completion by department and chases the gaps rather than the whole organization, and when a policy is revised the new version goes out for attestation with the previous record retained. For a DOJ evaluation or an ISO 37301 audit, the attestation record is the evidence that the code was communicated.
SmartSuite runs the disclosure workflows for conflicts, gifts and hospitality with approvals and a searchable register, so an employee submits a disclosure, the right approver decides it and the decision is recorded where the Ethics and Compliance Lead can find it later. The register answers the questions that come up in an investigation or an anti-bribery review: who disclosed what, who approved it and whether a pattern exists with a particular third party. Approval rules apply consistently rather than depending on which manager received the email.
Complaints Tracking handles speak-up reports and investigations as cases with role-based access, investigation workflows and outcomes, so only the people assigned to a case can see it and the investigation steps, decisions and outcome are recorded on the case. The Ethics and Compliance Lead triages incoming reports, assigns investigators and involves the General Counsel or the HR Operations Manager on a case-by-case basis. Issues Management tracks the remediation actions that follow a case to closure. The restricted access is what ISO 37002 and the EU Whistleblowing Directive expect of an internal channel.
SmartSuite provides dashboards of training completion, disclosures and case metrics for board reporting, so the Ethics and Compliance Lead reports to the Chief Compliance Officer and the board from the live program: attestation and training completion, disclosure volumes and approvals, speak-up case volumes, categories and time to close. Culture indicators are drawn from the same data over time. Compliance Assessments & Testing shows whether the program's controls have been tested, which the board and a DOJ evaluation will both ask about.
Load the code of conduct and ethics policies with their current versions, the disclosure forms and approval rules for conflicts, gifts and hospitality, and the open cases from the speak-up channel. Attestation tracking starts with the next policy roll-out, disclosures move to the workflow immediately and new reports are logged as cases from the first day. The Fraud Risk Manager and the Policy and Governance Manager work in the same records where cases or policies overlap, so the Ethics and Compliance Lead is not maintaining a separate register for each.