Ethics and Compliance Lead

Smartsuite
Smartsuite

Legal

Posted on Nov 10, 2026
Governance, risk and compliance

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.

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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

Policy management

Touches

contributes or approves

Compliance managementIssues and actionsReporting

Depends on

consumes its output

Risk managementInternal audit

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.

  1. First lineThe business and its control ownersRun the processes, own the controls, fix the issues
  2. Second lineRisk, compliance and the domain programmesSet the frameworks, assess, monitor and advise
  3. 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 role

Direct reports

Works closely with

General Counsel

See the role

HR Operations Manager

See the role

Fraud Risk Manager

See the role

Policy and Governance Manager

See the role

How 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

Code of conduct revisions with approval and history

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 suite
Training completion tracked by role

Ethics 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 suite
Policies linked to the risks they address

Each 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 suite

Work with legal, HR, fraud and governance

Investigations with tasks, outcomes and consistency

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 suite
Speak-up intake through structured forms

Reports 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 suite
Fraud and ethics cases that share a record

Where 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 suite

Report ethics metrics and culture to the board

Program evidence the DOJ framework expects

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 suite
Culture indicators alongside case metrics

Dashboards 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 suite
Board narratives drafted from the metrics

The 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 suite

Policy 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

Policy Management
Centralize creation, approval, and publication of policies with full lifecycle tracking and attestations, ensuring they remain current, accessible, and auditable.
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Complaints Tracking
Capture, track, and resolve complaints with case workflows, full traceability, and dashboards on investigations, trends, and outcomes.
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Issues Management
Track and remediate issues across audits, risk, and compliance with structured workflows, clear ownership, and real-time visibility into resolution status.
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Compliance Assessments & Testing
Manage assessment campaigns and testing schedules with a reusable question library, automated workflows, and one place for evidence collection.
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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 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.

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