Vice President, Risk & Compliance

Remote London, Greater London, England, United Kingdom

The Vice President, Risk & Compliance will design and operate the company’s enterprise-level compliance program that aligns individual programs within various company functions (e.g. Finance, Quality, HR, Regulatory, Privacy, etc) into one comprehensive program reviewed and monitored by the Board of Directors. The position will establish policies and procedures appropriate for a clinical stage public biotech and data company as well as the communication and training necessary to ensure employees understand the requirements of and risks behind the same. The VP, Risk & Compliance will contribute significantly to the culture of the company and will assess and monitor the effectiveness of the overall compliance program.

COMPASS Pathways plc is a mental health care company dedicated to accelerating patient access to evidence-based innovation in mental health. Our focus is on improving the lives of those who are suffering with mental health challenges and who are not helped by current treatments. We are pioneering the development of a new model of psilocybin therapy, in which our proprietary formulation of synthetic psilocybin, COMP360, is administered in conjunction with psychological support.

COMP360 has been designated a Breakthrough Therapy by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for treatment-resistant depression (TRD), and we have completed a phase IIb clinical trial of psilocybin therapy for TRD, in 22 sites across Europe and North America. We are also running a phase II clinical trial of COMP360 psilocybin therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

COMPASS is headquartered in London, UK, with offices in New York and San Francisco in the US. Our vision is a world of mental wellbeing. www.compasspathways.com.

Location: The successful candidate will be based in London, UK (home or office based) or the US East Coast (home working or office based in NY).

Reports to: The role will have a solid reporting line to the London-based General Counsel & Chief Legal Officer.

Roles and responsibilities

(may include but are not limited to):

Bring together policies, procedures and processes existing throughout the company to ensure effective enterprise risk management
Develop and implement policies, procedures and processes where there are gaps (including with respect to healthcare compliance)
Conduct an assessment of key compliance risk areas and partner with functional experts to develop and monitor mitigation activities
Implement risk-based due diligence and third-party risk management processes
Ensure company-wide awareness of compliance requirements through a robust yet concise training program that is tracked and monitored
Provide advice and guidance to management and employees on compliance issues and the company’s compliance program
Investigate reports of alleged non-compliance received from employees, third parties and the hotline ensuring that appropriate and consistent corrective actions are implemented for compliance-related issues (in cooperation with the People Team)
Monitor the regulatory environment, determine the potential impact of regulatory changes on the enterprise-level compliance program, and work in partnership with functional experts to implement changes where necessary
Foster a culture of integrity and ethical behaviour across and throughout the company, developing strong working relationships with key business leaders to help ensure Compliance involvement in critical business initiatives

Profile:

Juris Doctor or equivalent law degree required
Extensive compliance experience (especially with respect to the US, UK and EU), excellent collaboration skills, good judgment, pragmatism and the ability to manage and communicate effectively with all stakeholders
Knowledge and understanding of healthcare compliance and the applicable legal and regulatory framework, including pharmaceutical codes of practice, the FCPA and the UK Bribery Act
Understanding of corporate objectives and the ability to work in partnership with business colleagues to implement effective compliance programs that are consistent with our business objectives, culture, and stage of development
Strong understanding of business risk in the life science industry, expert knowledge of compliance rules and regulations and a pragmatic approach to assisting the wider business to benefit from a robust compliance culture.
Dynamic, open and highly collaborative leadership style and the proven track record of building effective relationships
A ‘can-do’ attitude, focused on looking for solutions in a demanding and results-driven environment
A “hands-on” approach and entrepreneurial thinking/acting
Highly developed influencing skills and the ability to effectively marshal buy-in and drive consensus among people at all levels and within complex environments
Self-aware and emotionally intelligent with a high level of personal authority, integrity and credibility
Ability to present ideas articulately and openly and ability to effectively influence a range of stakeholders