Hiring for Legal, Risk & Compliance in Singapore.
With organisations being conservative towards permanent hiring, there has been an uptick in contractor hiring - there is still work to be completed and contractors allow for more workforce agility. Certain team members have had to shoulder the burden of an increased workload and are even having to 'double hat' in some cases.
After widespread headcount growth in 2022, and throughout 2023, most recruitment activity across the governance function in Singapore was for replacement hires. This hesitancy has been driven by uncertain markets, resulting in cost cutting initiatives and causing candidates to be more selective about new roles.
44% of Legal, Risk & Compliance hiring managers see 'lack of skilled candidates available' as their biggest hiring challenge in 2024.
The top 3 things to successfully attract and hire talent in Legal, Risk & Compliance:
- 1
Flexible working patterns
- 2
Offering career progression opportunities
- 3
Employer brand
In demand roles
- Legal Counsels (all levels)
- Corporate Secretary
- Market Risk Manager
- Credit Risk Analyst (specialised portfolio: leverage finance)
- Non-Financial Risk Manager
- Financial Crime Compliance Analyst
- AML/CFT Advisory
- KYC Analysts
- Quality Assurance
Valuable skill sets
- Corporate - Generalist
- M&A/ JV
- FRTB Knowledge
- Data Analytics
- Cash flow projections
- Source of Wealth
- Sanctions
- KYC (onboarding, periodic reviews)
- Audit (Big 4)
Up, down or flat? The state of salaries.
Despite the reduction in available roles creating more of an employer-driven hiring market, we have still witnessed salary increases across Legal, Risk & Compliance.
Pay expectations of candidates have risen due to higher costs of living but also because the unstable market has meant they are only keen to move if the package is attractive enough. There is fear of being ‘last in, first out,’ so they have been requesting larger pay packages in order to make the risk worthwhile.
Top 3 roles likely to receive increases:
- 1
Tech Risk
- 2
Cyber
- 3
Compliance Officers
of Legal, Risk & Compliance hiring managers expect salary offers to increase for certain roles in the next year.
Legal, Risk & Compliance salaries in Singapore
| Job Title | Sector | Sub Sector | Location | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Job Title | Sector | Sub Sector | Location | 5 - 10 years | 10 - 15 years | 15+ years |
KYC |
Compliance | Singapore | S$120,000 | S$180,000 | S$250,000+ | |
Sanctions |
Compliance | Singapore | S$130,000 | S$200,000 | S$250,000+ | |
Transaction Monitoring |
Compliance | Singapore | S$120,000 | S$180,000 | S$220,000+ | |
Compliance Testing |
Compliance | Singapore | S$120,000 | S$200,000 | S$250,000+ | |
Regulatory Compliance |
Compliance | Singapore | S$130,000 | S$200,000 | S$350,000+ | |
Corporate Secretary |
Compliance | Singapore | S$120,000 | S$180,000 | S$220,000+ | |
AML Advisory |
Compliance | Singapore | S$130,000 | S$250,000 | S$350,000+ | |
Credit Risk |
Risk | Singapore | S$140,000 | S$200,000 | S$300,000+ | |
Market Risk |
Risk | Singapore | S$140,000 | S$200,000 | S$300,000+ | |
Operational Risk |
Risk | Singapore | S$120,000 | S$180,000 | S$250,000+ | |
Quant |
Risk | Singapore | S$160,000 | S$250,000 | S$350,000+ | |
Enterprise Risk |
Risk | Singapore | S$120,000 | S$180,000 | S$250,000+ | |
Portfolio Risk & Analytics |
Risk | Singapore | S$140,000 | S$200,000 | S$280,000+ | |
Commodities Risk |
Risk | Singapore | S$120,000 | S$180,000 | S$240,000+ | |
Asset Management / Investment Risk |
Risk | Singapore | S$160,000 | S$220,000 | S$320,000+ | |
Reporting Role |
Risk | Singapore | S$120,000 | S$180,000 | S$240,000+ |
Download Your 2024 Legal, Risk & Compliance Salary Guide for Singapore.
Permanent, temporary and contract salary data for a range of Legal, Risk & Compliance roles, as well as insights and advice to guide your talent strategies.
