Head of Compliance: Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF)

Job description

**Reports to:** Regional Head of Compliance, EMEA (with matrix reporting to the OEM Board and Global Compliance) **Regulator:** Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) ## About the Team The compliance function at OKX is responsible for the overall compliance culture at the company. We are a team of risk-minded problem solvers who advise the business on the company's AML and regulatory obligations and enterprise risks. OKX Europe Markets Limited is our MFSA-authorised investment services entity. Its licence covers the operation of a multilateral trading facility alongside our MiFID derivatives business. Operating a trading venue puts a distinct set of obligations on the firm: venue rulebook governance, member admission, market surveillance, transparency and reporting, systems resilience and orderly trading controls. This role owns compliance for that venue. ## What You Will Be Doing As Head of Compliance for the MTF, you will hold the MiFID compliance function for the trading venue and act as the MFSA-approved person for that role. The MLRO function sits separately; you will work alongside the OEM MLRO on financial crime matters that touch venue activity. You will: - Own the MTF compliance framework end to end: policies, procedures, controls, registers and the compliance monitoring programme covering MiFID II, MiFIR, MAR and the MFSA Investment Services Rules applicable to MTF operators. - Act as the primary compliance point of contact for the MFSA on venue matters: authorisation variations, notifications, thematic reviews, RFIs, inspections and remediation. - Own the venue rulebook. Keep it current, ensure it is enforceable, and run the governance process for changes. - Oversee member and participant admission: eligibility criteria, non-discriminatory access, direct electronic access arrangements, sponsored access controls, and ongoing monitoring of members' compliance with the rules of the venue. - Oversee admission to trading of financial instruments, including the compliance assessment of new instruments, product classes and tokenised or DLT-based instruments where relevant. - Provide compliance oversight of orderly trading requirements: systems capacity and resilience, testing of members' algorithms, circuit breakers, order-to-trade ratios, tick sizes, market making schemes and clock synchronisation. - Provide compliance oversight of pre- and post-trade transparency, waivers and deferrals, transaction reporting, reference data and the accuracy and completeness controls behind them. - Advise the business on the interaction between the MTF and OKX's wider European footprint: the MiFID derivatives business, MiCA-authorised activity in OKX Europe Ltd, and the DLT Pilot Regime where a DLT MTF is in scope. - Deliver the annual compliance risk assessment, the compliance monitoring plan and the compliance report to senior management and the Board. - Build, lead and develop the MTF compliance team, and set the compliance training curriculum for venue-facing staff, trading operations and technology. - Give day-to-day advice to product, engineering, trading operations, legal and market operations in a fast-moving regulatory environment, including sign-off on venue changes, launches and marketing where required. - Oversee compliance aspects of outsourcing, critical third parties and operational resilience, including DORA obligations relevant to the venue. - Prepare Board, committee and matrix stakeholder reporting, and represent OKX with the MFSA, ESMA consultations, industry bodies and peer venue forums. ## What We Look For in You - 10 years plus in regulatory compliance within financial services, market infrastructure, fintech or crypto, including time at a senior or head-of-function level. - Direct experience of trading venue compliance: MTF, OTF, regulated market, SI or an equivalent execution venue. This is the core requirement. - Working knowledge of MiFID II and MiFIR as they apply to venue operators: Articles 18–20 and 31 (MTF operating requirements and rule monitoring), Articles 48–50 (orderly trading), MiFIR transparency and transaction reporting, and the associated RTS. - Practical experience of market abuse surveillance and MAR obligations for a venue operator, including STOR decision-making. - Experience developing and owning a compliance framework that has stood up to regulatory examination, and a track record of engaging supervisors directly. - Experience preparing and defending compliance reporting to a board or regulator. - Familiarity with MFSA Investment Services Rules and Malta's regulatory environment, or a demonstrable ability to get there quickly from another EEA jurisdiction. - Strong project management skills and the ability to run several regulatory workstreams to deadline. - Comfortable working independently and in a dispersed, cross-border team across multiple varied tasks. - Highly ethical, intuitive, and willing to question and challenge at every level of the business. - Strong written and verbal communication, with the ability to explain venue regulation to engineers and commercial teams. - Eligible for MFSA approval as the holder of the compliance function. - Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience. ## Nice to Haves - Prior experience in the crypto industry, particularly tokenised instruments, crypto derivatives or a MiCA-authorised trading platform. - Experience with the DLT Pilot Regime or another distributed ledger market infrastructure. - Experience of a trading venue authorisation or a licence variation to add MTF operation. - Familiarity with surveillance platforms (Nasdaq Trade Surveillance, Eventus, Scila, Steeleye or similar) and with transaction reporting tooling. - International Compliance Association, ACAMS, CISI or equivalent compliance certification. ## **Perks & Benefits** - Competitive total compensation package - L&D programs and Education subsidy for employees' growth and development - Various team building programs and company events - Wellness and meal allowances - Comprehensive healthcare schemes for employees and dependants - More that we love to tell you along the process! ## **OKX Statement:** OKX is committed to equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, genetic information, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, lawful alien status, national origin, age, marital status, and non-job related physical or mental disability, or protected veteran status. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. ## Notice: All official OKX vacancies are published on this website. While roles may appear on selected third-party platforms from time to time, information on other sites may be inaccurate or outdated. **If in doubt, please apply directly through our official careers website.** Information collected and processed as part of the recruitment process of any job application you choose to submit is subject to OKX's [Candidate Privacy Notice](https://www.okx.com/en-eu/help/okx-candidate-privacy-notice).