Head of Energy Trading Regulation

Job description

We're seeking a high-calibre, experienced and confident professional to join our Energy Regulation Team as **Head of Energy Trading Regulation**. You'll sit at the intersection of trading, markets, and regulation, translating regulatory complexity into clear, actionable guidance across the Octopus businesses engaging in UK and European energy markets. You'll bring your deep expertise in energy trading regulation, work directly with the Energy Markets team (traders, ppa, risk, forecasting and data engineering specialists) and support the business wherever wholesale market regulatory obligations apply, from real-time trading through to long-term strategy. This role is about making regulation work for us, not against us. ### What you'll do - Own regulatory interpretation and compliance across electricity (day-ahead, intraday, balancing, forwards), natural gas (spot, prompt, forwards), and environmental products (ROCs, REGOs, Guarantees of Origin, ETS compliance). - Translate regulatory frameworks into practical guidance on physical and financial hedging strategies, and complex products (tolling agreements, PPAs, structured instruments) that our teams operate across GB, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. - Embed REMIT, EMIR, and MiFID II into trading strategy and processes from inception, ensuring teams maintain regulatory clarity and confidence as markets and regulations evolve. - Evaluate and advise on regulatory treatment of emerging strategies, including Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), demand-side flexibility portfolios, and renewable generation optimisation. - Track and interpret regulatory developments across power markets, gas markets, carbon/environmental regimes, and flexibility participation rules. - Develop practical, accessible training to keep teams current on evolving regulatory obligations and market impacts. - Build and maintain relationships with regulators (Ofgem, ACER, the FCA), industry bodies, and peers — staying ahead of regulatory change to keep guidance current and anticipate market impacts. - Lead cross-functional planning and implementation of upcoming market related regulatory reforms and rule changes. ### What you'll need **Experience:** - Strong background in energy wholesale market regulations (UK and/or Continental Europe). - Deep understanding of power and gas market design, trading structures, and regulatory frameworks. - Hands-on experience with REMIT, EMIR, and MiFID II compliance and application. - Exposure to environmental markets, certificates, or carbon trading. - Experience supporting trading operations or market-facing commercial teams. - Familiarity with BESS, demand flexibility, or optimisation strategies is valuable. - Experience translating complex market regulations to non-specialist audiences. **How you work:** - Commercially aware: you understand how to support complex hedging structures while ensuring regulatory obligations are met. - You provide specialist regulatory guidance to the Energy Markets team while supporting broader business functions on regulatory compliance - You default to 'how do we do this?' rather than defaulting to 'we can't'. - You work comfortably in real time with the Energy Markets team and cross-business stakeholders — handling ambiguity and competing regulatory priorities. - You simplify complexity without losing accuracy or regulatory substance. - Strong written and verbal communication skills; able to synthesize complex topics for non-specialists. - Strong presentation skills and comfortable in a data-rich, tech-enabled environment. - A genuine fit with our culture and commitment to our mission. ### Why this role matters Power, gas, and carbon are becoming fully interconnected. Flexibility and storage are central to market economics. Regulation is expanding and fragmenting across Europe at pace. This role ensures Octopus can optimise across all commodities, scale across multiple jurisdictions, and turn regulatory complexity into a genuine competitive edge. We need someone who can sit at the centre of markets, codes, and regulation.n.