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
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Competitive total compensation package
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L&D programs and Education subsidy for employees' growth and development
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Various team building programs and company events
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Wellness and meal allowances
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Comprehensive healthcare schemes for employees and dependants
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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:
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