Deputy General Counsel – Global Head of Derivatives and Trading Legal

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in United States.

📋 Description

• Take ownership of the global derivatives structuring strategy, encompassing product design, venue and entity architecture, clearing models, and execution across various licensed entities.

• Address cross-entity challenges alongside Payward’s Regulatory Legal team, covering hub-and-spoke architecture, unified balances, cross-margining, and the allocation of risk and client relationships.

• Act as the designated senior legal authority for derivatives and trading product lines.

• Engage in the product launch process from the very beginning.

• Lead and expand the legal team by recruiting, promoting, developing senior derivatives counsel, and creating succession plans.

• Collaborate with Global Policy and Government Relations on derivatives regulatory interactions with the CFTC, NFA, FCA, BMA, CySEC, and others.

• Provide support to supervised entities that hold derivatives permissions and work on supervisory relationships, new permissions, and variations linked to product launches.

• Bring structuring expertise in-house and oversee external counsel when specialized input is necessary.

• Undertake additional duties and responsibilities as assigned.

⛳️ Requirements

• Attorney licensed to practice in the US, or a qualified lawyer (Solicitor/Barrister of England & Wales, Irish Solicitor/Barrister, or equivalent admitted in an EU Member State).

• 18+ years of post-qualification experience (PQE) in financial services regulatory law.

• Experience acquired at a regulated financial services institution, major liquidity provider, or law firm/private practice serving such clients.

• Ability to independently manage business-as-usual (BAU) regulatory workstreams.

• Experience in supporting regulator engagement, including notifications, information requests, and supervisory correspondence.

• Significant senior in-house or comparable experience in derivatives law.

• Proven ownership of structuring strategy.

• In-depth, expert-level understanding of at least one derivatives regulatory framework: US (CFTC, NFA; FCM, DCM, and DCO structures), UK (FCA), EEA, or an offshore jurisdiction such as Bermuda.

• High proficiency in at least one additional derivatives regulatory framework.

• Direct experience with virtual asset markets.

• Experience in structuring products across multiple licensed entities in various jurisdictions.

• A track record of establishing or significantly scaling a legal function or team, including recruitment, promotion, and succession planning.

• Capability to operate at the functional level and hold senior lawyers accountable for outcomes and conduct.

• Credibility with regulators and the judgement to take positions before them.

• Comfort in serving as the senior legal voice in a dynamic, product-driven business.

• Nice to have: exposure to prediction markets, margin lending, tokenized and structured products.

• Nice to have: experience in integrating acquired regulated entities and legal teams.

🏝️ Benefits

• Bonus program.

• Equity program.

• Wellness allowance.

• Medical, dental, and vision benefits (US Only).

• 401(k) benefits (US Only).

• Equal opportunity employment.

• Job-related skills or work-style assessments applied consistently across candidates.

• Ongoing application acceptance unless a deadline is specified.