About this role
Job title: Chief Risk Officer
About the Role This is a senior leadership role within Smarkets' CFTC-regulated business unit, with responsibility for the enterprise risk management function across our Designated Contract Market (DCM) and Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO). You will be the most senior risk voice in the business, owning the identification, assessment, and mitigation of every risk facing the entity. This is a founding build: licensing applications are in-flight and you will stand up the risk management framework from the ground up through to go-live, then operate and mature it as the business scales. You will work directly with the CEO and board, with the support of the Smarkets UK team behind you.
What You'll Do
- Own the end-to-end enterprise risk management programme for Smarkets Board of Trade (DCM): policies, controls, monitoring, stress testing and reporting, ready for go-live.
- Establish and maintain risk assessment processes and governance across the DCM (and DCO) and regulatory requirements, ensuring readiness for go-live and ongoing maturity.
What We're Looking For
- 7+ years of senior risk management experience, ideally within derivatives markets, exchanges, clearinghouses, or other financial infrastructure providers.
- 4+ years of hands-on experience owning enterprise or operational risk within a DCM, DCO, or comparable regulated market infrastructure in the United States, with direct responsibility for risk and system safeguards, not advisory or supporting.
- Entrepreneurial mindset with a track record of operating in a small-scale, fast-paced, creative work environment.
- Deep understanding of the CFTC's risk and system safeguards expectations, including Core Principle 20 (System Safeguards), stress testing, and operational resilience requirements.
- Strong background identifying and analysing technology risk, counterparty exposures, and internal control weaknesses, and translating them into a defensible, audit-ready risk framework.
- Proficiency with established risk assessment frameworks (COSO ERM, ISO 31000) and control testing, applied across financial, operational, and systemic risk. CFA or FRM certification is desirable.
- Experience partnering with the CEO and board on risk strategy, board-level governance, and risk reporting, including engagement with regulators at an institutional level.
Nice to Have
- CFA or FRM certification is desirable.