Head of Operations

Operational lead assignment Based - Abu Dhabi (travel and accommodation funding provided) Assignment - six to 12 months (chance of permanent further down the line) Equifind have partnered with an international investment firm to assist them with their search for an operational lead to join them for a specific assignment based out in the Middle East. The Public Markets Operational Lead will own the end-to-end operating model for the firm’s multi-asset public markets and derivatives overlay. You will be accountable for ensuring that trading activity is supported by a robust pre-trade-controlled environment, scalable post-trade infrastructure, effective risk and valuation governance, and strong front-to-back coordination across both internal and external teams. This is an exciting opportunity for someone to lend their experience and become a valued member of a fantastic company. A truly hands-on and dynamic role, where you can shape their finance function. If you enjoy project/consulting work and fancy working overseas, then this could be a great opportunity for you.

Key duties and responsibilities for this operational lead position include but limited to:

• Pre-Trade Controls and Trading Enablement
• Own pre-trade compliance setup and monitoring, including limits, exposures, leverage, concentration, and mandate rules.
• Ensure new trades, products, and strategies are operationally supportable before execution.
• Oversee electronic execution setup and connectivity to brokers, venues, and internal systems.
• OMS / PMS Ownership and Vendor Management
• Act as the business owner for OMS/PMS and associated risk, pricing, and post-trade systems supporting the overlay.
• Own day-to-day oversight of OMS/PMS performance, data quality, and control effectiveness.
• Define and maintain system operating procedures, user workflows, and controls in line with the target operating model.
• Manage vendor relationships for OMS/PMS, risk, pricing, and connectivity providers, including service scope, SLAs, KPIs, incident management, and escalation.
• Coordinate vendor delivery during implementation, enhancement, and migration phases.
• Lead user acceptance testing and provide operational sign-off for system changes impacting the overlay.
• Ensure OMS/PMS outputs align with administrator records, including ownership of IBOR–ABOR reconciliations and break resolution.
• Risk and Daily Operational Oversight
• Produce and oversee daily internal risk and operational reporting, combining OMS/PMS outputs with administrator data.
• Ensure T0 / T+1 visibility of positions, P&L, Greeks, margin, and cash.
• Act as the operational control point during periods of system change or parallel running across platforms.
• Post-Trade, Settlements, and Lifecycle Management
• Own post-trade workflows for listed and OTC instruments, including confirmations, settlements, resets, exercises, expiries, and lifecycle events.
• Oversee OTC settlements and listed settlements across brokers and custodians.
• Own cash management and collateral management across prime brokers, clearing brokers, and swap counterparties.
• Manage voluntary corporate actions impacting overlay positions.
• Broker, Counterparty, and Infrastructure Management
• Manage operational relationships and connectivity with prime brokers, swap dealers, clearing brokers, and FX counterparties.
• Own post-trade infrastructure and middleware, including risk vendors, SWIFT, broker connectivity, and settlement platforms.
• Administrator and Back-Office Oversight
• Act as the primary operational interface with the fund administrator.
• Oversee reconciliations, official P&L, fund accounting, and NAV-related processes.
• Provide internal oversight of functions formally outsourced to the fund administrators
• Regulatory and Reporting Obligations
• Oversee operational aspects of regulatory reporting (e.g. EMIR, MiFID), ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and control.
• Coordinate with internal and external stakeholders on regulatory change impacting the overlay.
• Change, Migration, and New Product Onboarding
• Lead operational readiness for new products, instruments, strategies, and counterparties.
• Manage periods where cash, positions, and P&L must be controlled across multiple systems during migrations.
• Ensure front-to-back testing, governance, and sign-off for all material changes.
• Front-to-Back Ownership
• Serve as the primary link between the front desk, middle office, back office, system vendors, and the administrator.
• Maintain a full understanding of all listed and OTC products traded, their lifecycle events, and how they flow from execution through to accounting.

Candidate Background/Profile

Senior experience in multi-asset public markets operations, including OTC derivatives. Deep understanding of front-to-back trade lifecycle across listed and OTC products. Strong experience working with OMS/PMS platforms, risk systems, and fund administrators. Proven ability to manage external 3rd parties under SLA-driven models. Comfortable operating at the intersection of trading, risk, technology, and fund accounting.

About the business

An international investment firm with over $50 billion AUM, which has a tried and tested history of high-level performance and returns in both the private and public markets. The organisation is headquartered in the Middle East and has around 40 employees across the region. You will work with the team onsite to drive this transition, and a relocation package will be offered with flights and accommodation.

Rate/Salary

This exciting project opportunity will pay market rate, depending on industry background and experience. We will be looking to organise interviews over the course of the next few weeks with a view of starting this assignment ASAP but we will wait for the right person. This assignment has been earmarked for 6-12 months.