Head of Surveillance – 6 Month Contract

Location: London

Contract: 6 months, with potential to become permanent

Seniority: Executive Director / Senior Management

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We are supporting a leading global financial institution with the appointment of an experienced Head of Surveillance to lead its Market Abuse Surveillance function on an initial six-month contract.

This is a senior leadership position requiring a seasoned surveillance professional who can step into an established function, provide immediate leadership to the team, and take ownership of a key remediation and transformation programme.

The successful candidate will have extensive experience across trade and communications surveillance, with a strong understanding of market abuse regulation, surveillance frameworks, and regulatory expectations within a complex global financial institution.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and oversee the Trade and Communications Surveillance function, including teams based across multiple locations.
• Take ownership of an ongoing surveillance remediation and enhancement programme.
• Develop and drive the firm's long-term surveillance strategy across trade and communications.
• Maintain and enhance the Market Abuse Surveillance framework, including Market Abuse Risk Assessments and surveillance coverage.
• Oversee surveillance data strategy, governance, analytics, and control effectiveness.
• Manage surveillance escalation processes and investigations into potentially suspicious trading activity.
• Oversee STOR submissions and other relevant regulatory notifications.
• Act as a senior point of contact for regulators and maintain readiness for regulatory reviews and inspections.
• Lead enhancements to surveillance controls, models, systems, and alert methodologies.
• Work closely with Compliance, Front Office, Legal, Risk, and Technology stakeholders.
• Partner with Technology on surveillance tooling, data quality, and the implementation of strategic enhancements.
• Develop the use of data analytics and AI within market abuse surveillance, including appropriate governance and implementation plans.
• Oversee cross-border surveillance activity and coordinate with regional Compliance teams.
• Manage the integration of surveillance teams, processes, and trade/communications surveillance tools across group entities.
• Produce and present surveillance MI, KPIs, risk metrics, and control findings to senior management and governance committees.
• Lead regulatory and exchange enquiries, investigations, and internal Front Office referrals.
• Oversee third-party surveillance vendors and outsourced surveillance activities.