Head of Compliance and Legal affairs

About the role

We are looking for an experienced Head of Compliance and Legal Affairs to lead legal, regulatory and financial crime matters across Portofino Technologies.

You will act as MLRO for our UK entity and oversee our compliance framework, while coordinating legal and regulatory matters across the wider group, including entities in the UK, BVI, Switzerland and Europe.

This is a broad, hands-on role combining regulatory compliance, AML and financial crime, legal operations and commercial legal work. You will work closely with senior management and the Board, as well as external counsel and regulatory authorities, supporting the business as it develops new products, enters new markets and grows its institutional trading activities.

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Responsibilities

• Lead legal, compliance and financial crime matters across the Portofino Technologies group
• Act as MLRO for our UK entity, overseeing AML, CTF, sanctions and wider financial crime frameworks
• Take ownership of litigation, disputes and potential claims, defining strategy and coordinating external lawyers across relevant jurisdictions
• Select, instruct and manage external legal counsel, ensuring specialist advice is used effectively and proportionately
• Review, draft and negotiate client, trading, vendor, confidentiality and intercompany agreements, with particular focus on liability, indemnities, termination rights and regulatory obligations
• Identify and manage legal and regulatory risks arising from new products, counterparties, jurisdictions and business initiatives
• Advise senior management and the Board on material legal, regulatory and compliance matters, including disputes and higher-risk decisions
• Own and develop compliance policies, risk assessments, monitoring and controls, including client onboarding, CDD/EDD, screening and transaction monitoring
• Coordinate legal, regulatory and compliance matters across our UK, BVI, Swiss and European entities
• Manage regulatory filings, supervisory engagements, audits and relationships with regulators and other relevant authorities
• Monitor legal and regulatory developments affecting cryptoasset and financial services businesses and translate them into practical actions for the business

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Must have

• Significant experience in compliance, AML, financial crime, legal or regulatory roles within financial services, cryptoassets or another regulated environment
• Strong knowledge of the UK regulatory framework applicable to cryptoasset and financial services businesses
• Strong understanding of AML, sanctions and wider financial crime requirements
• Good understanding of cryptoassets, blockchain technology and associated regulatory risks
• Experience overseeing CDD, EDD, sanctions screening, transaction monitoring and financial crime investigations
• Ability to interpret complex regulation and translate it into practical, risk-based policies and controls
• Experience working with senior management and the confidence to challenge and escalate where necessary
• Strong communication, judgement and stakeholder-management skills

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Nice to Have

• Previous experience as an MLRO, Deputy MLRO, Head of Compliance or senior financial crime professional
• A legal qualification, law degree or significant in-house legal experience
• ICA, ACAMS or another relevant compliance or AML qualification
• Experience reviewing and negotiating commercial, trading or financial services agreements
• Experience dealing directly with regulators and supervisory authorities
• Experience working across multiple jurisdictions
• Familiarity with blockchain analytics, wallet screening and transaction-monitoring tools
• Understanding of institutional crypto markets, market making and OTC trading

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Your personality

• Independent, pragmatic and comfortable exercising sound judgement
• Hands-on and willing to work across both strategic and day-to-day matters
• Commercially minded while maintaining clear regulatory independence
• Comfortable operating in a fast-moving trading environment
• Confident working directly with senior management, the Board, regulators and external advisers
• Clear, collaborative and able to turn complex legal and regulatory issues into practical solutions

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At Portofino, C++ performance engineering sits at the heart of a live trading system, with direct impact on performance across multiple venues.

• Direct impact: your work runs in production and affects live trading
• Ownership: build and evolve systems end to end, from design to deployment
• Lean team: work closely with experienced traders and engineers
• High leverage: internal tooling, including AI systems, helps reduce repetitive work and accelerate development

We offer a collaborative environment with strong technical ownership and competitive compensation aligned with performance.

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