General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer

Belvedere Trading is a global proprietary trading firm proudly headquartered in downtown Chicago. Our traders work hard to provide liquidity to the market through their market-making activities and are the masters of a diverse set of commodities, interest rates, exchange-traded funds (ETF), equity index, equities, and equities options. From the beginning, we began iteratively investing in our proprietary technology and committing to building our systems from the ground up. Our trading models and software systems are continually re-engineered, optimized, and maintained to stay on top of the industry.
Our Business department is comprised of several key teams who work to ensure that Belvedere is operating at the highest level.  We look for passionate team members that excel and their contribution is critical to our continued success. Our Business Teams build and manage processes that strive to improve all facets of the company. Whether it’s human or financial capital, our goal is to drive productivity while enhancing Team Belvedere’s experience.
Within the Business Department, the Compliance and Legal team serves in an advisory capacity to Belvedere's trading, operational, and technical functions by developing and implementing an effective compliance system throughout the organization, including providing legal and regulatory advice and counsel to all facets of the business and the firm’s growth initiatives.
The General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer (GC/CCO) will guide the legal and compliance strategy for the firm and lead a team that will execute those initiatives daily. This is an outstanding opportunity for a strong and execution-focused lawyer to implement effective solutions globally. Candidates will ideally have 10 years of compliance and legal experience working for a proprietary trading firm, broker-dealer, clearing firm, SRO, or similar organization under FINRA’s purview. Other acceptable experience includes in-house legal counsel or law firm experience working with registered SEC or CFTC entities with significant exposure to compliance and strong analytical and quantitative skills.

What you'll do

• Provide strategic regulatory, legal, and compliance guidance to the firm’s business lines and leadership team.
• Suggest pragmatic, scalable, and automated legal and compliance solutions for new or existing business initiatives.
• Conduct comprehensive internal compliance reviews to identify potential operational gaps or inefficiencies and develop strategic and scalable solutions.
• Periodically review the firm’s supervisory procedures for relevance, adequacy, and effectiveness.
• Keep abreast of regulatory developments, including rulemaking by the firm’s regulators and self-regulatory organizations.
• Promote a culture of compliance throughout the firm and accountability by the firm’s registered principals with respect to their supervisory responsibilities. Direct the continuing compliance education of employees.
• Oversee the firm’s engagement and response to regulatory examinations, audits, and inquiries.
• Oversee the firm’s FINRA CAT compliance and work with the teams responsible for daily reporting.
• Advise on all action planning deliverables for relevant rulemaking including front and back-office system developments/enhancements and monitoring/surveillance needs.
• Manage Compliance and Legal team members on all aspects of the regulatory compliance process.
• Draft and update policies and procedures to conform to new regulations.
• Efficiently engage outside legal counsel to address issues in a cost-effective manner.
• Negotiate, draft, and review trading agreements with independent traders or trading teams.
• Update and maintain corporate governance documents including operating agreements, partnership agreements, employment agreements, organizational charts, and corporate registrations.
• Vet and provide regulatory guidance for new product and strategy initiatives.

What you'll need

• Deep expertise in broker-dealer and commodities trading laws and regulations and their applicability to large proprietary trading firms.
• Law degree and a current law license required.
• Prior experience managing legal and compliance teams, preferably with a broker dealer, self-regulatory organization, or a federal securities or commodities regulator.
• Ability to effectively translate and communicate legal and regulatory complexities to the Management Team.
• Experience with designing, implementing, and reviewing regulatory surveillance.
• Demonstrate initiative and an ability to identify, prevent, and mitigate risks.
• Highly proficient in desktop applications and MS Office suite products.
• FINRA Series 7 or 57, and Series 24 required (or must obtain within two months of hire).
• Strong organizational skills with the abi