Chief Operating Officer

Responsibilities

• Act as the execution engine of strategy and the integrator of the entire operating system, including front office, operations, technology, and client experience.
• Own the firm’s external operational interface with exchanges, custodians, and infrastructure providers such as JSE, A2X, ZARX, CTSE, Strate, and CSDPs.
• Provide strategic oversight of post-trade, settlements, reconciliations, and operational controls across all asset classes including equities, bonds, FX, and derivatives.
• Collaborate with the Technology team to ensure production stability of trading, risk, settlement, and client systems.
• Manage the firm's cyber and information-security posture and oversee third-party/vendor cyber risk.
• Drive operational efficiencies and process optimization to ensure the business scales with volume growth.
• Embed regulatory adherence (FSCA, COFI, JSE directives) into operational design and workflows.
• Own the operational and client data layer to ensure a single source of truth for trading, risk, and reporting.
• Manage key vendor relationships and oversee outsourcing arrangements in compliance with regulatory expectations.
• Ensure client asset protection through correct segregation, ring-fencing, and reconciliation of client money.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in a senior operational leadership role within financial services.
• Deep market exposure to Equities, Fixed Income/Bonds, Derivatives (listed and OTC), and FX.
• Extensive knowledge of market infrastructure including JSE, A2X, ZARX, CTSE, Strate, and CSDP flows.
• Strong understanding of the South African regulatory environment, including FAIS, FICA, AML/RMCP, and POPIA.
• Technology fluency with the ability to engage on architecture, automation, data, and platform reliability.
• CA (SA) or a Finance degree/Honours with relevant market experience.

About the Company

Prescient is a multinational financial services provider offering investment management, stockbroking, platform and administration services, and capital market services. We pride ourselves on where exceptional expertise meets meticulous financial services.