Legal & Compliance Manager
Abu Dhabi (ADGM)
About Our Client
Our client is a regulated financial market infrastructure operator that has received In-Principal Approval from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) to operate as a Recognised Investment Exchange (RIE) and Recognised Clearing House (RCH) for digital asset and related derivatives.
Building on its existing status as the first FCA-authorised, centrally cleared digital asset derivatives Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF) in the United Kingdom and with a global operations base our client is establishing a regulated presence across some of the world's most significant financial centres. This multi-jurisdictional infrastructure gives institutional participants genuine choice in where and how they access digital asset derivatives under trusted regulatory frameworks.
At the core of the business model is central clearing, which resolves the counterparty and credit risk constraints that continue to limit large-scale institutional participation in digital asset markets. By enabling digital assets to be used as margin within a centrally cleared format, and by supporting both cash-settled and physically delivered derivatives alongside other listed products, our client is building the next generation of market infrastructure one designed to integrate digital assets into mainstream institutional finance.
Job Purpose
The Legal & Compliance Manager will serve as the primary legal and compliance presence on the ground in Abu Dhabi, responsible for both the day-to-day regulatory compliance of the ADGM-licensed exchange and central clearing house, and for providing legal counsel across the business. This is an operational, hands-on leadership role at a genuinely pioneering institution operating at the intersection of institutional finance and digital assets.
The postholder will work in close alignment with the Global Head of Compliance based in the United Kingdom, reporting jointly to that individual and to the CEO of the ADGM entity. They will be expected to exercise genuine autonomy across both the legal and compliance functions drafting and negotiating commercial agreements, managing the firm's legal affairs, embedding compliance frameworks, and engaging directly with the FSRA and institutional partners.
Throughout, they will act as a commercial partner to the business rather than a gatekeeper.
This is a build-phase role requiring a dual-qualified or legally trained compliance professional who can identify what needs to be done across both disciplines and get on with it, without waiting to be directed.
Duties and Responsibilities
Legal Advisory & Transactional
- Provide day-to-day legal counsel to the business on a broad range of matters including exchange rules, clearing house rulebooks, member agreements, and participant documentation.
- Draft, review, and negotiate commercial contracts including technology agreements, vendor and supplier contracts, partnership arrangements, and institutional client agreements.
- Advise on corporate governance matters for the ADGM entity, including board resolutions, constitutional documents, and regulatory authorisation conditions.
- Support the structuring and legal review of new products, including physically delivered derivatives, tokenised collateral arrangements, and real-world asset integration.
- Manage relationships with external legal counsel across ADGM, the UK, and other relevant jurisdictions, coordinating multi-jurisdictional advice efficiently and cost-effectively.
- Provide legal input on data protection, privacy, and cybersecurity obligations under applicable ADGM law and relevant international frameworks.
- Advise on and manage any disputes, claims, or regulatory investigations that may arise, engaging external counsel where required.
- Monitor legal and regulatory developments in ADGM and the broader GCC, ensuring the business is aware of and prepared for legislative change.
Regulatory Compliance & FSRA Engagement
- Act as the primary regulatory point of contact with the FSRA, managing ongoing obligations under the RIE and RCH authorisations.
- Monitor all regulatory requirements applicable to the exchange and clearing house and ensure full, timely compliance.
- Lead regulatory horizon scanning across digital assets in ADGM, the broader GCC, and internationally, and translate this into actionable business guidance.
- Maintain and develop regulatory reporting frameworks, including incident reporting, breach management, and periodic submissions to the FSRA.
- Prepare for and manage regulatory examinations, inspections, and enquiries.
Compliance Framework Development
- Design, build, and embed compliance policies, procedures, and controls appropriate for a 24/7 centrally cleared digital asset derivatives venue.
- Develop and maintain AML/CFT frameworks, including transaction monitoring, suspicious activity reporting, and KYC/KYB standards.
- Establish and operationalise a market abuse surveillance framework suited to both crypto-native and institutional participants.
- Define and maintain conduct and conflicts of interest policies across trading, clearing, and settlement functions.
- Implement and periodically review a risk-based compliance monitoring programme.
Institutional Client & Product Support
- Support the onboarding of institutional clients from a legal and compliance perspective, including member admission, participant agreements, and counterparty due diligence.
- Advise product and business teams on the legal and regulatory perimeter as the product suite evolves including cash-settled and physically delivered derivatives, tokenised collateral, and real-world asset integration.
- Provide legal and compliance input to new product approval processes, rulemaking, and product documentation.
- Work closely with the Global Head of Compliance to ensure ADGM legal and compliance activity is integrated with group-level frameworks operating across the UK and other jurisdictions.
Commercial & Strategic Partnership
- Operate as a genuine commercial partner to the business helping the organisation move forward confidently within legal and regulatory frameworks, not acting as an obstacle to progress.
- Engage at senior level with institutional partners, counterparties, and external legal and advisory firms.
- Provide training and guidance to staff on legal obligations, compliance requirements, regulatory developments, and conduct standards.
- Contribute to the firm's culture of integrity, helping to establish the legal and compliance function as a trusted internal resource.
Skills and Competencies
Legal & Technical Skills
- Qualified lawyer (common law or civil law background considered) with post-qualification experience in financial services, capital markets, fintech, or a related field. Dual qualification or experience spanning both legal practice and compliance is strongly preferred.
- Ability to draft and negotiate complex commercial contracts, rulebooks, and institutional agreements to a high standard, independently and without heavy reliance on external counsel for routine matters.
- Deep, working knowledge of regulatory compliance within regulated financial market infrastructure exchanges, CCPs, clearing houses, or MTFs.
- Substantive expertise in digital asset and crypto markets genuine operational understanding of the legal and regulatory landscape, not superficial familiarity.
- Solid understanding of how traditional financial institutions operate, including banking legal frameworks, capital markets documentation, and clearing and settlement mechanics.
- Strong grasp of AML/CFT frameworks, sanctions screening, and financial crime risk management in both traditional and crypto contexts.
- Ability to interpret and apply primary legislation, regulatory rules, and guidance, including navigating grey areas and emerging regulatory positions.
- Familiarity with market abuse, surveillance, trade reporting obligations, and data protection law as it applies to financial services.
Experience
Essential
- 1015 years of combined legal and/or compliance experience, with a career that spans regulated financial institutions (banks, exchanges, clearing houses, or equivalent) and digital assets / crypto markets.
- Qualified lawyer with meaningful post-qualification experience in financial services; or a senior compliance professional with significant in-house legal exposure and a track record of managing legal affairs directly.
- Demonstrated ability to draft, review, and negotiate commercial and institutional agreements to a high standard.
- Proven track record of operating within or alongside a regulated financial market infrastructure provider, with direct regulatory engagement experience.
- Demonstrated ability to design and implement compliance frameworks, policies, and monitoring programmes in a build or scaling environment.
- Hands-on experience with AML/CFT programme management, including policy ownership, training, and suspicious activity management.
- Experience working across multiple jurisdictions or within a cross-border organisational structure.
Preferred
- Prior experience working within, or in close engagement with, the ADGM or FSRA regulatory framework. Broader GCC legal and regulatory experience is welcomed.
- Experience at a central counterparty clearing house (CCP), exchange, or multilateral trading facility (MTF).
- Understanding of derivatives markets, including cleared and OTC derivatives, margin, collateral management, and associated legal documentation (e.g., ISDA, exchange rulebooks).
- Familiarity with tokenised real-world assets, their legal characterisation, and regulatory treatment.
