Head of Market Data

Process Improvement & Operational Excellence

• Review and optimisation of existing market data processes, workflows, and governance frameworks, identifying inefficiencies and implementing improvements;
• Complete management of monthly data reporting, annual licensing, and exchange audits, collaborating with technology to achieve automation where possible;
• Management of Maven's data catalogue, raising its profile with business users as a tool to review available data sets;
• Understanding technical, industry, regulatory, trading, and business operations detail and its impact to support business decision-making.
• Creation of a data inventory for use by Maven staff, indexing all data usage across the business

Commercial & Vendor Management

• Deep technical understanding of market data licensing across all global exchanges that Maven is active on;
• Negotiation and management of all market data vendor contracts, ensuring commercially optimal terms;
• Identifying opportunities to achieve cost optimisation and enhance service levels;
• Ownership and management of the market data budget, including forecasting, tracking spend, and reporting to senior management;
• Establishing, maintaining, and developing relationships with industry contacts and key third-party data vendors;
• Evaluation and procurement of alternative data sources (e.g., sentiment data, satellite data, web-scraped data) to support quantitative and systematic trading strategies;
• Proactively identifying further opportunities for new and alternative data sets and their possible use cases within Maven.

Governance, Risk & Compliance

• Ensuring compliance with all market data licensing obligations, regulatory requirements, and internal governance standards;
• Management of market data-related risks including licensing non-compliance, audit exposure, and contractual obligations;
• Deep understanding of Maven's use and interaction with all types of data, ensuring appropriate controls and documentation are in place.

Stakeholder Management & Collaboration

• Stakeholder management across Trading Desks, Technology/Engineering, Legal, Compliance, and Finance;
• Coordination of market data-related communication and collaboration with trading, development, and operational teams globally across the organisation;
• Attendance at industry events, conferences, and meetings to build business intelligence and maintain contacts.

Candidate Specifications:

• At least 7 years' experience gained within market data policy and licensing at a data or technology vendor, proprietary trading firm, exchange, fund manager, audit or due diligence firm, or management consultancy;
• Proven track record of negotiating complex data licensing agreements with major vendors (e.g., Bloomberg, LSE/Refinitiv, ICE, CME);
• Demonstrable experience of building or significantly improving a market data function, including strategy development and process improvement;
• Experience with data management platforms, market data inventory tools (e.g., TRG Screen, Alveo), or equivalent.
• Experience leveraging AI and machine learning tools to enhance data management processes, automate workflows, or support data-driven decision-making.

Knowledge:

• Excellent knowledge in market data policy and licensing, plus at least one of the following key areas:
  • I.T. operations and infrastructure
  • Financial products, particularly equities, futures, and options
  • Securities exchanges
  • Compliance and regulation
  • Legal contract review

Skills & Competencies:

• Ability to think strategically while executing operationally;
• Ability to work autonomously and influence without direct authority across multiple senior stakeholder groups;
• Ability to communicate and reason effectively with key stakeholders at all levels;
• Ability to demonstrate sound judgement, decision-making, and organisational skills;
• Excellent verbal and numerical reasoning skills;
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and VBA.
• Proficiency in AI tools and technologies, with the ability to identify and implement AI-driven solutions to improve market data operations, reporting, vendor analysis, and cost optimisation. A strong interest in emerging AI applications within financial data management is essential.

What We Offer:

• A great environment whereby technology is key to our success
• The upside of a start-up without the associated risks
• Friendly, informal and highly rewarding culture
• A fast-growing global firm with plenty of opportunities where you will have a significant impact

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