Control Specialist - Aptitude Asia

About the Role

Our client is seeking an ambitious, tech-forward Vice President to lead their APAC Business Controls & Regulatory Reporting framework. In this role, you won't just be plugging numbers into templates—you will own the Front Office control environment across the APAC region.

Sitting directly at the intersection of Trading Desks, Legal, Compliance, and RegTech , you will act as the key bridge ensuring that complex OTC trading activities and lifecycle events strictly comply with regional regulatory standards while driving continuous process automation.

1. Own Front Office Business Controls: Serve as the first/second line of defense, proactively identifying operational risks, managing trade lifecycle exceptions, and enforcing robust control frameworks across OTC Derivatives (Equity Swaps, Rates, FX) and cash products.
2. APAC Regulatory Delivery: Lead and execute regulatory reporting and surveillance compliance across key APAC jurisdictions, with a strong emphasis on MAS (Singapore), HKMA (Hong Kong), and ASIC (Australia) requirements.
3. Regulatory Change Leadership: Act as the primary business controls lead for upcoming regulatory reforms (such as the MAS regulatory reporting changes), translating complex legal requirements into scalable operational and technical workflows.
4. Trade Surveillance & Market Conduct: Oversee surveillance and reporting mechanisms for Short Selling positions, Dark Pool executions , and product suitability.
5. Cross-Functional Influence: Diplomatically challenge stakeholders and resolve competing priorities across Front Office Traders, Legal, Compliance, Operations, and Technology teams to maintain an audit-ready environment.
6. Drive AI & Process Automation: Eliminate manual bottlenecks by building automated exception management tools, stream-lining data reconciliations, and leveraging modern technologies (Python, SQL, Alteryx, GenAI / Copilot ) to future-proof reporting workflows.

1. Relevant Experience: 8–12+ years of hands-on experience in Business Controls, Product Control, Regulatory Reporting, or Trade Operations within a Tier-1 or Tier-2 Investment Bank or Global Markets entity.
2. Deep Regulatory Knowledge: Strong, practical expertise in MAS, HKMA, and ASIC regulatory frameworks; familiarity with global standards (MiFID II, EMIR, CFTC) is a strong plus.
3. Product Expertise: Solid functional understanding of the trade lifecycle across OTC Derivatives (Equity Swaps, FX, Rates), Equities, Fixed Income , and market mechanisms like Short Selling and Dark Pools.
4. Technical & AI Proficiency: Strong technical mindset with hands-on capability in SQL, Python, Alteryx, or VBA . Active interest and practical application of AI tools (GenAI, Copilot) for workflow automation or commentary generation is highly preferred.
5. Stakeholder Management: Exceptional communication and diplomatic negotiation skills, with a proven track record of influencing Front Office traders and senior stakeholders.