Head of Finance

Smarkets • Chicago, IL

4d • Hybrid

About The Position

This is a senior finance role sitting within our CFTC-regulated business unit, working across the Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO) and Designated Contract Market (DCM). You will own budgeting, liquidity planning, financial controls, and capital adequacy, ensuring the DCM and DCO meet all Part 39 and Part 38 requirements. As the business will be only offering fully collateralized trades, margin requirements are not expected to be a material part of the role. This is a founding build: our licensing applications are in-flight and you will stand up the finance function and controls through to go-live, then operate and scale them as the business grows. Given the business unit's integration with a UK-based parent, you will also ensure accurate cost allocation, intercompany accounting, and resource tracking across jurisdictions while preserving regulatory independence.

Requirements

• Senior finance leader with 5+ years of senior-level financial management experience, ideally within a CFTC-regulated business.
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in good standing with a U.S. State Board of Accountancy.
• Deep expertise in US GAAP, financial forecasting, and internal financial controls.
• Familiarity with DCO and DCM financial compliance obligations.
• Demonstrated ability to maintain regulatory financial-resources adequacy, including operating-cost coverage, resource liquidity, and financial forecasting.
• A clean regulatory record, with no history of financial misconduct, enforcement actions, or regulatory infractions.
• Excellent reporting and communication skills for executive, board, and regulatory audiences.

Nice To Haves

• Personal interest in sports, exchanges, or trading
• Experience in exchange, clearing, or other market infrastructure finance.
• Familiarity with event contracts, prediction markets, or similar novel futures products.
• Experience operating across US and UK finance and tax environments.

Responsibilities

• Own all financial operations of the DCO and DCM entities, including budgeting, accounting, financial reporting, and liquidity management.
• Ensure the DCO and DCM maintain sufficient financial resources to satisfy capital adequacy and operating cost coverage.
• Support and manage the delivery of quarterly financial statements and annual audited accounts.
• Maintain internal controls and accounting systems that support the integrity and auditability of financial records.
• Lead financial forecasting, stress testing, and capital planning, aligned with the DCO and DCM's risk profile and operational footprint.
• Prepare and submit timely, accurate regulatory financial filings to the CFTC and support audits and inquiries.
• Coordinate with external auditors, legal counsel, and regulators to ensure full financial compliance.
• Partner closely with the COO, General Counsel, and Risk teams to assess financial risk and resource implications.
• Track and allocate financial resources across the US entity and the UK-based parent where shared services exist, preserving regulatory independence.
• Provide executive-level financial insight to the board or governing body of the DCM.

Benefits

• 25 days' annual leave, plus public holidays.
• 401(k) plan: Smarkets matches 100% of employee contributions up to the first 6% of salary.
• Private medical insurance: a monthly reimbursement towards the private health insurance plan of your choice.
• Performance bonus of up to 25% of base salary.
• Equity via share options scheme.
• Annual professional development budget of $1,000 for conferences, training, courses, books, and other learning opportunities.
• Work From Anywhere: up to 20 days per year (pro-rated) to work remotely from locations around the world.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed