At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead daily operations in a dynamic trading environment and ensure smooth execution.
- Company: Join a cutting-edge proprietary trading firm focused on sports trading.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, equity options, performance bonuses, and generous holiday allowance.
- Other info: Hybrid work model in Central London with opportunities for growth.
- Why this job: Be at the heart of a fast-paced trading business and make a real impact.
- Qualifications: Experience in trading operations or leadership roles in high-pressure environments.
The predicted salary is between 120000 - 120000 £ per year.
Our client is a proprietary trading firm and alternative investment manager focused on quantitative and fundamental sports trading. With professionals based across Europe, Asia and the US, they combine deep research with proprietary, technology-driven methodologies to trade major public sports exchanges and markets.
Contract type: Permanent, Full-time
Location: Central London (Hybrid) — candidates must be located in London
Reports to: Founder
Languages: Russian speaker ideal
About the Business
The firm runs systematic strategies across the world's most actively traded sports, identifying market inefficiencies and diversifying capital across multiple wagering categories, including spreads, totals, and related markets.
Role Overview
This role is designed for a hands-on operator who wants to work close to the engine room of a trading business. The Operations Manager / COO will take ownership of day-to-day operational execution across trading operations, risk processes, capital flows, and cross-team coordination. The focus is not on corporate overhead, but on ensuring the machine runs cleanly, predictably, and safely as trading activity scales. This is a build-and-own position, not simply a maintenance role.
Key Responsibilities
- Oversee trading operations across all strategies, ensuring consistent execution standards, effective monitoring, and timely intervention when performance deviates from expectations.
- Partner closely with traders and researchers to ensure operational processes actively support strategy performance.
- Maintain operational oversight of capital allocation, execution workflows, and performance reporting.
- Implement and maintain frameworks for operational risk controls, exposure management, and decision-making during periods of drawdown or elevated volatility.
- Act as a central coordination point between trading, research, engineering, and external service providers.
- Ensure operational dependencies are managed effectively and issues are identified and resolved promptly.
- Oversee operational infrastructure, including data flows, tooling, reporting processes, and relationships with platforms, counterparties, and vendors.
- Contribute to hiring, team structure, and organisational scaling as the business grows.
Background and Experience
The ideal candidate will have held operational or leadership responsibility within a performance-driven, trading-focused environment. Relevant backgrounds may include:
- Sports betting syndicates or professional betting operations.
- Proprietary trading firms or hedge funds.
- Quantitative or systematic trading businesses.
- Execution-focused trading or risk management roles.
- Senior operations, desk management, or COO roles in data-driven organisations.
Skills and Attributes
- Strong operational judgement and attention to detail.
- Ability to prioritise effectively in fast-moving, high-pressure environments.
- Comfortable making decisions under uncertainty and communicating clearly with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Solid understanding of trading execution, operational risk, and performance monitoring.
- High level of technical literacy, particularly around trading systems, data pipelines, and execution tooling.
- Pragmatic, results-focused mindset with the ability to balance strategic oversight and hands-on involvement.
Benefits
- Salary: Up to £120,000, plus equity, plus performance bonus.
- Profit-share bonus.
- KPI-based bonus scheme.
- 30 days holiday (excluding bank holidays).
- Private health, dental, and vision insurance.
- Life and accident insurance.
Please note: no visa sponsorship is available for this role. Candidates must be based in London.
Chief Operating Officer employer: Emerald Zebra Recruitment & Executive Search
Our client is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic and performance-driven work culture that thrives on innovation and collaboration. Located in the heart of Central London, employees benefit from a hybrid working model, competitive salaries, and generous bonuses, alongside opportunities for professional growth within a cutting-edge trading environment. With a focus on operational excellence and a commitment to employee well-being, this firm provides a unique platform for those looking to make a significant impact in the world of quantitative sports trading.
Contact Details:
Emerald Zebra Recruitment & Executive Search Recruitment Team
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