Valuations Specialist in Whitehall

We are looking for a senior Valuations Control Specialist to join our Finance and Middle Office function in London and help build Optiver's independent valuation and pricing control capability for OTC with an initial focus on exotic derivatives. This is a newly created, greenfield role sitting at the intersection of Finance and Middle Office. You will be the firm's primary technical authority on independent price verification (IPV) and valuation methodology for OTC exotic derivatives — defining standards, building infrastructure, and establishing controls as the OTC book scales.

You will work closely with Trading, Quant Research, Pricing, Risk, Technology, Legal and Finance, both in London and globally. The ideal candidate will bring deep valuations control experience from a financial markets environment, with hands-on expertise in exotic and structured OTC derivatives. This is an execution-focused role suited to someone who enjoys working close to the business, building robust controls from the ground up, improving processes, and ensuring valuation outcomes are defensible, consistent and audit-ready.

As the OTC business grows, we are also developing the technology and data infrastructure needed to support independent valuation at greater scale. This role will provide practical valuations input into that process — helping define requirements for pricing workflows, market data, IPV automation, controls, reporting and system integration from a day-to-day operational perspective.

What you'll do:

• OTC exotics valuations, IPV and methodology
• Own and manage IPV for OTC exotic equity derivatives, including structured notes, cap/floor products, barrier and digital options, autocallables and other bespoke payoffs.
• Lead the development, validation and enhancement of IPV methodologies, in close collaboration with the OTC trading desk.
• Design and implement a globally consistent valuation approach for OTC instruments, covering operating model (ownership and validation), valuation methodology, fair value hierarchy and XVA impacts.
• Define and implement prudential and fair valuation adjustments — including barrier shifts, bid/offer vs mid pricing, reserve methodologies and valuation uncertainty — consistent with market practice and applicable accounting standards.
• Leverage on internal and external resources to source, validate and maintain independent market data used for valuation and IPV.
• Own Optiver's external market-data and consensus-pricing relationships for OTC valuation — including Bloomberg, IHS Markit / Totem, ICE and comparable vendors.
• Work to develop a P&L attribution framework for Level 3 valuations, defining sensitivities to individual inputs, establishing Day 1 P&L reserve frameworks, and producing outcomes consistent with IFRS 13 levelling standards.
• Lead Optiver's approach to IFRS fair value levelling for Level 3 derivatives, working with colleagues in regional teams and external auditors.
• Define and track valuation KPIs, including IPV coverage, break resolution times, and reserve movements.
• Support new product and new trade onboarding, including pricing model verification, market data configuration and sign-off of initial valuations.
• Partner with functions across the OTC trade lifecycle — Middle Office, Operations, Risk, Legal, Compliance, Tax and Finance — to embed valuation controls into confirmation, collateral, reporting and financial-close workflows.

What you'll need:

• 8+ years' experience in valuations control, product control or quantitative finance, with a focus on OTC derivatives — structured products, exotics, or comparable complexity.
• Deep technical understanding of exotic option pricing: pricing models, calibration methods, Greeks attribution, hedging frameworks and the risk sensitivity of model-dependent payoffs.
• Hands-on IPV experience across a range of derivative instruments, with the ability to challenge and validate model outputs independently.
• Strong knowledge of accounting standards as they apply to derivatives valuation, including IFRS 13, IFRS 9, CVA/FVA and broader XVA frameworks.
• Strong market data literacy — curves, volatility surfaces, consensus marks, broker data.
• Exceptional ability to translate complex quantitative analysis for non-technical audiences.
• A proactive, practical mindset — with demonstrable experience building robust controls, improving workflows, reducing manual intervention and delivering in a fast-moving environment.

Who we are:

At Optiver, our mission is to constantly improve the market by injecting liquidity, providing accurate pricing, increasing transparency and acting as a stabilizing force no matter the market conditions. With a focus on continuous improvement, we participate in the safeguarding of healthy and efficient markets for everyone who participates.

What you'll get:

• A performance-based bonus structure, enabling all of our employees to benefit from our global profit pool.
• 27 paid vacation days plus all UK public holidays.
• Daily breakfast and lunch, along with support on commuting expenses.
• Private medical insurance, pension scheme, and ClassPass fitness membership.
• Training and continuous learning opportunities, including access to conferences and tech events.
• International transfer opportunities for global career growth.

How to apply:

Are you interested in furthering your career on one of the most dynamic and exciting trading floors in Europe? Apply directly via the form below. If you have any questions feel free to contact our Recruitment team via our recruitment inquiry form.

Diversity statement: Optiver is committed to diversity and inclusion.