Non-Executive Director - DCO Market Participant

Smarkets is a prediction market exchange for sports and political trading that has handled over $50 billion in volume since 2010. We are upending the sports betting industry by growing a platform that offers the best value for traders, with not only the fairest prices but also the best technology, alongside a superior customer experience.

Smarkets Clearing is seeking a Market Participant Director for the board of Smarkets Board of Trade Clearing LLC. The role brings practical market-user, trading, clearing, brokerage, risk-management, or derivatives-market experience into the governance of the DCO. The Market Participant Director is not required to be independent of market participants; the purpose is to bring informed participant perspective to the clearinghouse’s governance, subject to fitness, integrity, and conflicts-of-interest controls. The director must exercise judgment consistent with Smarkets Clearing’s regulatory obligations and must not act solely as a representative of any clearing member, trading participant, customer, shareholder, employer, client, or commercial interest.

Key Responsibilities

• The director will contribute to board-level oversight of Smarkets Clearing — including participant eligibility and access, clearing and settlement operations, collateralisation, participant-facing controls, market conduct, operational risk and resilience, default management, financial resources, system safeguards, regulatory compliance, and recovery and wind-down planning.
• The role brings practical insight into how clearinghouse rules, controls, and processes affect participants, customers, and other stakeholders, and provides non-executive oversight and constructive challenge, not day-to-day management.

Candidate Profile and Experience

Candidates would generally have at least 10 years’ relevant experience (or equivalent seniority and expertise), with strong familiarity across clearing and settlement processes, collateralisation, payment flows, operational risk, market conduct, participant onboarding, trading and clearing controls, and exchange or clearinghouse rulebooks — plus an understanding of the practical implications of governance decisions for market users. Relevant backgrounds include trading, clearing, derivatives markets, event contracts, brokerage, liquidity provision, market operations, risk and collateral management, settlement, compliance, or financial-market infrastructure. The candidate may be drawn from a Participant, Clearing Participant, trading firm, customer, liquidity provider, brokerage, or other firm with relevant experience in cleared markets.

Independence, Conflicts and Fitness

The Market Participant Director is not required to be independent of market participants, and the role may suit a candidate with current or recent participant experience, provided all conflicts are disclosed and capable of being managed. The director must satisfy Smarkets Clearing’s director fitness, integrity, competence, disciplinary-history, and disqualification standards, and is subject to conflicts-of-interest controls. Any actual, potential, or perceived conflict — arising from market activity, employer, clients, trading or clearing relationships, or other interests — must be disclosed and managed through disclosure, review, recusal, and replacement procedures. The director must act consistently with Smarkets Clearing’s regulatory obligations and not solely as an advocate for any participant, member, customer, employer, shareholder, or commercial interest, and must promptly disclose any change in circumstances affecting their eligibility or fitness. The role is unlikely to suit candidates who cannot manage conflicts arising from their market activity, who would act solely as a representative of one interest, who lack relevant market experience, or who have a disciplinary, regulatory, or disqualification issue affecting director fitness.

Time Commitment

The director must attend quarterly board meetings, review board materials, contribute to governance discussions, and be available for urgent matters. Additional time may be needed for regulatory reviews, participant eligibility matters, rule and risk reviews, operational incidents, and market events requiring participant input.

Personal Attributes

• Practical market judgment and understanding of participant needs;
• Integrity and credibility;
• Ability to manage conflicts appropriately;
• Constructive challenge and sound understanding of regulated markets;
• Balanced decision-making and clear communication;
• Commercial awareness without improper advocacy.

Diversity & Inclusion

We’re an equal opportunities employer and celebrate diversity in all its forms. If you need any adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know — we’re happy to accommodate your needs.