Job Details

Bourse Africa is looking to appoint a qualified person to act in the capacity of Director – Legal and Regulatory Affairs. The successful applicant is envisaged to be part of the core management team taking Bourse Africa – as the corporate hub - into its key African national (or regional) markets. The appointee will report to the Managing Director of Bourse Africa, and will work closely alongside the other senior managers of the company. Bourse Africa is a network of spot and derivatives exchanges, clearinghouses and depository platforms offering multi-asset class trading to serve markets worldwide from Africa. The exchange will operate via a hub to be located in Botswana, linking to national exchanges initially targeted towards the jurisdictions of Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Development of international calibre regulatory frameworks for the exchange-trading and central counterparty clearing of derivatives in and across African jurisdictions will be a foundation for the successful roll-out and development of Bourse Africa, and compliance with the rules and directives emanating from such frameworks will be a key performance requirement for the exchange.

The role would be situated in Johannesburg, South Africa. However, significant travel around Africa is envisaged as a core part of the job – outlined in detail below – in order to support the development of legal-regulatory frameworks in various national and regional jurisdictions across the African continent.

 All tasks will be contingent upon the incumbent having mastered the Bourse Africa business model as well as the international standards, best practices , norms and procedures (especially those of IOSCO and the BIS) for the regulation of financial and commodity markets, in particular relating to the exchange-trading of derivatives and central counterparty clearing.

 The incumbent shall be heading a Legal-Regulatory Department for the purposes of fulfilling the tasks outlined below. (S)he will be responsible for the management, leadership and structuring of such department, in line with the requirements and budget of the company.

The pre-launch phase and the post-launch phase will necessitate distinct contributions from the incumbent:

    PRE-LAUNCH

To define, oversee and execute a systematic legal-regulatory strategy for engaging with legal-regulatory stakeholders in African markets:

 Working with the primary regulatory agencies in Botswana to close gaps with international standards/norms/best practices, secure full IOSCO-compliance, and support where required the building of capacity;

Finalising a regulatory template, based on the Botswana structure, adapted where required to achieve IOSCO/BIS-compliance, that can be used to shape the evolution of legal-regulatory frameworks across Africa;

Working with securities regulators and central banks across Africa to perform gap analysis on and where necessary upgrade to existing regulatory frameworks to facilitate exchange-trading and central counterparty clearing per the Bourse Africa model;

Facilitating harmonisation and cooperation between African regulators – to the extent necessary and feasible – in order to support the successful development of Bourse Africa as an explicitly pan-African market.

   POST-LAUNCH

In addition to the pre-launch tasks identified above, additional tasks to be executed by the incumbent shall include:

To input into the licensing applications and negotiations of Bourse Africa and national (or regional) exchanges, and any other documentation or discussions that may require a legal or regulatory perspective.

To appraise Bourse Africa’s operating and commercial structure in the context of the legal systems and regulatory requirements of those jurisdictions in which it operates, evaluating and mitigating any risks that may be identified, including with membership, trading, clearing, and settlement and delivery issues.

To supervise fulfilment of compliance requirements arising as a result of laws, directives, rules, licensing requirements, and any other conditions, in the hub jurisdiction in Botswana and also in the national (or regional) jurisdictions;

To maintain a continuous dialogue with key legal-regulatory stakeholders in hub and spoke jurisdictions. The incumbent should aim to remain continuously informed of sentiment, ensure the exchange avoids nasty surprises emanating from legal-regulatory stakeholders, and be in a position to take or recommend proactive actions to address new challenges that may emerge.

To co-ordinate Bourse Africa’s legal-regulatory priorities with those of its partners, members, market users and other relevant stakeholders with a view to achieving mutually advantageous legal and regulatory outcomes. Where possible, the incumbent should work to develop an embedded and sustained legal-regulatory consensus with key stakeholders.

To establish links with similar legal-regulatory agents or departments, initially in the Financial Technologies Group, but ultimately also in international exchanges and other relevant organisations, to co-ordinate on international legal-regulatory matters.

To support African regulators and other relevant entities in the legal-regulatory sphere as they deal with emerging issues and challenges.

To act as a custodian for Bourse Africa’s rules and bylaws, and legal agreements with external parties.

To spearhead Bourse Africa’s legal activities in courts of law and other legal forums.

To oversee the operation of the exchange’s dispute arbitration mechanism.

To act as a readily available, in-house source of reference and advice on legal and regulatory affairs in Africa and, where applicable, elsewhere.

Other relevant functions as may be indicated from time to time.

 PACKAGE:  Negotiable depending on experience

 NOTE:

Bourse Africa offers these positions on a three year contract.

The successful candidates will be required to undergo thorough background screening.

If you have not heard from us within 30 days of closing date, please consider your application unsuccessful.

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