Chief Risk Officer (PCF-14)

Chief Risk Officer (PCF-14)

Legend Financial Ireland Limited | Legend Trading Group

Location: Dublin, Ireland (Remote within Ireland)

Reporting to: Chief Executive Officer of Legend Financial Ireland Limited, with an independent reporting line to the Board Risk Committee

Regulatory status: Central Bank of Ireland Pre-Approval Controlled Function PCF-14 (Chief Risk Officer) – appointment subject to CBI Fitness & Probity approval

• Applications will only be considered from candidates currently residing in Ireland; regular attendance in Dublin as required.

About Legend Trading

Legend Trading is a global, regulated digital asset and payments group. We provide institutional OTC trading, fiat on/off-ramp infrastructure, multi-currency accounts and cross-border payment and settlement services to banks, payment institutions, fintechs, exchanges and wallets.

Our European hub, Legend Financial Ireland Limited, is authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland as a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) under MiCA and passports its services across the EEA. We have applied to the Central Bank of Ireland for an E-Money Institution (EMI) licence to extend our regulated offering into traditional payments: cross-border and domestic payments across Europe, multi-currency accounts and virtual IBANs, and settlement over SEPA, SEPA Instant and SWIFT.

Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, Legend Trading has teams in Dublin, Singapore, Hong Kong, Seoul and beyond. We are builders who believe that fast, secure and compliant payments – in fiat and in stablecoins – will benefit everyone.

About the Role

As Legend Trading expands from digital assets into regulated payments in Europe, we are looking for an experienced Chief Risk Officer to lead the second line of defence at Legend Financial Ireland Limited and hold the PCF-14 (Chief Risk Officer) role with the Central Bank of Ireland. You will own the entity's enterprise risk management framework and Risk Appetite Statement, approved at our CASP authorisation, enhance and embed them, extend them to the e-money and payments business, and lead the risk management elements of our EMI authorisation.

The role is accountable to the Board of Legend Financial Ireland Limited and to the Central Bank of Ireland for the Irish regulated entity. You will work closely with Group functions, but your mandate, reporting line and judgement are independent of the first line and of Group commercial management. As a Pre-Approval Controlled Function holder, you will be subject to the Central Bank's Fitness and Probity Standards and to the Conduct Standards under the Individual Accountability Framework.

The ideal candidate brings senior second-line risk leadership experience from an e-money institution, payment institution, bank or investment firm. Familiarity with digital assets is valuable but not essential – we will support you in getting up to speed.

Key Responsibilities
Risk Management Framework & Risk Appetite

• Own, enhance and embed the enterprise risk management framework, covering operational, ICT and cyber, financial (liquidity, counterparty, market), safeguarding, custody, outsourcing, regulatory, conduct and strategic risk, coordinating financial crime risk with the Head of Compliance and the MLRO.

• Own the Risk Appetite Statement (RAS), its annual review, Key Risk Indicators (KRIs) and limits, and report quarterly against appetite to the Board Risk Committee and the Board.

• Maintain the risk register and run the risk and control self-assessment cycle with first-line risk owners.

• Own the risk assessment stage of new product approvals, and advise the Board on emerging risks and regulatory developments.

Financial, Prudential & Wind-down Risk

• Oversee counterparty and settlement risk on liquidity providers, banks, custodians and institutional clients, including due diligence, limits and pre-funding exposures.

• Oversee liquidity and market risk from OTC trading and treasury activities, including exposure limits and fiat and stablecoin liquidity.

• Provide independent second-line oversight of the safeguarding of client funds (EMI) and the segregation of client crypto-assets (MiCA).

• Monitor own-funds requirements under the E-Money Directive and MiCA, lead capital and liquidity stress testing, and maintain the recovery and orderly wind-down plan.

Operational Resilience, ICT Risk & Third-Party Risk (DORA)

• Act as the independent ICT risk control function required under DORA: review and challenge the first-line ICT risk framework run by the Chief Information Officer, major ICT incident reporting to the Central Bank, resilience testing and the Register of Information.

• Own the operational resilience and outsourcing risk frameworks, challenging business continuity plans, impact tolerances, exit plans and intra-group and third-party arrangements in line with DORA and CBI guidance.

• Provide second-line oversight of cybersecurity, data protection and fraud risk, working with the CIO, the DPO and Compliance, who retain first-line ownership.

• Lead post-incident reviews and track remediation to completion.

Regulatory Engagement

• Lead the risk management elements of the EMI authorisation (framework, RAS, capital and liquidity planning, wind-down plan) and respond to Central Bank of Ireland queries.

• Act as the primary contact with the Central Bank of Ireland on risk matters, including supervisory engagement, inspections and Risk Mitigation Programmes.

• Work with the Head of Compliance, the MLRO, Internal Audit and external auditors under the three lines of defence model.

Governance, Reporting & Risk Culture

• Prepare and present the quarterly risk report to the Board Risk Committee and the Board, and support the Committee Chair in setting its agenda.

• Provide independent challenge to the first line and senior management, escalating to the Board and, where required, to the Central Bank of Ireland.

• Lead the risk function, deliver risk training across the firm and foster a risk-aware culture.

What You Bring

Required

• 10+ years in risk management at regulated financial institutions, including at least 3 years leading a second-line risk function at an e-money institution, payment institution, bank or investment firm.

• Experience designing and embedding a risk management framework, Risk Appetite Statement, KRIs and limits, and Board-level risk reporting.

• Working knowledge of the EU e-money and payments regime (EMD2, PSD2/PSD3), including safeguarding and own-funds requirements, and of DORA.

• A track record of engaging with the Central Bank of Ireland or another EU/EEA regulator on authorisation, supervisory reviews or inspections.

• Able to satisfy the Central Bank's Fitness and Probity Standards for PCF-14; prior experience in a PCF or equivalent senior regulated role is strongly preferred.

• Currently residing in Ireland, with the right to work in Ireland.

Preferred

• Experience supporting an EMI or payment institution authorisation, and preparing recovery and wind-down plans and stress testing.

• Familiarity with MiCA and digital-asset risks such as wallet management, key custody and stablecoin reserves.

• Understanding of AML/CFT and financial crime risk, and experience building a second-line risk function in a high-growth environment.

• A relevant professional qualification (FRM, PRM, IRM International Diploma or ACOI Professional Diploma), or a degree in finance, economics or a quantitative field.

Skills & Abilities

• High integrity and independence: able to challenge the first line and senior management constructively and escalate when needed.

• Strong governance and policy-writing skills, including Board and committee papers and presenting risk matters to non-executive directors and regulators.

• Analytical and commercially aware: translates complex risk assessments into clear, proportionate recommendations that support growth within appetite.

• Comfort with data, KRI dashboards and risk/GRC tools; some understanding of blockchain and crypto infrastructure is a plus.

• Sound judgement under pressure, and a hands-on, pragmatic approach in a lean team.

Why Legend Trading?

• Build the risk foundation of a regulated payments and digital asset business as it expands across Europe, at the intersection of traditional payments and stablecoins.

• A senior leadership role with an independent line to the Board and real impact.

• Fully remote within Ireland, with an entrepreneurial international team and competitive salary and benefits.