Associate Director - Surveillance Calibration & Validation

A leading global financial institution is seeking an experienced Surveillance Calibration specialist to join its established surveillance function on a 6-month contract basis. This is a hybrid role (4 days in) looking to pay up to £430 a day umbrella

This is a highly analytical and hands-on role focused on the calibration, validation, and optimisation of trade surveillance scenarios across global capital markets businesses. Working closely with surveillance, compliance, and risk stakeholders, you will play a key role in enhancing alert effectiveness, reducing false positives, strengthening regulatory coverage, and improving surveillance outcomes.

The successful candidate will bring experience within a financial services environment, alongside strong expertise in surveillance systems, scenario tuning, quantitative analysis, and market abuse risk management.

Key Responsibilities

• Execute surveillance scenario calibration and re-calibration activities using quantitative and statistical techniques.
• Optimise surveillance thresholds and parameters to improve alert quality, effectiveness, and productivity.
• Conduct validation and effectiveness reviews of surveillance scenarios, assessing regulatory coverage, product scope, and design integrity.
• Analyse alert performance, identify trends, and recommend enhancements to surveillance controls and methodologies.
• Partner with surveillance and business stakeholders to apply qualitative judgement alongside quantitative outputs.
• Develop and maintain surveillance dashboards, management information, and performance reporting.
• Support the continuous improvement of surveillance frameworks, standards, and governance processes.
• Prepare high-quality reporting and presentations for senior management, audit, and regulatory stakeholders.
• Contribute to regulatory reviews and internal audit activities relating to surveillance controls and effectiveness.

Required Experience

• 3+ years' experience within trade surveillance, market surveillance, or market abuse surveillance in a financial services environment.
• Recent hands-on experience calibrating, tuning, validating, or optimising surveillance scenarios.
• Experience working with surveillance platforms such as SMARTS or equivalent market surveillance technologies.
• Strong understanding of market abuse risks, surveillance methodologies, and regulatory expectations.
• Experience supporting institutional sales and trading or capital markets businesses.
• Demonstrable experience reducing false positives, conducting threshold testing, and improving alert effectiveness.
• Ability to articulate calibration methodologies, risk assessments, and measurable surveillance outcomes.
• Strong stakeholder management skills and experience working within global organisations.

Technical Skills

• Strong quantitative and analytical capabilities with experience interpreting surveillance data and performance metrics.
• Experience using tools such as Python, SQL, R, or similar analytical technologies is advantageous.
• Proven ability to develop reporting frameworks, dashboards, and management information.
• Understanding of surveillance alert logic, parameter management, scenario tuning, and optimisation methodologies.

Candidate Profile

• Analytical and detail-oriented with a data-driven approach to problem solving.
• Comfortable operating independently in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to influence stakeholders through insight and evidence-based recommendations.
• Continuous improvement mindset with a focus on enhancing surveillance effectiveness and efficiency.

Robert Walters Operations Limited is an employment business and employment agency and welcomes applications from all candidates