About the Department

Conduct Supervision is responsible for the setting up and implementation of the regulatory framework aiming to secure appropriate consumer protection in operations of licence holders in the financial services industry in order to ensure that clients of financial services are treated fairly, honestly, and professionally by regulated entities. The Function adopts a pre-emptive supervisory approach which addresses potential or emerging risks for financial services consumers, together with an ongoing supervisory process to strengthen and verify the adherence by regulated persons of their conduct of business regulatory obligations. The Conduct Supervision Function is a cross-sectorial function covering under its remit supervision of the conduct of business of the entities dealing with retail clients in the context of the provision of services relating to banking, insurance and pensions, investments, cryptocurrencies, and retail collective investment schemes.We are looking for a talented individual to join the Investments Services team. Reporting to the Deputy Head, as a Senior Manager your key responsibilities will be as follows:

About the Role

• Forming working relationships and coordinating the supervisory agenda, of the Supervisory Team supervising investment firms and CASPs, with the Deputy Head of the team and Senior Management of other departments and internal stakeholders involved in the delivery of the MFSA supervisory strategies; 
• Taking a lead in managing the relationship with industry stakeholders;
• Organizing supervisory work to meet the MFSA obligations as part of ESMA’s Union Strategic Supervisory Priorities, but also to ensure local priorities are appropriately considered and a consistent supervisory approach is applied; 
• Managing a team of experienced supervisors providing guidance, leadership and mentoring to more junior members of the team; 
• Contribute or lead policy related projects using technical knowledge and experience as well as project management skills;
• Acting as front-line supervisor and technical point of reference to the Investment Firms Team in terms of the different business models operated under MiFID and MiCA and the application of the relevant regulatory requirements as detailed in the Conduct of Business Rulebook and related ESMA literature;
• Participate and if necessary, lead, compliance visits and thematic reviews of licence holders & Carry out ongoing off-site surveillance on licence holders;
• Monitor the level of compliance with applicable regulatory standards by licence holders;
• Exercise supervisory judgement in handling cases, challenging licence holders on supervisory issues and ensure that such issues are dealt with expeditiously;
• Keep up to date on all developments relating to new legislation, amendments to existing rules, etc. and develop supervisory processes and procedures to effectively implement accordingly; 
• Representing the Authority in engagement with internal and external stakeholders including representation on any Standing Committees / Working Groups relating to Conduct Supervision and also international fora;
• Ensure that the team’s policies and procedures are kept up to date and reflect current practices of the Conduct Function;
• Undertake any other duties / ‘ad-hoc’ tasks as delegated by senior management in line with the exigencies of the Conduct Function and the Authority.

About You

We are looking for candidates with interest in the financial services area, preferably in the Insurance, Pensions and / or Funds areas. The role calls for an academic qualification in the relevant field of study at National Qualification Framework Level 6 or better, duly certified by the Malta Qualifications Recognition Information Centre (MQRIC) or a widely recognised professional qualification at a comparable level. You will also possess a minimum of 8 years of work experience within a relevant area.

If you do not have the necessary academic or professional experience qualifications, but you have at least 15 years of work experience, we would still be interested in speaking with you. Candidates with longer work experience relevant to the role will be preferred.

The chosen candidate is expected to be a confident individual who is flexible, proactive, and having a critical and analytical mind-set. 

The preferred candidate will be given various opportunities to learn and be trained for the role, through various mechanisms which the Authority holds such as the Financial Supervisors Academy and on the job training.

Other Information

The MFSA is an Equal Opportunities Employer as certified by the NCPE (National Commission for the Protection of Equality) and is committed to a policy of equal opportunity in all aspects of employment and will take care to avoid any form of discrimination in its recruitment procedures. The MFSA reserves the right to withdraw this call at any time and not to select any of the Candidates.

It is the responsibility of applicants in possession of qualifications awarded by Universities and other similar institutions outside Malta to produce a recognition statement on comparability of qualifications issued by the Malta Qualifications Recognition Information Centre (MQRIC). Applicants should do so preferably at application stage or otherwise at the preliminary interview should an applicant be selected for such interview. Details can be obtained by accessing the National Commission for Further and Higher Education website on www.ncfhe.gov.mt under MQRIC heading.

The MFSA shall ensure that any processing of personal data is in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation), the Data Protection Act (Chapter 586 of the Laws of Malta) and any other relevant European Union and national law. For further details, you may refer to the Data Protection Policy on the MFSA webpage www.mfsa.mt.

Candidates are to note that the submission of any false statement/s or omission, even if unintended, may lead to the cancellation of their application and may render the candidate's appointment liable to termination.

Furthermore, please note that candidates may be asked to submit any documentation in support of the information provided, including but not limited to, proof of qualifications and Police Conduct Certificates.

Jobsplus Permit; 962/2024