Head of Cash & Trading Operations

Leverton Search is delighted to be partnering with a leading global investment manager on the appointment of a Head of Cash & Trading Operations, based in London.

This is a senior leadership role within the firm’s UK retail investment platform, with ownership of the teams and processes behind Trading, Portfolio Management, Payments and Liquidity. Serving a large and growing base of everyday investors, the business sees payments and trading as a core part of the customer experience rather than a back-office function. You will set the direction for a high-impact operational area, strengthen the control environment and lead change that improves outcomes for retail clients as the business continues to grow.

Please note that retail investment experience is essential for this role. We are looking for candidates who have held senior operational responsibility within a UK retail investment platform or retail wealth business.

The role

1. Lead day-to-day operations across Trading, Portfolio Management, Payments and Liquidity, with clear accountability for service performance and operational resilience.
2. Own the end-to-end flow of client money into and out of the platform, shaping how retail customers make and receive payments.
3. Oversee retail trading activity across both execution-only and discretionary portfolio management services, ensuring processes scale safely as volumes grow.
4. Play a leading operational role in launching new retail products, including additional ISAs and wrappers.
5. Own the control environment across regulated activity, with particular focus on CASS and client asset protection.
6. Act as the senior escalation point for complex operational, control and client-impacting issues.
7. Drive continuous improvement and lead operational change from planning through to successful embedding.
8. Build strong relationships with senior stakeholders, outsourced service providers and second- and third-line partners.
9. Represent the business externally at industry forums and working committees.

What you will bring

1. Essential: a retail investment background, with senior experience running cash, payments or trading operations within a UK retail investment platform or retail wealth business.
2. A clear understanding of the retail customer and how operational decisions affect everyday investors.
3. Exposure to both execution-only and portfolio management services.
4. Strong knowledge of investment platform operations, including trading, payments, liquidity, reconciliations and exception management.
5. A practical understanding of CASS principles, alongside CASS training or hands-on experience applying the rules.
6. A track record of leading teams and delivering material growth and change within a regulated environment.
7. Confident senior stakeholder management and the judgement to balance client outcomes, regulatory obligations and delivery priorities.
8. A CISI Level 4 qualification or an equivalent investment operations qualification.

Due to the volume of applications, we may not be able to respond to everyone individually unless your experience closely matches the requirements outlined above, including a retail investment background.

We are committed to promoting fairness and equity throughout the recruitment process. If there is anything we can do to make the process more accessible or inclusive for you, please let us know.