Head of Compliance for North America and Derivatives

About the role

COFCO International is a global agri-business with a clear vision, strong values and a positive culture, focused on being a leader in the global grains, oilseeds and sugar supply chains. We provide the food the world needs in a responsible way. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, we operate in 35 countries with 12,000+ employees, trading with over 50 nations and providing farmers unique direct access to the growing Chinese market.

This role reports directly to CIL’s Chief Compliance Officer and serves as the primary compliance subject matter expert for North America, with a particular emphasis on commodity derivatives trading on both US and non-US exchanges.

Responsibilities

• Develop, lead, and maintain a comprehensive compliance program tailored to the regulatory frameworks governing agricultural commodity derivatives trading.
• Serve as the primary compliance subject matter expert on rules and regulations applicable to the trading of commodity derivatives by monitoring and interpreting U.S. and international regulatory developments and analyzing their impacts on the company.
• Promote a strong Compliance culture across commercial and support functions by designing and implementing accessible internal policies and procedures, and by providing regular training sessions.
• Conduct periodic risk assessments and controls to ensure that operations and transactions meet local, national and international laws, regulations and business practices (e.g., monitoring position limits, hedge exemptions, preventing or detecting manipulative practices, ensuring regulatory reporting is complete, accurate and timely).
• Collaborate with trading, operations, legal, and IT teams to ensure compliance requirements are integrated into business systems and workflows.
• Advise Senior Management and Traders on CFTC and exchanges rules, compliance matters related to new products, as well as anti-bribery and corruption matters.
• Understand and reflect regulatory considerations arising from commercial strategies, identify and coordinate/assist on projects with compliance-related matters and issues.
• Liaise with regulatory bodies to ensure proactive alignment and reporting; ensure investigations and requests from regulators and exchanges are processed appropriately and in a timely manner (centralize regulatory correspondences, obtain required information from relevant departments, draft responses, ensure timely submission, and inform Management).
• Maintain and develop constant and fluent contacts with market authorities, trade associations, and other compliance officers in the industry to ensure alignment of compliance approaches, exert proper influence, and proactively anticipate changes impacting the business.
• Proactively participate in the global compliance program, coordinating all compliance matters for North America (including ABC, AML, and trade sanctions) and all derivatives matters across all countries (involving other compliance teams when necessary).
• Assist the Chief Compliance Officer with the global compliance program and work closely with other compliance teams.

Requirements

• 10+ years Compliance experience, ideally in an international commodity trading house and with deep knowledge of commodity derivatives-related regulations.
• Experience in building and enhancing compliance and ethics programs to reduce regulatory risks.
• Proven record of creating compliance partnerships with business management.
• Prior experience working with commodity trading companies.
• Relevant education (minimum Bachelor’s Degree). Candidates with legal experience, education, or training will be highly regarded but not essential.

Skills

• Ability to work independently while fostering strong cross-functional collaboration.
• Exceptional regulatory interpretation skills.
• Strong attention to detail with good written skills for policy and reporting requirements.