Building the Future of Open Finance

Payward - the parent company behind Kraken, NinjaTrader, Breakout, xStocks, Payward Services and CF Benchmarks - has spent the last 15 years building one of the most modern and globally accessible financial infrastructure platforms in the industry, built to advance an open, global financial system.

The team

Founded in 2011, Kraken is one of the world's longest-standing crypto platforms, trusted by over 10 million individuals and institutions across the globe. It offers spot trading, margin, futures, staking, and OTC services, with products built for both individual investors and institutional clients.

We are looking for a Deputy Regional Information Security Officer to own ICT security, operational resilience, and regulatory compliance across a portfolio of entities at different stages of maturity, from established licensed operations to new markets launching under frameworks. This is not a support function. You will be the named security officer for your entities, accountable to their boards and their regulators.

This is a high visibility, high trust role for a security governance professional who thrives at the intersection of technology, compliance, and financial services, and who is energised by applying established group frameworks to the local needs of a growing regulated entity.

Payward is one of the world's most trusted and secure digital asset platforms, operating across a growing network of regulated entities spanning Europe, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific. As we expand into new markets and deepen our regulatory footprint, the demand for embedded, senior-level ICT security leadership at the entity level has never been higher.

The opportunity

Prepare, contribute and report to regional risk governance and board committee meetings, highlighting control status, risk exposure, and readiness

Execute risk assessments and control testing across UAE operations in line with VARA cybersecurity guidelines and security best practices

Maintain and review Business Impact Assessments (BIA), integrating findings into global resilience planning

Contribute to Business Continuity Plan (BCP) documentation, testing, and updates, including entity-specific scenarios

Collaborate with Group Security and IT to:

Align UAE-specific regulatory controls with global policies and control frameworks

Contribute to the development of security policies to meet international and UAE compliance requirements

Conduct security control validation and document evidence for internal/external audits

Participate in remediation planning for audit findings and track progress to closure

Support the RISO in preparing and submitting regulatory documentation to regulators

Prepare and present security and resilience reports for internal governance committees and local entity management

Assist in responses to regulatory examinations, including due diligence and compliance queries

Liaise with compliance and legal teams to interpret regulatory changes and propose control adaptations

Participate in the regional incident response process, assist with post-incident reviews, and support continuous improvement activities

Coordinate with cross-functional stakeholders to embed security requirements into operational processes

What You Will Do

Regulatory Governance

Serve as the named ICT security officer for your appointed entities, with formal accountability for security risk, ICT governance, and resilience oversight at board level

Prepare and present security, risk, and resilience materials to entity boards, with material review and coaching from the Global RISO Lead beforehand

Act as the primary point of contact for VARA and other relevant regulatory authorities on ICT and security matters -- including examinations, inspections, licensing interactions, and ongoing supervisory dialogue

Support entity go live processes by implementing and localizing established group ICT governance frameworks for new market launches, ensuring they meet UAE regulatory requirements and entity specific needs