BME - Bolsas y Mercados Españoles - drives the transformation of financial markets and belongs to SIX, the third largest exchange group in Europe.
What sets us apart drives us ahead: between local roots and global relevance, we are a unique blend of tradition and future, of foundation and growth. We value bright minds and inspire them to grow with their ideas. Come and shape the future of finance with us.
Senior Custody Operations Lead
Madrid | working from home up to 40% | Reference 7738
Are you passionate about shaping the future of custody services in a dynamic and global environment? Do you thrive in roles where strategic vision, operational excellence, and leadership come together? Then our Custody Operations team would love to hear from you.
We are an international team operating across multiple locations, bringing diverse perspectives to develop resilient and scalable custody solutions. As Senior Custody Operations Lead, you will partner closely with the Head of Operations to define and drive the strategic operational agenda for the custody business. You will play a central role in modernizing our custody platform, strengthening our control environment, and ensuring we meet evolving client and regulatory expectations.
This role interacts regularly with senior stakeholders, regulators, clients, and cross‑functional teams such as Operations, Technology, Product, Risk, Audit, Compliance, and Relationship Management to deliver integrated strategic outcomes.
What You Will Do
- Shape and execute the strategic operating model for custody services, ensuring resilience, scalability, and service excellence.
- Lead transformation initiatives, including technology modernization, digitization, and process redesign.
- Oversee day‑to‑day custody operations while driving continuous improvement and operational efficiency.
- Strengthen first‑line controls, manage operational risks, and ensure readiness for regulatory and audit requirements.
- Represent the custody function in engagements with regulators, clients, and senior internal stakeholders.
- Collaborate with global teams across Operations, Technology, Product, and Risk to align priorities and execute the custody strategy.
What You Bring
- 15+ years of experience in custody or post‑trade operations within a global custodian, CSD/ICSD, broker‑dealer, or market infrastructure.
- Proven experience leading complex, technology‑driven initiatives such as platform migrations, system upgrades, modernization projects, and regulatory change implementations.
- Strong knowledge of global and domestic market operations (settlements, asset servicing, income/tax processing, proxy voting, collateral management).
- Solid background in operational risk management, first‑line controls, and incident/problem management.
- Ability to collaborate effectively with Technology teams to deliver solutions aligned with operational needs.
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to manage escalations and engage confidently with clients, regulators, and senior stakeholders.
- Fluent English and Spanish (additional languages are a plus).
If you have any questions, check out our FAQ page or call Sara Perez de la Cuesta at +34 91 709 56 80.
For this vacancy we only accept direct applications in English.
Diversity is important to us. Therefore, we are looking to receiving applications regardless of any personal background.
What We Offer
Flexible Work Models
We trust our employees and offer a work environment that is well-balanced, productive and fosters success.
Personal Development
You will benefit from a culture of continuous learning and feedback. Your personal growth is supported through an extensive learning offering.
Agile Working Methods
Whether through scrum or design thinking,
we solve exciting tasks together in teams.