Head of Trading Compliance and Operational Risk

LyondellBasell; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Benefits/Health & Welfare

Job summary

LyondellBasell, a leader in the chemical industry, invites applications for Head of Trading Compliance and Operational Risk within IST&O in Houston. You will design and operate the compliance and risk framework across the trading lifecycle, ensuring adherence to regulatory requirements and internal controls.

The role requires strong experience in commodity trading compliance, governance, and risk assessments, with ability to work with senior leaders and across functions to drive improvements and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in a relevant field.
• Significant experience in compliance, operational risk, internal controls, trading risk, audit, or regulatory advisory.
• Strong knowledge of commodity trade lifecycle and related controls.
• Experience establishing and monitoring CTRM-enabled controls.
• Ability to influence, prioritize, and communicate with senior leaders.

Responsibilities

• Establish the Trading Compliance and Operational Risk functions for IST&O, including mandate, governance, risk taxonomy, cadence, escalation, documentation, and engagement with commercial and control partners.
• Collaborate with Corporate Compliance, Regulatory, and legal teams to understand internal and external requirements.
• Set standards for trading conduct and communications with external parties, monitoring derivatives and de minimis limits.
• Define expectations for behavior under LYB policies, including records retention, conflicts, attestations, and audit evidence.
• Partner with IT to implement transaction and communication monitoring technology.
• Develop and operate the operational risk framework across the trade lifecycle.
• Embed control requirements into CTRM design and lifecycle processes with multiple partners.
• Report to management on risk indicators, training, policy exceptions, and regulatory developments.

Skills

Compliance

Operational risk

Regulatory knowledge

Communication

Leadership

SQL/Python

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Law, Engineering, Risk Management, or related field

Tools

CTRM

Power BI

Excel

SQL

Python

Job description

LyondellBasell is a leader in the global chemical industry creating solutions for everyday sustainable living. With a nearly 70-year legacy that includes a Nobel Prize in Chemistry and our proprietary MoReTec recycling technology, LYB is enabling a more sustainable future for generations to come. LYB develops high-quality and innovative products for applications ranging from sustainable transportation and food safety to clean water and quality healthcare. LYB places high priority on diversity, equity and inclusion and is Advancing Good with an emphasis on our planet, the communities where we operate and our future workforce. We're addressing the global challenges of ending plastic waste, taking climate action, and supporting a thriving society, while generating value for our customers, investors, and society.

Come Join an Inclusive Team

Integrated Supply, Trading, and Optimization ("IST&O") is LYB’s asset-backed petrochemical trading organization. The Head of Trading Compliance and Operational Risk will design and action the agendas for these two disciplines, helping safeguard the company through clear standards, education, surveillance, and compliance monitoring while advancing process excellence and continuous improvement.

A Day in the Life

• Establish the Trading Compliance and Operational Risk functions for IST&O, including mandate, governance, risk taxonomy, cadence, escalation, documentation, and engagement with commercial and control partners.
• Work with Corporate Compliance, Regulatory, internal counsel, and external counsel to understand all internal and external compliance requirements.
• Set standards and monitor against these standards for trading conduct and communications with external parties including exchanges. Specific responsibilities will include monitoring derivative transactions against the applicable Dodd-Frank and CFTC de minimis limit and setting standards for communications and trading conduct across liquid and illiquid markets, including Platts Market on Close windows.
• Establish expectations for behavior and conduct under LYB’s internal requirements, including adherence to policies, procedures, delegated authorities, records-retention standards, conflicts and information barriers, attestations, testing, issue management, escalation, and control-evidence requirements.
• Partner with Procurement and DT (IT) to define requirements for and implement transaction and communication monitoring technology.
• Develop and operate the operational risk framework across the trade lifecycle, including risk and control self-assessments, process reviews, key risk indicators, incident and near-miss management, root-
• Embed control and compliance requirements into CTRM design and trade-lifecycle processes—including approvals, capture, confirmations, settlements, reporting, limits, reconciliations, exceptions, and audit evidence—in partnership with Front Office, Middle Office, Transaction Services, Scheduling, Legal, Internal Controls, Internal Audit, DT (IT), and enterprise functions.
• Report to management on risk indicators, control performance, training, policy exceptions, incidents, aged issues, remediation, audit findings, regulatory developments, and emerging risks.

You Bring This Value

Required Experience And Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, Economics, Law, Engineering, Risk Management, or a related field.
• Significant experience in compliance, operational risk, internal controls, trading risk, audit, legal, regulatory advisory, or business controls supporting commodity trading, financial markets, energy, petrochemicals, or other asset-backed commercial activity.
• Strong knowledge of physical and financial commodity trade lifecycles, including key activities such as: approvals, trade execution (awareness of appropriate and inappropriate bidding/offering behaviors), trade capture, forward curves, confirmations, logistics, actualization, tax assessments, invoicing, settlements, reconciliations, P&L and exposure reporting, controls documentation, and issue identification, escalation, and mitigation.
• Experience with establishing and monitoring controls within CTRM-supported processes.
• Ability to work independently, influence without authority, prioritize constrained resources, balance commercial enablement with control expectations, and communicate effectively with senior leaders.

Preferred Experience And Qualifications

• Experience with chemicals, petrochemicals, refined products, NGLs, natural gas, crude oil, feedstocks, intermediates, polymers, power, or related asset-backed commodity markets.
• Hands-on experience with Compliance monitoring applications (i.e., for monitoring of trading activity and/or communication).
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain practical frameworks spanning policy, procedures, controls, testing, monitoring, reporting, issue management, training, audit support, and sustainable governance.
• Proficiency with tools such as Power BI, advanced Excel, SQL, or Python.
• Experience applying AI-enabled capabilities to monitoring and process controls.

Leadership and Behavioral Expectations

• Acts with integrity, independence, commercial awareness, accountability, sound judgment, and a strong control mindset while enabling responsible trading.
• Communicates risks, trade-offs, issues, and proposed remediation; promotes transparency, timely escalation, disciplined execution, and constructive partnership.
• Operates as a hands‑on builder while creating scalable frameworks and routines that support continuous improvement.

Key Success Measures

• Credible execution of compliance and operational risk responsibilities, including effective education, monitoring, issue management, remediation, audit support, and reporting.
• Efficient evaluation of compliance monitoring systems with a clear recommendation for short term and long term solutions.

What We Offer

Competencies

• Drive Innovation
• Technical Skills
• Grow Capabilities
• Promote Inclusion
• Motivational Fit

Learn more about our benefits : Benefits/Health & Welfare | LyondellBasell

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LyondellBasell is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics. The US EEO is the Law poster is available here .

LYB is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities. If you need assistance or an accommodation related to LYB’s recruiting process, please email us at [e-mail].

Applicants must be at least 18 years old.

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Regulatory Disclosure

• The compensation and reference to benefits for this role is listed on this posting in compliance with applicable law. Please note that the compensation and benefits listed below are only applicable for U.S. payroll offers.
• The selected candidate’s compensation will be determined based on their skills, experience, and qualifications.