Legal Officer (Policy)

About the Function

Conduct Supervision is responsible for the setting up and implementation of the regulatory framework aiming to secure appropriate consumer protection in operations of licence holders in the financial services industry in order to ensure that clients of financial services are treated fairly, honestly, and professionally by regulated entities. The team also enacts a pre-emptive supervisory regime which addresses potential or emerging risks for financial services consumers, together with an operational regime to strengthen the responsibilities of regulated persons in treating customers fairly.

Conduct Supervision is a cross-sectorial function covering under its remit supervision in conduct of banking, insurance and pensions, investments, and funds.

About the Role

Reporting to the Senior Manager within Conduct Supervision, you will be expected to carry out the following tasks as necessary:

• Cooperate with and assisting in the drafting of conduct of business legislation and rules – and any amendments thereto - applicable to entities falling within the remit of Conduct Supervision as may be necessary for, inter alia, the purposes of transposition and implementation of cross-sectoral EU law relevant in the context of Conduct Supervision Function’s mandate;
• Assist in the preparation of legal positions on regulatory issues pertaining to the financial services sector;
• Assist in the compilation and preparation of internal documents, position papers and memoranda on policy-related matters, for submission to the Authority’s decision-making body and follow up on decisions taken by the latter;
• Monitor and read-through EU legislation projects in cross-sectorial areas, participate in meetings (both locally and abroad) and provide input when necessary;
• Handling cross-sectoral queries arising both internally and externally, and provide input to, queries arising from the industry in relation to the interpretation and implementation of conduct of business legislation and rules;
• Undertake legal research and analysis of relevant financial services law and contribute to the preparation of replies to conduct-related surveys, as necessary from a Conduct Supervision perspective;
• Represent the MFSA in various Working Groups, Task Forces and Committees at both local and international levels in relation to consumer protection;
• Keeping abreast with regulatory developments in the areas of consumer and investor protection particularly keeping informed of regulatory developments emerging at EU level;
• Undertaking any other tasks or projects as delegated by senior management in line with the exigencies of the Conduct Supervision Function and the Authority.

About You

We are looking for candidates with solid academic background which may be considered as relevant to this post. The role calls for an academic qualification in a relevant field of study at National Qualification Framework Level 6 or better, duly certified by the Malta Qualifications Recognition Information Centre (MQRIC) or a widely recognised professional qualification at a comparable level.

You will also possess a minimum of three (3) years working experience in a legal or compliance environment, or financial services or investment services.

If you do not have the necessary academic or professional qualifications but you have at least seven (7) years within a legal or compliance office, investigative / analytical environment, or financial services environment, we would still be interested in speaking with you.