Head of Institutional Strategy & Development

The Jito Foundation is an organization with the broad mandate to promote the adoption of Jito Network products, including JitoSOL, the largest DeFi protocol on Solana, and BAM, a platform for neutral block building on Solana. We are both extremely lean and relentlessly effective, and pride ourselves on having built a flat culture that prioritizes empowering multi-talented self starters to develop and pursue their own strategic vision. 

We are seeking an experienced and highly networked Head of Institutional Strategy & Development to lead the institutional adoption and strategic deployment of the Jito Network and the critical assets therein, including JitoSOL, across traditional financial applications and institutions. This critical role is responsible for driving new use cases, maintaining existing and cultivating new relationships with key industry players, institutional asset managers and allocators globally.

You will act as a key liaison between the decentralized Jito ecosystem and the traditional investment world, coordinating across a global team and working closely with various players across the Solana ecosystem.

I. Institutional Business Development & Ecosystem Growth

 - ETF/ETP Deployment: Build and maintain strategic relationships with ETF ecosystem providers and issuers (qualified custodians, index providers, authorized participants) to support the successful deployment of JitoSOL in traditional investment products (e.g., ETFs, ETPs).

 - Adoption & Distribution: Increase the adoption of JitoSOL for both onchain (DeFi) and off-chain (TradFi) users by developing and executing targeted adoption strategies.

- Partner Engagement: Work proactively with key distribution partners, including Prime Brokers (PBs), exchanges, banks, and other financial institutions to broaden access to Jito products.

- End Customer Engagement: Develop a structured approach to engaging high-value stakers—including DAOs, treasuries, funds, onchain asset managers, and whales—ensuring their needs are incorporated into product, liquidity, and performance roadmaps.

II. Product Strategy & Use Case Development

- Use Case Innovation: Develop, champion, and launch additional high-value use cases for institutional asset managers, financial advisors, and allocators leveraging Jito Network technology.

- Staker & Trader Feedback Integration: Work directly with sophisticated onchain stakers and trading firms to identify pain points, inform product enhancements, and shape institutional-grade use cases across the Jito Network.

- Liquidity Integration: Connect and integrate Jito Network assets with critical price discovery pools, including centralized exchanges, DEXes, and Automated Market Makers (AMMs), to significantly improve market depth and trading efficiency.

III. Regulatory & Stakeholder Management

- Stakeholder Relations: Support and lead high-level discussions with regulators, tax authorities, accounting boards, and other critical financial stakeholders to facilitate the compliant integration and adoption of Jito's decentralized products into traditional finance.

IV. Thought Leadership & Institutional Education

- Content Development: Prepare high-quality institutional-facing materials—including presentations, whitepapers, market commentary, and educational articles—that clearly articulate the benefits, mechanics, and strategic value of Jito Network products.

- Narrative Building: Develop a coherent and compelling narrative around JitoSOL, BAM, and emerging Jito technologies tailored to asset managers, advisors, and other financial institutions.

- Ecosystem Education: Drive broader industry understanding of Solana-based block building and liquid staking by producing content that demystifies technical concepts and highlights real-world institutional applications.

V. Global & Cultural Leadership

- Team Coordination: Coordinate effectively across a globally distributed team, ensuring alignment on strategic institutional goals and product roadmaps

- Culture Carrier: Act as a strong culture carrier for the Jito ecosystem, representing its values, technical excellence, and commitment to decentralization in all external engagements.

Required

- Experience: 7+ years of progressive experience in institutional business development, capital markets, or product strategy within the traditional finance sector (e.g., ETF/ETP issuer, Prime Brokerage, Asset Management).

- Domain Expertise: Deep understanding of the exchange-traded product (ETF/ETP) lifecycle, including issuance, custody, distribution, and regulatory frameworks.

- Ecosystem Knowledge: Strong working knowledge of the cryptocurrency/DeFi ecosystem, particularly staking, liquid staking tokens (LST), and decentralized exchanges

- Communication & Network: Exceptional relationship-building skills and a proven network among market makers, custodians, prime brokers, and institutional asset managers.

- Regulatory Acumen: Familiarity with the regulatory and tax considerations surrounding digital assets and staking in major financial jurisdictions.

Preferred

- Direct experience working with or within the Solana ecosystem.

- Prior experience in a high-growth startup or decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) environment.

- A background in product management or technical sales, bridging complex engineering with market needs.