Head of Risk

Job description

**This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Head of Risk based in Switzerland.** As Head of Risk, you will lead the development of a proactive, business-oriented risk management function within a growing international fintech operating across cryptocurrency and traditional payments. Reporting directly to the CEO, you will join the leadership team and play a pivotal role in shaping risk strategy, strengthening governance, and supporting sustainable business growth. You will oversee enterprise, operational, financial, and regulatory risk across consumer products and B2B infrastructure services. Working closely with commercial, product, finance, and compliance teams, you will ensure that risk considerations inform strategic decisions from the earliest stages. This hands-on leadership opportunity offers significant autonomy to build and scale the risk function while navigating evolving regulatory frameworks, including MiCA, PSD2, and DORA. You will help balance innovation, regulatory compliance, and operational resilience in a fast-paced, low-bureaucracy environment where your decisions have a direct impact on the business. ### Accountabilities - **Enterprise Risk Management:** Develop and maintain a comprehensive enterprise risk framework, including risk taxonomy, risk appetite statements, risk tolerances, risk registers, escalation policies, and the three-lines-of-defence model. - **Risk Reporting and Governance:** Deliver regular risk dashboards and management reports for the CEO and leadership team, prepare board and committee reporting, oversee regulatory risk reporting, and establish clear processes for risk escalation and decision-making. - **Regulatory and ICT Risk:** Lead the implementation of Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) requirements, including ICT risk management, incident classification and reporting, third-party ICT risk assessments, and maintenance of the Register of Information. - **Licensing and Regulatory Expansion:** Establish operational risk, capital adequacy, liquidity, and safeguarding frameworks to support new electronic money institution authorizations across European and UK jurisdictions. - **B2B Partner and Counterparty Risk:** Design risk-based onboarding and monitoring frameworks for business partners, assess material partnerships, establish risk approval processes, and manage concentration risk across counterparties. - **Financial and Market Risk:** Partner with Finance to monitor cryptocurrency price exposure, settlement and liquidity risks, counterparty exposure to liquidity providers and banking partners, and capital adequacy. - **Operational Resilience:** Oversee business continuity planning, disaster recovery, vendor risk management, and major incident reporting to strengthen business resilience and ensure operational preparedness. - **Fraud Risk Management:** Establish a consistent fraud risk appetite across products, channels, and geographies, defining acceptable loss thresholds and aligning risk management practices across relevant teams. - **Product and Market Risk:** Conduct risk assessments for new products, services, and market expansions, integrating risk reviews into product development and launch decisions from the earliest stages. - **Risk Culture and Leadership:** Chair the risk committee, promote accountability for risk ownership across business units, and build a scalable risk management function that supports commercial objectives without creating unnecessary operational barriers. - **Continuous Improvement:** Transform existing risk registers, governance documentation, and control frameworks into a practical, decision-oriented risk function that identifies emerging threats and provides actionable recommendations to senior leadership. ## Requirements - **Professional Experience:** 8–10+ years of experience in risk management within financial services or fintech, including at least 3–4 years in a senior risk leadership position, such as Head of Risk, VP of Risk, or an equivalent role with comparable accountability and decision-making authority. - **Regulated Financial Services Expertise:** Direct experience working within a regulated fintech, payment institution, electronic money institution (EMI), payment service provider (PSP), or cryptocurrency business, with a strong understanding of regulated operating environments and fast-growing organizations. - **Regulatory Risk Knowledge:** Hands-on experience with at least one of the following: DORA ICT risk management, MiCA requirements for Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CASPs), or PSD2 operational and security risk requirements for payment institutions. Experience with UK FCA operational resilience requirements is also highly relevant. - **End-to-End Risk Ownership:** A demonstrated track record of taking responsibility for risk frameworks, decisions, controls, and outcomes rather than providing advisory support alone. - **Strategic Judgment:** Ability to assess incomplete or ambiguous information, establish a clear risk position, recommend practical solutions, and defend decisions under pressure from senior stakeholders. - **Business-Oriented Communication:** Strong ability to translate complex risk concepts into clear business implications, explaining potential impacts, costs, trade-offs, and available options to executive and commercial teams. - **Leadership and Collaboration:** A proactive, independent approach to problem-solving, with the ability to influence senior leaders, collaborate across departments, and balance risk mitigation with business growth. - **Regulatory and Governance Capabilities:** Strong understanding of risk governance, operational resilience, financial and counterparty risk, and regulatory expectations within a complex financial services environment. - **Language Skills:** Fluent professional English, with excellent written and verbal communication skills. - **Preferred Qualifications and Experience:** Previous experience as a Head of Risk or Chief Risk Officer (CRO) in a regulated fintech, EMI, PSP, or crypto business; experience building a risk function from the ground up; and familiarity with crypto custody risk, MiCA capital requirements, or Travel Rule implementation. - **Additional Advantages:** Experience managing third-party and vendor risk at scale, particularly within B2B or embedded-finance business models; prior experience chairing a risk committee or reporting to a board; a Financial Risk Manager (FRM), Professional Risk Manager (PRM), or comparable qualification; and Russian language proficiency. ## Benefits - **Leadership Opportunity:** A seat on the leadership team, with direct access to the CEO and founders and meaningful influence over strategic decisions. - **Significant Ownership:** The opportunity to design, develop, and scale the risk management function, shaping its priorities, governance, and long-term contribution to the business. - **Remote-First Flexibility:** A remote working environment with periodic in-person collaboration at the European headquarters. - **Long-Term Contract:** A B2B contractual arrangement offering the opportunity to build a lasting professional relationship. - **Performance-Based Compensation:** A bonus structure linked to performance and objectives and key results (OKRs). - **Paid Time Off:** 20 paid working days off per year, in addition to paid sick leave. - **Health Coverage:** Health insurance to support your well-being. - **Professional Development:** A dedicated budget for training, learning, and continuous professional growth. - **Team Activities:** Regular team events that encourage collaboration and strengthen relationships across the organization. - **Meaningful Business Impact:** The opportunity to influence regulatory readiness, financial stability, operational resilience, and responsible innovation within a growing fintech environment.