Head of Operations

Team

We are seeking an experienced and strategic Head of Operations to lead and scale our core operational departments. In this senior leadership role, you will be the driving force behind our operational excellence, directly overseeing five critical verticals: Custody Operations, Payment Operations, Treasury Operations, Account Management and Third-Party/Vendor Management.

Drawing on your extensive industry expertise, you will build and mentor high-performing teams, optimize cross-functional workflows, and ensure robust risk management and compliance. If you are a visionary leader with a proven track record of managing multi-disciplinary financial operations, we want you to lead our operations hub into its next phase of growth.

Your Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Team Development

• Multi-Disciplinary Management: Provide executive leadership and strategic direction to five distinct operational teams, ensuring cohesive collaboration and alignment with overall business objectives.
• People Development: Lead, mentor, and empower a diverse group of team leads and managers. Foster a culture of high performance, continuous improvement, and accountability.
• Operational Scaling: Design and execute scalable operational strategies, leveraging technology and automation to handle increasing volumes without compromising quality or risk controls.

Departmental Oversight

• Custody Operations: Oversee the safekeeping of assets, trade settlements, corporate actions, and asset reconciliation. Ensure strict adherence to regulatory standards regarding client asset protection.
• Payment Operations: Direct the end-to-end processing of domestic and cross-border payments (e.g., SEPA, SWIFT). Ensure high straight-through processing (STP) rates, minimize exceptions, and maintain strict compliance with payment regulations.
• Account Management: Lead the operational lifecycle of client accounts, including seamless onboarding, account maintenance, offboarding, and operational support for KYC/AML requirements. Ensure a frictionless and secure client experience.
• Third-Party & Vendor Management: Direct the vendor management lifecycle. Negotiate SLAs, conduct regular vendor performance reviews, and ensure third-party partners consistently deliver high-quality, cost-effective services while adhering to compliance and security standards.

Risk, Compliance & Process Optimization

• Process Excellence: Continuously analyze current operational workflows to identify bottlenecks. Implement lean methodologies and technical enhancements to drive efficiency and reduce operational costs.
• Risk & Controls: Establish and monitor comprehensive KPIs and KRIs. Maintain a robust operational risk framework to quickly identify, escalate, and mitigate risks.
• Regulatory Alignment: Act as the operational escalation point for audits and regulatory inquiries. Ensure all departments remain fully compliant with current financial legislation and industry best practices.

Your Profile

• Experience & Education

  • Experience: A minimum of 10+ years of proven expertise in senior operational leadership roles within banking, fintech, or financial services.
  • Domain Knowledge: Deep, hands-on experience managing across at least two of the core areas (Custody, Payments, Treasury, Account Management, or Vendor Management), with the strategic capability to oversee them all.
  • Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Finance, Business Administration, Economics, or a related field.

  Technical & Professional Skills

  • System Proficiency: Strong familiarity with core banking systems, payment gateways, custody platforms, and vendor management frameworks.
  • Vendor Strategy: Strong negotiation skills and experience managing large-scale third-party operational contracts and SLA enforcement.
  • Analytical Thinking: Exceptional data-driven decision-making skills, with the ability to translate complex operational data into actionable strategic insights.

  Leadership & Soft Skills

  • Change Management: Proven ability to lead large teams through periods of significant change, systemic upgrades, and hyper-growth.
  • Communication: Excellent executive-level communication and stakeholder management skills. Ability to bridge the gap between Operations, Product, Compliance, and Executive boards.
  • Resilience: Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment, acting decisively during time-critical incidents.

Join our mission, join our team – and grow with us!

• At Raisin, we care about each other and it is one of our top priorities to foster an open and caring environment in which everyone feels welcome and comfortable. Our culture is strongly driven by our ambitious team, which connects more than 75 different nationalities.
• As part of our team, you will benefit from:
• Employee Development Budget of €2,000 and four full training days per year.
• Flexible working hours, home office and 30 vacation days.
• A company pension scheme (Betriebliche Altersvorsorge), which we support with 20%.
• Enjoy more than 50+ different sports with Urban Sports Club: We subsidize your membership with more than €20 per month. 
• Do you miss being in the office? The Deutschland Ticket gets you there, which we subsidize with €25 per month.
• Love cycling? With JobRad, lease the bike of your choice and enjoy tax savings, plus Raisin covers your monthly insurance costs.
• Hungry all the time? Snacks, daily fresh fruit as well as drinks provided at the office.
• You are moving from another country or city to join us? We may support your relocation.