Chief Operating Officer (PCF-42)

ABF Programming; Dublin; On-site; EUR 180,000 - 320,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Dublin city-centre office

Competitive salary and benefits

Job summary

ABFPay Europe Limited, based in Dublin, seeks a Chief Operating Officer to run day-to-day operations from the first customer. You will be responsible for the operating model, technology oversight, and third-party providers, with accountability for operational resilience and regulatory compliance.

The role reports to the CEO and participates in the Executive Committee. You will lead the operations team, manage the budget, and coordinate with Compliance, CRO, and Finance.

Qualifications

• Significant senior operations experience in a regulated payments, e-money, banking or wider financial services firm.
• Experience leading a function or business unit and working with a Board or regulators.
• Strong knowledge of outsourcing, third-party risk and operational resilience.

Responsibilities

• Design, build and run the operating model for payments, wallets, cards, onboarding and settlements.
• Set service levels, processes, controls and management information for regulated activity readiness.
• Oversee reconciliations, settlement and safeguarding client funds with Finance and Safeguarding teams.
• Own complaints handling and root-cause analysis in partnership with Compliance.
• Oversee technology platform by group providers and manage ICT risk framework under DORA.
• Lead outsourcing and third-party risk framework and monitor SLAs with providers.

Skills

Senior operations

Regulatory payments

Outsourcing risk

Regulatory reporting

Leadership

Education

Degree or equivalent

Tools

ISO 27001

ITIL

Job description

ABFPay Europe Limited is an Irish company that has applied to the Central Bank of Ireland for

authorisation as an electronic money institution (EMI).

We are part of an international fintech group with regulated businesses across the globe. The Irish

entity will carry full regulatory responsibility, governance and control for its own business, supported by

group technology and services under written intercompany agreements. Our office is in Dublin.

The role

We are looking for a Chief Operating Officer to run the day-to-day operations of ABFPay Europe from

the first customer. You will have overall responsibility for managing the internal operations of the firm,

which is how the Central Bank describes PCF-42. You will build the operating model, oversee the

technology platform and the firm’s third-party providers, and be accountable for operational resilience.

The Central Bank expects the COO to be a senior individual reporting directly to the CEO. The COO is

a pre-approval controlled function (PCF-42) and the role includes responsibility for technology oversight

(the CIO scope), so you will be one of the firm’s senior executives and a member of the Executive Committee. The appointment is subject to the Central Bank of Ireland’s fitness and probity approval.

Key responsibilities

Operations and payments

• Design, build and run the operating model for payments, wallets, cards, customer onboarding and
• Set service levels, processes, controls and management information, and make sure operations are ready before the firm starts regulated activity.
• Work with Finance and Safeguarding on daily reconciliations, settlement and the operational side of safeguarding client funds.
• Own complaints handling processes and operational root-cause analysis in partnership with Compliance.

Technology oversight

• Oversee the technology platform provided by group companies under an intercompany services agreement, including service levels, performance, change management and release governance.
• Own the ICT risk management framework and the firm’s register of information under the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA).
• Make sure information security, access management and data protection controls operate in practice, and that the firm’s production systems and customer data stay in the European Economic Area.
• Act as the executive link between the Irish firm and group technology teams, challenging them where needed.

Outsourcing and third parties

• Own the outsourcing and third-party risk framework: due diligence, contracts, service level monitoring, concentration risk and exit plans.
• Manage the relationships with banking, card issuing and processing partners, identity and screening providers and other critical or important function providers.
• Prepare and maintain the notifications and registers the Central Bank and DORA require.

Operational resilience

• Own business continuity, disaster recovery and incident management, including testing programmes and lessons learned.
• Run major incident response and make sure regulatory incident reports are made on time.
• Maintain operational risk indicators and report on them to the Board and the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee.

Leadership and governance

• Recruit, develop and lead the operations team and set its priorities as the business scales.
• Sit on the Executive Committee, contribute to Board papers and present on operational performance and risk.
• Manage the operations budget and the intercompany service charges in line with the Board-approved plan.
• Work closely with the Head of Compliance and CRO, the Head of AML and CTF and the Head of Finance and Safeguarding, respecting the independence of the control functions.
• Engage with the Central Bank on operational matters and during the authorisation process, including a PCF interview if required.

• Significant senior operations experience in a regulated payments, e-money, banking or wider financial services firm, including time leading a function or business unit.
• Strong working knowledge of outsourcing, third-party risk and operational resilience, including the Central Bank of Ireland’s outsourcing expectations and DORA.
• Experience overseeing technology delivered by an external or group provider, with the ability to challenge and hold providers to service levels.
• Proven experience of business continuity, incident management and regulatory reporting.
• A track record of building processes and teams, and of delivering in a small or fast-moving organisation.
• Clear, credible communication with a Board, regulators and technical teams.
• A degree or equivalent professional qualification, or equivalent experience.
• Resident in Ireland (or willing to relocate before appointment) and entitled to work in Ireland.
• Previous Central Bank of Ireland PCF approval, or equivalent approval from another EEA regulator.
• Experience of an authorisation or a start-up launch of a regulated firm.
• Knowledge of SEPA, SWIFT and card scheme operations, and of payment services regulation (PSD2 and the e-money rules).
• ISO 27001, ITIL, business continuity or project management qualifications.
• Experience working with distributed teams across time zones and countries.

Regulatory requirements

• The role is a pre-approval controlled function (PCF-42). You must be approved by the Central Bank of Ireland before you can take it up, and you must meet the Central Bank’s fitness and probity standards (competent and capable, honest, ethical, acting with integrity, diligent, independent-minded and financially sound).
• You will be asked to provide an individual questionnaire, references and background checks, and you may be interviewed by the Central Bank.
• You must have sufficient time to devote to the role, appropriate to the function, and the Central Bank will look at any other roles or directorships you hold.
• Once approved you will be subject to the Central Bank’s Conduct Standards for individuals in controlled functions.
• Offers will be conditional on regulatory approval, satisfactory references and the right to work in Ireland.

• Accountability and judgement in a regulated environment
• Operational rigour and attention to detail
• Calm and decisive in incidents
• Constructive challenge of colleagues and providers
• Leadership and team building
• Clear writing and presentation to senior audiences

What we offer

• A senior, accountable role building a regulated business from the start, with direct access to the CEO and the Board.
• Competitive salary and benefits.
• A Dublin city-centre office.
• The chance to shape the operating model, culture and standards of the firm.