Head Financial Crime Compliance

About Sygnum

Sygnum is a global digital asset banking group, founded on Swiss and Singapore heritage. We empower professional and institutional investors, banks, corporates and DLT foundations to invest in digital assets with complete trust. Our team enables this through our institutional-grade security, expert personal service and portfolio of regulated digital asset banking, asset management, tokenization and B2B services.

Our Values

A key pillar of our success are the Sygnum values that define and unite us a team. We proudly call them our SYGN values:

• S stands for the importance we hold in Seeking and seizing opportunities, and the way we take personal ownership for delivering results for our clients;
• Y represents the way we say Yes to maintaining the highest level of integrity and fairness in everything we do. Sygnumers always display confidence without attitude;
• G reminds us to always Grow and win together. We only succeed by supporting each other and challenging ourselves, and our team-mates, to reach for new heights;
• N is here for Nose for value because we are always looking to focus on what matters most to our clients, partners and team.

Sygnum has one of the most diverse teams in the industry. Diversity plays a central role in keeping our work culture open, our teams productive and energised, and our solutions at the forefront of the industry. In the spirit of our SYGN value to “grow and win together”, we fully embrace an equal opportunity mindset in the way we onboard, develop and promote our team members.

About the role

As Head Financial Crime Compliance and Deputy MLRO, you will lead and oversee Sygnum’s entire Financial Crime Compliance (FCC) function, comprising two subteams each headed by its own Lead. You will hold overall accountability for the design, effectiveness and continuous improvement of the bank’s AML/CFT framework across the full client lifecycle, setting the standards, risk appetite and priorities that both subteams operate to. While leading through your Team Leads, you remain hands-on and close to the casework and credible as a senior technical authority – stepping in on the most complex, sensitive and higher-risk matters – and you guide, coach and motivate the function to deliver consistently high-quality, risk-based outcomes in line with applicable regulatory requirements and internal policies.

Reporting to the Chief Compliance Officer, Member of the Group Executive Board and MLRO, you will hold formal line-management responsibility for the two FCC Team Leads and overall leadership of their teams – owning the function’s target operating model, resourcing, workload balancing across both segments, objectives, performance management (KRIs) and the development and recruitment of the wider team. You will act as the senior point of escalation for the most complex and higher-risk financial crime matters, represent FCC in governance committees and in engagement with regulators, auditors and senior management, and serve as a key voice on financial crime risk across the bank. You are an experienced, positive, approachable and motivational leader who develops people and future leaders, builds a collaborative, high-performing culture across both subteams, and partners constructively with stakeholders across the bank to maintain a robust AML framework while enabling business growth through pragmatic, risk-based compliance solutions.

Your Main Responsibilities

• Holding formal line-management responsibility for the two FCC Team Leads (FCC Private Clients and FCC Institutionals), setting objectives, conducting performance reviews, supporting recruitment and fostering a positive, collaborative and high-performing culture across the function
• Remaining a hands-on leader, taking over responsibility and who stays close to the casework – stepping in personally on the most complex, sensitive and higher-risk files across both subteams rather than leading from a distance
• Overseeing workload allocation, case pipelines, turnaround times and resourcing across both subteams, ensuring adequate coverage and consistent throughput across the client lifecycle
• Coaching, mentoring and developing both Team Leads and their team members – building bench strength and future leaders – and providing constructive, timely feedback
• Acting as the senior point of escalation and final technical authority on the most complex, sensitive and higher-risk financial crime matters across both subteams
• Owning the overall quality, consistency and timeliness of the function’s output, ensuring aligned standards across both subteams and embedding a culture of continuous improvement across FCC processes and controls
• Owning Sygnum’s financial crime risk appetite, FCC strategy and control framework, and reporting on financial crime risk, key matters and KPIs to senior management, governance committees and the Board as required and in collaboration with the Chief Compliance Officer
• Leading engagement with FINMA, external auditors and other regulators on financial crime matters, and overseeing the bank’s suspicious activity reporting and related regulatory obligations
• Ensuring consistent standards, methodology and risk-based decision-making across the FCC Private Clients and FCC Institutionals subteams
• Overseeing the effective execution of FCC activities across both the private client and institutional lifecycles, including on- and offboarding, periodic reviews, transaction monitoring and remediation activities
• Ensuring robust KYC and AML/CTF assessments across both client segments, including high-risk clients, politically exposed persons (PEPs), complex ownership structures and institutional / DLT counterparties, and reviewing the most complex or sensitive cases
• Reviewing and assessing Source of Wealth (SoW) and Source of Funds (SoF) documentation and analysing complex client structures
• Identifying, investigating, and escalating unusual activities and transaction patterns, and supporting the preparation of Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) and Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) where required
• Supporting responses to requests from authorities, regulators, auditors, and internal control functions
• Advising client-facing teams across both the private client and institutional businesses on Swiss CDB20, AML/CTF, KYC and related regulatory requirements throughout the client lifecycle
• Owning and continuously improving Sygnum’s AML Framework, ensuring effective implementation of policies, procedures and controls across the function
• Overseeing quality reviews and providing guidance on onboarding files, periodic reviews and remediation cases across both subteams
• Supporting regulatory and compliance projects, audits, risk assessments, and strategic initiatives across the organisation
• Leveraging data analytics, blockchain intelligence, and AI-enabled tools to enhance risk identification, investigations, monitoring effectiveness, and process efficiency
• Monitoring developments in financial crime regulations, digital assets, blockchain ecosystems, and industry best practices, and contributing to the implementation of required changes
• Supporting the delivery of AML, KYC, and financial crime training and awareness initiatives across the organisation

Our ideal candidate

• Degree in law, finance/economics, business administration, or a related field
• A minimum of 10+ years of experience in Banking as an in-house Compliance Officer or within an Audit/Consulting firm providing services to Swiss-regulated financial intermediaries, including substantial experience leading and developing financial crime teams, ideally including other team leads
• Proven leadership experience running financial crime or compliance teams – ideally including leading other team leads or multiple teams – with the ability to lead and motivate at scale while remaining hands-on and close to the casework, balancing oversight with coaching and the development of others
• Strong people and stakeholder management skills, with a track record of building trust, resolving issues constructively and partnering effectively with client-facing teams
• Deep expertise across financial crime risks in both private client and institutional / DLT business models, with the judgement to set standards and make sound risk-based decisions across diverse client segments
• Experience engaging directly with regulators (e.g. FINMA), external auditors and senior management or governance committees on financial crime matters
• Strong knowledge of AMLA, AMLO, AMLO-FINMA, CDB20, and relevant digital asset and other regulatory requirements relating to client onboarding, KYC, AML/CFT, sanctions, tax compliance, CRS, and FATCA
• Proven experience assessing Source of Wealth, Source of Funds, and complex client ownership structures
• Familiarity with digital assets, Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) business models, and related financial crime risks
• Experience using screening, monitoring, and investigative tools for AML and compliance purposes
• Strong analytical and investigative skills with the ability to identify risks and develop pragmatic, risk-based solutions
• Confidence in using AI-enabled tools responsibly to support analysis, documentation quality, and decision-making in a regulated environment
• Ability to work independently, manage multiple priorities, and deliver high-quality outcomes with limited supervision
• A positive, motivational and hands-on leadership style, leading by example as an active and visible member of the teams you lead, and bringing out the best in others within a collaborative, flat-hierarchy culture
• Knowledge of current trends in Compliance, FinTech, RegTech, digital assets, and blockchain technologies
• Blockchain forensics and investigation skills and familiarity with blockchain forensic tools are an advantage
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English (German is a strong advantage)

If you are passionate about the potential of blockchain to shape Future Finance and your profile is a good fit for this position, please send us your CV today!