AFC Senior Associate - SAR Delegate
N26 is a 100% mobile bank based in Berlin, Germany, offering banking, saving, and investing all in one app. It serves millions of retail customers across 24 European markets, providing free and premium bank accounts, savings products, and investment options.
About N26
N26 is Germany's first fully mobile bank, holding a full banking license from BaFin (the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority). It offers a range of personal banking products including free and paid current accounts (Standard, Smart, Go, and Metal plans), virtual and physical Mastercards, joint accounts, and accounts for minors under 18. Customers can also access Instant Savings accounts with interest rates varying by plan, and a flexible cash fund investment product managed by Fidelity International offering variable returns. Through a partnership with Upvest Securities GmbH, N26 enables customers to invest in over 5,000 stocks, ETFs, and ready-made funds directly within the app, with savings plans starting from €1. The N26 Go and Metal plans also include travel-focused benefits such as cashback, favorable exchange rates, airport lounge access, and free ATM withdrawals abroad. N26 operates in 24 markets worldwide, serves over 8 million customers, and protects deposits up to €100,000 under the German Deposit Protection Scheme. Its typical clients are individual retail banking customers seeking simple, mobile-first banking, saving, and investing solutions.
Skills
About the Role
You'll join the Anti-Financial Crime team supporting the German market, overseeing complex financial crime investigations and high-risk approvals, driving strategic process improvements and cross-functional initiatives, and acting as a key partner to the MLRO in maintaining a robust Anti-Financial Crime framework. Your work will play a critical role in ensuring regulatory compliance while strengthening financial crime prevention capabilities.
Requirements
- A completed university degree in Law (Rechtswissenschaften) or Business Administration (Betriebswirtschaftslehre)
- In-depth mastery of German AML/CTF regulations (GwG), BaFin circulars, and the specific reporting requirements of the FIU
- Advanced understanding of typology codes knowing which code triggers certain actions whilst managing 3-Day Rule transactions
- Minimum 5 years of expertise in European and German market AML/CTF regulations, including KYC, risk assessment, transaction monitoring, and the prevention of fraud, tax evasion, and sanctions violations
- Advanced understanding of current ML schemes, TF typologies, and emerging financial crime trends
- Knowledge of risk scoring models, High-Risk Country policies, and the specific due diligence requirements for PEPs and EDD
- Good understanding of full lifecycle of KYC and AML cases (onboarding, TM, SAR filing and offboarding)
- Fluency in English and German is required (spoken and written)
- Detail oriented mindset with a strong focus on risk and compliance procedures
- Able to balance risk awareness with commercial considerations
- Proactive, solutions driven whilst being adaptable and resilient in a fast-paced, evolving digital banking environment
- Ability to explain technical risk concepts with clear and concise reporting of findings
- Strong investigative skills knowing the right questions to ask and where to seek out information
- Ability to maintain high focus and quality output while managing high case volumes
Responsibilities
- Review and approve SARs drafted by AFCO, ensuring all filings meet strict regulatory standards for correctness, completeness, and evidential documentation prior to submission
- Review and submit authority requests received from local and other authorities
- Act as the primary escalation point for AFCO, providing guidance on complex fincrime investigations
- Assist on how to address the RFIs and to interpret legal/tax documentation received from customers
- Review and approve high-risk cases escalated by KYCO, focusing on PEPs and EDD
- Handle and execute confidential, sensitive, or complex investigations that exceed the scope or capability of standard operational teams
- Identify gaps and drive process improvements to enhance efficiency and control effectiveness within AFCO and KYCO workflows
- Drive operational excellence for the local market by working cross-functional projects, implementing and improving local procedures, harmonizing local procedures with group standards
- Collaborate with AFC stakeholders to build a scalable, efficient platform through proactive meeting cadences and continuous process improvement
- Handle the end-to-end execution of internal and external AFC projects, from initial to final implementation, ensuring all milestones are met within defined timelines
- Actively drive project workstreams by coordinating cross-functional task forces, tracking progress through dedicated KPIs, and implementing corrective actions to mitigate delays or risks
- Support the MLRO, including communications with regulatory authorities and FIU
- Support the coordination between the branch's MLRO function and the AML/CTF Technical Unit
- Attend regular meetings to follow up on planned actions and workload prioritization to ensure team targets are met
Benefits
- Competitive personal development budget
- Work from home budget
- Discounts to fitness & wellness memberships, language apps and public transportation
- Premium subscription on personal N26 bank account, including subscriptions for friends and family members
- Additional day of annual leave for each year of service
- Relocation package with visa support for those who need it