Chief Operating Officer (COO) - UK

Chief Operating Officer (COO) – UK Location: United Kingdom Engagement Type: Contract basis during authorisation phase; intended transition to permanent/full-time role upon authorisation Reporting To: CEO / Board of Directors Entity/Project: EMI / Fintech authorisation project Role Overview We are seeking an experienced Chief Operating Officer (COO) to support the establishment, authorisation, and operational launch of a regulated Electronic Money Institution. The COO will be responsible for designing and implementing the firm’s operating model, business processes, service delivery framework, vendor coordination, internal controls, and operational readiness arrangements. During the authorisation phase, the COO will work closely with senior management, compliance, risk, safeguarding, technology, and external advisers to ensure that the firm is operationally prepared to meet regulatory expectations. Following authorisation, the role is expected to transition into a permanent leadership position responsible for day-to-day operations and scalable business execution. Key Responsibilities Develop and implement the firm’s operating model for EMI services, including e-money accounts, payments, cards, FX, APIs, and customer operations. Support preparation and implementation of operational policies, procedures, workflows, and internal controls. Coordinate operational readiness for authorisation, launch, and post-authorisation scaling. Oversee customer onboarding operations, service delivery, complaints handling, transaction workflows, and operational controls. Work with compliance, MLRO, risk, safeguarding, and technology teams to ensure operational processes align with regulatory requirements. Coordinate with external service providers, including banking partners, card processors, KYC/KYB vendors, technology providers, outsourced service providers, and consultants. Maintain oversight of operational risks, incidents, service continuity, SLAs, and outsourced service performance. Support implementation of operational resilience, business continuity, disaster recovery, and incident management arrangements. Contribute to management reporting, board updates, operational KPIs, and regulatory readiness materials. Ensure the firm has documented processes for customer support, transaction monitoring escalation, safeguarding reconciliation support, complaints, fraud, and dispute handling. Assist in preparing the firm for regulatory interviews, information requests, and supervisory engagement. Support transition from authorisation phase to live operations. Required Experience Experience in fintech, EMI, payment institution, banking, cards, FX, or regulated financial services. Strong understanding of payment operations, customer onboarding, outsourcing, operational resilience, and regulated service delivery. Experience working with cross-functional teams including compliance, risk, finance, safeguarding, technology, and product. Knowledge of UK/EU payments, e-money, card issuing, customer operations, and fintech infrastructure is preferred. Experience supporting regulatory applications or regulated business launches would be advantageous. Ability to work on a contract basis during the authorisation phase with increased involvement upon authorisation. Skills and Competencies Strong operational leadership and execution capability. Excellent process design and documentation skills. Strong vendor and stakeholder management. Good understanding of regulatory expectations for controlled, scalable operations. Ability to work in a startup environment with evolving priorities. Strong communication, reporting, and governance discipline.