Upvest is on a mission to make investing as easy as spending money. The company empowers businesses to offer a wide range of investment products and the best experience in the field of capital market investment and retirement planning. Upvest’s Investment API is easy to integrate so that fintechs and enterprises alike can save resources and fully focus on their core business.
Upvest is one of the few fintechs in Europe that can provide its B2B clients with the full range of investment opportunities in the areas of principal broking business, proprietary trading, and safe custody business for traditional securities. The company was founded in 2017 by Martin Kassing and currently employs more than 200 people across Europe. Its latest €100m fundraising round (Series C) was led by Hedosophia and Sapphire Venture, with continued support from existing investors including Bessemer Venture Partners, BlackRock, Earlybird, HV Capital, Motive Ventures, and Notion Capital.
We currently employ 200+ people across Europe with our headquarters based in Berlin, Germany, and hubs in Tallinn, Estonia, and London, UK. We’re based in Berlin but are also open to hiring remotely in Germany or London (UK) for this role. If you're currently based elsewhere but would like to move to Germany, we’re happy to support your relocation
Your Mission:
As the VP of Risk Management, your mission is to drive growth by acting as a strategic business partner across departments, collaborating with the management team to shape a sustainable and forward-thinking risk approach. You will actively manage financial and non-financial risks, enabling data-driven decision-making and supporting Upvest’s ambitious goals. At the same time, you will lead the further development and execution of our robust risk management framework that ensures seamless compliance with BaFin and FCA standards, including MaRisk, ICAAP, ILAAP, and ICARA, empowering the business to scale confidently in the dynamic investment infrastructure space
This role offers you the opportunity to:
Act as a strategic advisor to the Management by developing playbooks for operational risk handling, financial risk planning, capital adequacy, and liquidity planning
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to identify risks, provide insights, and implement solutions that balance risk with business objectives
Partner with Product and Engineering to embed risk management in product design, development, and infrastructure scaling
Present risk assessments and stress tests to auditors and regulators, ensuring strong communication and transparency
Lead and build out a high-performing risk management team while staying ahead of regulatory and industry trends
What you'll bring:
10+ years of experience in risk management within fintech or financial services
Proven ability to scale risk management practices in high-growth, fast-paced environments
Deep knowledge of BaFin and FCA regulatory frameworks, including ICAAP, ILAAP, and ICARA
Strategic thinking with the ability to turn complex risk and regulatory topics into actionable plans
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a proactive approach to risk mitigation
Leadership experience in managing and developing high-performing teams
Experience influencing and leading cross-functional stakeholders toward strategic impact
It’s great if you:
Have experience using technology and data analytics to enhance and modernize risk management processes.
Are skilled at maintaining strong communication with auditors and regulators.
Bring experience in both financial (e.g., market and counterparty risk) and non-financial (e.g., operational and compliance) risk management.
Have a strong understanding of emerging risks and regulatory updates relevant to scaling financial infrastructure.
Why Upvest?
We're working on solving a hard problem: fixing the European securities financial infrastructure that empowers more people to be able to invest. You have the opportunity to contribute to this change.
We invest in you. From access to a personal coach, development budget and plenty of opportunities to grow in your role.
We take hiring seriously with a strong focus on keeping a high bar when interviewing (equally important is that we hire decent people, who are passionate about their craft and helping us achieve our shared mission).
While we're not quite fully-remote, we are committed to being a flexible employer, as we understand you don't have to be in the office to do your best work.
We live in a culture of empowerment, trust (that we hire the best people and get out of their way) and openness (there's a greater advantage in sharing information than keeping it to ourselves).
Our values:
Learn and grow. We aim high to shape our future. We give and request honest feedback knowing that we develop together. Progression over Perfection.
Team first. We make it easy for others. We value our differences and are open to others' opinions. We win and celebrate together! Team over Egos.
Own the outcome. Whether we win or we lose, we stand together. We are proactive and get the job done. Outcome over Process.
Tell the story. We always start with the why. We share knowledge to empower others. Transparency over Complexity.
Upvest is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees
