About this role
About the opportunity
At N26, we're redefining banking for the digital age. By combining technology, design, and innovation, we're building a banking experience that's simple, transparent, and loved by millions. We've replaced physical branches, paperwork, and hidden fees with a seamless digital platform that empowers people to bank on their own terms.
We're looking for an AFC Senior Associate - SAR Delegate to join our Anti-Financial Crime team, supporting the German market. In this role, you'll oversee complex financial crime investigations and high-risk approvals, drive strategic process improvements and cross-functional initiatives, and act as a key partner to the MLRO in maintaining a robust and effective Anti-Financial Crime framework. Your work will play a critical role in ensuring regulatory compliance while strengthening N26's financial crime prevention capabilities.
In this role, you will:
• 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 but not limited to 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
What you need to be successful:
Background:
• 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 re