Director of Operations, Europe
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Type: Full-time
- Are you curious, excited by experimentation and always looking for a better way of doing things?
- Do you want to keep learning and developing whilst getting hands-on experience working in the embedded payments space?
- Do you want to have the opportunity to be a key part of the team and help enable Modulrs growth in Europe?
If so, we would love to hear from you!
Who We Are
Modulr is the payments automation platform that streamlines money movement with accuracy, control and reliability – built to scale. We process more than 200m transactions and over £180bn in payment value on an annualised basis, and we're trusted by over 6,000 businesses from fast-growing SMEs to global enterprises. Our vision is a world where all businesses are powered by embedded payments.
We automate how money moves into and out of a business – payroll, supplier payments, spend management and payment collection – through a single platform, connected to the accounting and payroll systems finance teams already use and underpinned by principal memberships of Visa and Mastercard and direct access to central bank infrastructure. Modulr enables businesses, from SMEs to Enterprise, initially across the UK and Europe, to efficiently pay-in, collect and disburse funds instantly via a range of payment schemes, accounts, and card products.
As a regulated payments provider with over a decade of experience, we're the platform finance teams trust to run mission-critical operations. Modulr is backed by PayPal, FIS, General Atlantic, Blenheim Chalcot, Frog Capital and Highland Europe, with over 400 employees across London, Edinburgh, Amsterdam and Mumbai.
Find out more about us on our website and careers site.
What You’ll Do
As Director of Operations, Europe, you will report to the Managing Director of Europe and you will sit on the MFBV Management Board alongside with the Head of Risk and Compliance, Director of Financial Control and the Managing Director of Europe and you will have direct access to the Supervisory Board of our Dutch-regulated EMI, keeping day-to-day operations on track while the Managing Director drives commercial growth. You hold formal Board responsibility for Operations and Outsourcing, Incident Management, Corporate Culture and People Operations, and Operational Resilience.
You will:
- Partner with Group functions to enhance quality and efficiency for MFBV, holding them to account.
- Lead ~20 people in Amsterdam, with strong physical presence as the default working mode.
- Manage the Amsterdam office and branches in France, Spain and Ireland.
- Own daily safeguarding reconciliation under Wft Article 3:29a and EMD2 Article 23.
- Drive governance and follow-through — structured decisions, issues resolved not left to drift.
- Champion operational excellence — AI, automation and lean working to support scalable growth.
- Represent MFBV to DNB alongside the Managing Director and Head of Risk and Compliance.
Your responsibilities will include:
- Outsourcing Oversight — Accountable Board member for all outsourced and intra-group arrangements across IT, operations, finance, product, sales and marketing, per EBA Guidelines and Wft Article 3:18b. Ensure documentation, risk assessment and DNB notification; assure SLA delivery and report to Boards.
- Group Partnership — Represent MFBV's needs in Group forums; ensure Group involvement does not compromise MFBV's autonomy or DNB compliance.
- Local Leadership & Office Management — Lead and develop ~20 Amsterdam-based staff; manage office, facilities and vendors; oversee branches in France, Spain and Ireland. Partner with Group People Ops on talent and retention; foster an inclusive culture per Wft Articles 3:8 and 3:9.
- Safeguarding — Direct accountability for daily reconciliation, approvals, reporting and fund segregation under Wft Article 3:29a and EMD2 Article 23. Ensure processes are correctly executed and kept current.
- Operational Excellence — Champion AI, automation and continuous improvement to drive efficiency and scalable growth. Provide strategic input to the Managing Director on operational readiness.
- Governance & Audit — Drive structured decisions and accountability via the Management Board and formal governance forums. Support internal and external audit scoping and follow-up.
- Incident Management & Resilience — Own incident identification, escalation and resolution, DNB notification requirements. Lead the resilience framework including DORA, BCP, disaster recovery, ICT governance and cybersecurity per EBA Guidelines and GDPR.
Who You Are
What you’ll need
Being a hands-on, pragmatic operations leader with deep experience in regulated financial services or fintech — comfortable in fast-paced, scaling, international matrix environments.
Required
- Senior operations leadership in payments, fintech, EMI, PSP or regulated financial services
- Outsourcing and provider management across operations, IT and product — both third-party and intra-group
- Management board experience in a regulated entity
- Multi-site European branch management within an international matrix or shared-service structure
- Regulatory awareness and engagement track record — DNB preferred; FCA, CBI, ACPR or equivalent accepted
- Operational resilience, BCP and incident management framework experience
- Process improvement, automation and AI adoption background
- Strong leadership and people management experience with focus on building high performing inclusive teams
Skills
- Visible, credible leader with governance discipline and strong follow-through
- Strong outsourcing oversight — monitors, challenges and remediates provider performance
- Strategic thinker with a hands-on, practical approach to execution
- Effective communicator across Boards, regulators and global stakeholders
- Scale-up mindset — motivated by building, improving and growing in ambiguous environments
Nice to haves
- Embedded payments or B2B fintech experience
- Dutch language skills (professional proficiency)
- Multi-jurisdiction European regulatory change experience
- Familiarity with safeguarding regulations, DORA and first-line compliance frameworks
- Knowledge and experience of Dutch two-tier Board governance
What We Offer You
- Share Options – We offer a Company Share Option Plan (CSOP), giving you the opportunity to benefit from any increase in share value in the event of a sale, merger, or flotation.
- Bonus – Our annual discretionary bonus, paid in May for the previous year, is based on both company and individual performance.
- Flexible benefits - Over €1,000 per year to use however you like through our flexi benefits platform.
- Wellbeing app – confidential, on-demand access to therapy, coaching, counselling, management training or mindfulness sessions with accredited professionals, with company-funded hours and top-up options available.
- Holidays - 33 days annual leave (including bank holidays) plus your birthday off.
- Learning opportunities - Our two-day onboarding program, ModStart, helps equip you for success. Learning doesn’t stop there; we’ll continue to support your development through various channels.
- Company-Wide Events - Participate in collaborative and engaging events with colleagues across the business.
- Travel Commuting Allowance: We offer a commuting allowance to help cover the cost of traveling to our office
ModInclusion
At Modulr, we’re committed to building a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture where everyone feels they belong and can bring their whole self to work. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds as we believe it’s the right thing for our people, our business, and the community we operate in.
By submitting your CV, you consent to us using your personal data to assess your application, contact you, or share your CV with relevant hiring managers. You can request removal of your data at any time by emailing [email protected] - though this will withdraw you from consideration for the role.
