Branch Manager – Portugal (m/f/d)

Business development and growth

• Own the commercial plan for Portugal: build it, and deliver it against acquisition, market share and revenue targets.
• Take Vivid's SME and private propositions to market in Portugal, adapting positioning, pricing input and go-to-market to local conditions.
• Lead negotiations for strategic partnerships and distribution in Portugal, from first contact to signature.
• Build and own the relationships that matter in the market: partners, intermediaries, industry bodies and press.
• Track market trends, competitor activity and customer needs, and translate them into concrete product and go-to-market recommendations to Group teams.
• Represent Vivid in Portugal at industry events, conferences and forums, and with the media.
• Build the local team: define the first roles, hire, onboard and lead.

Build the branch

• Work with the Luxembourg team and local counsel on the branch passport notification to the FMA, and on your own notification and fitness assessment.
• Complete the registrations required to operate: tax, social security and any local licensing formalities.
• Stand up the branch's local operating arrangements — premises, local reporting, and the local control environment — in coordination with Group functions.
• Set up the branch's local obligations on complaints handling, out-of-court dispute resolution and consumer protection.
• Own the launch plan and sequencing, and hold the go-live decision jointly with Luxembourg.

Represent Vivid and stay compliant

• Act as the legal representative of the branch towards the FMA and other competent authorities: regulatory correspondence, supervisory visits, inspections and audits.
• Serve as the branch's point of contact with the regulator and the Portuguese FIU, responsible for accurate and timely regulatory communication.
• Keep the branch's regulatory standing current and ensure ongoing compliance with the conditions of Vivid Money S.A.'s passported permissions.
• Hold the appointed MLRO role for the branch, supported by dedicated first line operations and Group second line, who carry day-to-day monitoring, alert triage and policy drafting. The decisions the appointment reserves to you remain yours.
• Report suspicious activity, ensuring submissions are timely, accurate and complete.
• Own the branch-level AML/CFT business-wide risk assessment, with drafting support from Group Compliance.
• Ensure local AML/CFT and sanctions processes for onboarding and ongoing monitoring meet local requirements and are applied consistently, escalating where local rules go beyond group standards.

We are open on background, and expect strong candidates to come from one of two directions. What we're looking for either way:

• At least 5 years in financial services or fintech, with a commercial track record — market entry, business development or partnerships — and results you can point to.
• Experience of building something from a standing start, rather than inheriting a running operation.
• Comfortable holding a position of personal regulatory accountability, and prepared to take a decision that is commercially unwelcome.
• Resident in Portugal, or willing to relocate, with genuine local presence. Regular travel to Luxembourg and Berlin.
• Degree or professional qualification in business, finance, law, compliance or a related field.
• Fluent in Portuguese and English, written and spoken.

Either — a compliance background

• Experience as an appointed MLRO, or in a directly equivalent appointed role, at a regulated institution.
• Hands-on AML/CFT experience including real customer cases, escalations and SAR/STR reporting, and direct interaction with an FIU and a regulator.
• The appetite to spend most of your time growing a business, not just running a control function.

Or — a commercial background

• Senior commercial or country-management experience at a regulated financial institution or fintech.
• Sufficient AML/CFT grounding to hold the appointment credibly from day one, with the support described above.

• Ownership of a market: you build the branch, hire the team, and own the growth. 
• Direct line to the CEO and Authorised Management of the regulated entity. 
• An ambitious, experienced team across Luxembourg, Berlin and our European markets. 
• Vivid Prime account free of charge. 
• Learning and development budget to support your professional growth. 
• A senior-level position with a competitive benefits package.