About the company
Founders today are building global companies from day one - but the systems that manage their money were built for a different era. Aspire exists to change that!
We're building the financial operating system for global founders, bringing banking, software, and automation into a single platform so businesses can move faster across borders and stay focused on building.
Aspire is built by people who think from first principles, care deeply about solving hard problems, and take real ownership of their work. Our team brings global experience from leading fintech and technology companies, and many of us are former founders and operators who understand what it takes to build thoughtfully, make trade-offs, and deliver at scale in a global environment.
Backed by leading global investors including Y Combinator, Peak XV, and Lightspeed, Aspire has been trusted by more than 50,000 startups and growing businesses worldwide to manage their finances since 2018. Together with partners like J.P. Morgan, Visa, and Wise, we're building for the next generation of global companies.
About the role
As Risk Manager, you will own and operate Aspire UK's risk management framework, providing second-line oversight across financial, operational, and regulatory risks. This is a foundational role in a fast-growing, FCA-regulated fintech - you will help build the risk function from the ground up and play a central role in ensuring Aspire UK operates within its risk appetite as it scales.
You will report to the CEO and work closely with the Head of Compliance and MLRO.
Role Responsibilities
- Maintain and continuously improve Aspire UK's risk management framework, including the Enterprise-Wide Risk Assessment (EWRA) and risk appetite statement
- Identify, assess, monitor, and report on financial, operational, compliance, and regulatory risks across the UK business
- Own the UK risk register and ensure it is actively maintained, escalated, and reported to the Risk Committee and Board
- Oversee incident reporting processes, ensuring timely identification, escalation, and mitigation of risk events including operational incidents and near-misses
- Support the design and testing of risk controls across all key business areas including safeguarding, payments, outsourcing, and customer operations
- Monitor key risk indicators (KRIs) and produce regular risk MI for the SMT, Risk Committee, and Board
- Provide risk input into new product, partnership, and operational change initiatives
- Support the CFO in maintaining wind-down planning triggers and capital adequacy monitoring
- Liaise with Group Risk functions in Singapore to ensure UK-specific risks are appropriately escalated and managed within the Group risk framework
- Support regulatory engagement as required, including FCA interactions relating to risk management
- Own the Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment process and ensure regulatory capital headroom against FCA thresholds
- Own and monitor against Wind Down thresholds
- Produce stress testing scenarios and report on them to Risk Committee
- Own the operational risk register, and operational resilience mapping
- Manage third party and outsourcing risk assessments and ongoing due diligence
Required Skills & Experience
- Minimum 5 years of risk management experience within financial services, with direct experience in banking, payments, e-money, or fintech strongly preferred
- Strong understanding of FCA regulatory expectations for EMIs, including SYSC, operational resilience, and outsourcing risk
- Experience operating within an SM&CR environment and understanding of second-line risk responsibilities
- Proven ability to build and maintain risk frameworks, registers, and appetite statements in a regulated entity
- Excellent analytical skills with the ability to translate complex risk data into clear management reporting
- Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to work effectively with senior leadership
- Comfortable working in a start-up or scale-up environment with ambiguity and the need to build processes from scratch
- Experience working within a group structure with cross-border outsourcing arrangements is an advantage
Risk Manager employer: Aspire
Aspire Leisure Centre is an exceptional employer that prioritises the growth and well-being of its team members. With a vibrant and inclusive work culture, employees enjoy comprehensive training opportunities, including support for obtaining qualifications like the Level 2 Swimming Teacher course, alongside competitive salaries and benefits such as free membership and enhanced parental pay. Join us to make a meaningful impact while having fun in a supportive environment that values teamwork and personal development.
