People Risk, Governance & ER Lead

Fnality is building the future of financial market infrastructure – creating regulated, blockchain-based payment systems to power tomorrow’s wholesale banking ecosystem. Backed by leading global banks and operating at the intersection of technology, finance, and regulation, we are powering the future of finance, together. There are no precedents for what we're doing. With you on our side, we'll be setting new ones every day.

Working at Fnality

Be your best:
We have a supportive culture that helps to bring the best out of each and every single one of our employees.

Feel free to explore:
Bring your new ideas and help us to solve problems together by joining a community of experts.

Be part of something bigger: We will support you by fostering an open, honest culture, that enables flexibility and wellbeing. Feel part of something bigger while being yourself.


Feel empowered:
We want you to feel empowered. The nature of our business can help make this a reality. We have the
agility, speed and innovation of a start-up, and a flexible working environment that enables this.

Eligibility

This role can be based in London, UK or Connecticut, USA. You must be eligible to work in either of these locations to be considered. Please note we cannot sponsor visas for this role.

Role Purpose

We are looking for an experienced People Risk, Governance & Employee Relations Lead to strengthen our People & Talent function as Fnality continues to mature internationally.

You will be the subject matter expert for employee relations, People risk, compliance, policy and controls, providing trusted advice to managers and ensuring our People practices are effective, well-governed and appropriate for a regulated organisation operating across the UK, Germany and US.

Reporting into the COO, the role will also provide oversight across People Operations and payroll governance, working closely with the People Operations Manager to ensure effective, consistent and controlled delivery across the employee lifecycle.

Initially a senior individual contributor, you will provide technical leadership across the team, with the expectation of taking on formal management responsibility within 6–12 months.

Key Responsibilities

Employee Relations & Manager Advice

• Lead complex ER matters including grievances, disciplinaries, investigations, performance, absence and organisational change

• Provide pragmatic, legally informed advice and coaching to managers and senior leaders

• Ensure cases are handled fairly, consistently and appropriately documented

• Manage external employment counsel where specialist advice is required

• Identify ER themes and use insights to strengthen policies, processes and manager capability.

People Risk, Compliance & Controls

• Own and maintain People-related risks, controls and RCSAs

• Monitor control effectiveness, identify gaps and lead remediation

• Ensure People processes meet internal governance, regulatory and employment requirements

• Partner with Risk, Compliance and Legal on People-related risk and compliance matters

• Support People-related incidents and maintain appropriate risk and control reporting.

Policy & Governance

• Own and maintain People policies, procedures and associated governance.

• Ensure policies remain appropriate across the UK, Germany and US, working with local advisers as required

• Translate legal and regulatory requirements into practical People processes and guidance

• Ensure appropriate governance, documentation and evidence are maintained.

Operational Oversight & Payroll Governance

• Provide oversight of key People processes across the employee lifecycle, working closely with the People Operations Manager

• Ensure appropriate controls, approvals and accountabilities are embedded within People Operations

• Provide governance and oversight of payroll processes, including data accuracy, approvals, controls and issue resolution

• Work with Finance, People Operations and external payroll providers to ensure effective and controlled payroll delivery

• Support improvements to People systems, data quality, reporting and operational processes.

Audit & Assurance

• Coordinate People input into internal and external audits and regulatory reviews

• Ensure appropriate evidence and documentation is maintained to demonstrate the operation of People controls

• Track audit and control actions through to completion

• Support continuous improvement based on audit findings, incidents and control assessments.

Performance & Reward

• Support the delivery of annual and mid-year performance review processes, ensuring they are applied consistently and effectively

• Provide advice to managers on performance management, including objectives, underperformance and improvement plans

• Support annual salary review and reward processes, including the coordination and validation of employee and compensation data

• Provide governance and operational support for salary changes, promotions and other reward decisions, ensuring appropriate approvals and documentation are in place

• Ensure performance and reward processes operate within relevant People policies, controls and governance requirements

• Identify operational, employee relations or compliance risks arising from performance and reward activity and support appropriate resolution.

Team Leadership

• Provide technical leadership, coaching and quality assurance across the People team

• Support clear standards, responsibilities and effective ways of working

• Build capability through coaching and knowledge sharing

• Subject to performance, transition into formal management responsibility within 6–12 months.

Essential Experience

• Strong experience across employee relations, People risk, governance and compliance

• Demonstrable experience independently managing complex and sensitive ER matters

• Experience developing and operating People controls in a regulated or risk-conscious environment

• Experience owning or maintaining HR policies and employment frameworks

• Experience supporting internal audits, assurance activities or regulatory reviews

• Strong understanding of People Operations and payroll governance and controls

• Experience advising and influencing managers and senior stakeholders

• Experience operating across multiple jurisdictions, ideally including the UK, Germany and/or US

• Experience coaching or providing technical leadership to People professionals, with the capability to move into formal team management.

Skills & Attributes

• Strong judgement, discretion and credibility

• Commercial, pragmatic and risk-aware

• Strong understanding of employment risk and good People governance

• Confident advising and constructively challenging managers and senior leaders

• Able to translate legal, regulatory and policy requirements into practical solutions

• Strong attention to detail and disciplined documentation

• Comfortable balancing hands-on delivery with oversight and assurance

• Collaborative, resilient and effective in a fast-changing environment.

Nice to Have

• Experience in fintech, financial services, payments or another regulated sector

• CIPD or equivalent HR qualification

• Experience with RCSAs, operational risk frameworks or control testing

• Experience overseeing multi-jurisdiction payroll processes

• Experience and/or understanding of two or more of US, German and UK employment law

• Experience supporting internationally distributed teams.

Why should you join Fnality?

We employ curious individuals who thrive working in a fast-paced and constantly changing environment, who work best when empowered to drive their own work, and who are not afraid to fail fast and learn quicker.

You will be an analytical thinker who is able to look at tasks and understand the most efficient way to achieve the desired outcome. You will be vigilantly outcomes-focussed and have an insatiable desire to learn, adept at picking up new challenges and giving anything a go. You will want to deliver as much as learn and you will understand how important the power of the team is.

A bit more about us 

Digital transformation is changing our lives, work and businesses. While other sectors evolve, however, financial markets remain slow, fragmented and siloed. What the world needs now is a future-facing financial system for the digital age. 

At Fnality, we have been speaking – and listening – to the real users of today’s financial systems. From businesses to banks, there is a clear, collective ambition for a simpler, faster, safer and more resilient payment system; one that can move and settle money quickly and efficiently, with minimized risk and much more transparency. 

Fnality Global Payments 

We are building a network of new payment systems that will enable tokenised, peer-to-peer markets. 

Fnality Global Payments (FnGP) will comprise a series of national systems, each regulated in its home jurisdiction. We call each of these a Fnality Payment System (FnPS). 

In each payment system, a Fnality settlement asset will act as the settlement/payment asset for any Payment (P), Delivery v, Payment (DvP) or payment vs. payment (PvP) need. 

FnGP are underpinned by Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). The nature of DLT is such that it enables FnGP to: 

· Operate a true peer-to-peer market 

· Allow for immediate settlement 

· Interoperate across business platforms and jurisdictions 

The key benefits of the above are: 

· Reduced counter-party and credit risk 

· Reduced operational risk 

· Efficient liquidity management 

· An ability to move resources from risk mitigation to business growth 

How will we use the information about you?

We will use your personal information to process your application, to enable us to assess your suitability for a role and for other legitimate business purposes such as improving our sites and talent management practices. We may share your data with third parties to achieve these purposes. We will not use or share your information for marketing purposes.

We will take appropriate security measures to safeguard your information in accordance with data protection legislation. If you would like further information about how your information may be processed by us, please contact us at privacy@fnality.org.