Company: TransBridge Advisors
Engagement type: Independent contractor / fixed-term consultancy
Location: Switzerland (remote)
Duration: Hourly rate
TransBridge Advisors is a fintech and advisory firm looking to hire a fractional compliance officer for pre-operational Swiss financial intermediary preparing for affiliation with the Verein zur Qualitätssicherung von Finanzdienstleistungen (VQF),a FINMA-recognised self-regulatory organisation under the Swiss Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA / GwG). We are building a compliance-first operating model from day one and seek an experienced contractor to lead the regulatory build-out through VQF admission.
To design, document and implement the AML/CFT compliance framework required for VQF affiliation, manage the end-to-end VQF application, and act as TransBridge Advisors' AMLA-qualified Compliance Officer (Geldwäschereifachstelle) on a contracted basis.
VQF affiliation and FINMA-aligned setup
- Lead the full VQF membership application: dossier preparation, business model description, organisational chart, signing authority register, and submission management.
- Serve as primary point of contact with VQF, including handling clarification rounds, on-site audits and remediation of any conditions imposed at admission.
- Coordinate with external Swiss auditors where regulatory interpretation is required.
Policy and framework build
- Draft and tailor the institution-wide AML/CFT internal directives (interne Weisungen) in line with VQF Regulations, the AMLA, the AMLO-FINMA, and applicable FATF guidance.
- Produce the enterprise-wide money-laundering and terrorism-financing risk assessment, including client, geographic, product and channel risk dimensions.
- Establish KYC, CDD and EDD procedures, beneficial-ownership identification (Form A / Form K / Form T as relevant), PEP screening, and sanctions-screening logic.
- Define the transaction monitoring approach, escalation paths and the procedure for reporting to MROS under Art. 9 AMLA.
Operational readiness
- Specify and help select tooling for client onboarding, screening and ongoing monitoring; oversee configuration and acceptance testing.
- Design the record-keeping framework consistent with the 10-year retention requirement.
- Build the compliance training curriculum and deliver initial onboarding training to management, client-facing staff and the Board.
Governance and assurance
- Establish the compliance monitoring plan and the annual reporting cycle to the Board and to VQF.
- Define the relationship and information flows between the Compliance Function, Internal Audit (where outsourced) and Senior Management.
- Prepare the institution for its first VQF audit cycle, including audit-trail documentation and management responses.
Acting Compliance Officer duties (during contract term)
- Function as the AMLA-qualified Geldwäschereifachstelle / Compliance Officer of record, subject to VQF acceptance.
- Review onboarding files and escalations; sign off on high-risk relationships and EDD outcomes.
- Maintain the regulatory horizon-scanning log and brief the Board on material changes.
- Must be a Swiss resident and preferably also Swiss citizen
- Minimum 2 years of Swiss financial-sector compliance experience
- VQF Compliance Officer certification or equivalent (e.g. CAS/DAS/MAS Compliance Management, ICA Diploma) — or demonstrable eligibility to be accepted by VQF as Compliance Officer.
- Working command of: AMLA (GwG), AMLO-FINMA, FinIA (FINIG), FinSA (FIDLEG), the Swiss Criminal Code provisions on money laundering, and relevant FINMA Circulars.
- Practical experience drafting Swiss AML internal directives and producing institutional ML/TF risk assessments.
- Languages: business-fluent English and German required; French an asset.
- Eligible to contract in Switzerland (Swiss residency, EU/EFTA permit, or established Swiss-incorporated consulting vehicle).
- Prior experience with the specific client segment TransBridge Advisors will serve (cross-border wealth advisory, family-office services, virtual-asset service activity, or asset management — adjust to the actual business line).
- Background combining in-house compliance with audit-firm or law-firm regulatory practice.
- Familiarity with common Swiss compliance tooling (e.g. KYC Spider, Dow Jones / LexisNexis screening, Pythagoras, Apiax).
- Independent contractor agreement under Swiss law; hourly rate, commensurate with experience.
- Confidentiality, conflicts-of-interest and professional indemnity provisions apply.
- The successful candidate will be named in the VQF application; appointment is subject to VQF's acceptance of the proposed Compliance Officer.
Send a CV and short note to our Managing Director [email protected] and Senior Compliance Officer [email protected]. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.