We are seeking a seasoned risk leader to head the Payment Ecosystem and Enterprise Risk function across the CEMEA region. This strategic role is responsible for safeguarding the integrity and resilience of Visa's payment ecosystem spanning 86 countries, 1,500+ financial institutions, and 600 billion+ in payment volume. The successful candidate will lead the execution of global risk programs, elevate enterprise risk management capabilities, and ensure regulatory excellence while enabling business growth through robust risk partnership.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Payment Ecosystem Risk and Operations Management
Drive operational excellence to execute global risk programs across fraud risk, issuing risk, and acquiring risk, ensuring consistent standards and controls across the payment ecosystem
Partner with banks, fintechs, and payment service providers to uplift risk management practices and strengthen ecosystem resilience
Develop and implement risk frameworks that balance innovation with robust controls in a rapidly evolving digital payments landscape
Lead Payment Facilitator and licensing programs from risk perspective, ensuring standards are met while supporting business growth
Product Risk Review (PRR)
Provide leadership to drive and optimize end-to-end execution of Product Risk Reviews for CEMEA
Identify and enable the team to drive process improvement initiatives for greater efficiency in the PRR process
Develop and implement a framework to enable and engage first-line stakeholders to submit good quality and timely PRR, monitoring SLAs and escalating roadblocks
Drive periodic education and awareness sessions for first-line stakeholders to ensure smooth execution of PRR
Corporate & Operational Risk
Lead the maturation of operational risk management, ensuring it becomes an integral part of how the business operates
Equip business units with tools and methodologies to assess and manage operational risks effectively
Develop enterprise-wide operational risk frameworks, KRIs, and reporting mechanisms that provide actionable insights
Foster a culture where business teams view RCSA and risk assessment as valuable tools for their own operations, not just compliance exercises
Supervisory & Regulatory Risk Management
Partner closely with Legal, Country Management, Government Engagement and Compliance teams to ensure all regulatory requirements and changes are thoroughly understood and implemented flawlessly and on time
Work closely with global regulatory and supervisory risk teams on cross-border projects and initiatives to ensure consistent approaches
Adopt and disseminate global regulatory best practices while ensuring they are appropriately tailored to regional supervisory expectations
Establish robust processes for timely reporting and escalating regulatory risks, breaches, and supervisory matters to management and risk committees
Third Party Risk Management
Own the third-party lifecycle management framework, ensuring robust processes for review, approval, and ongoing monitoring
Maintain the efficacy and efficiency of third-party risk assessments while balancing business velocity
Drive continuous improvement in vendor risk management practices and controls
Ensure third-party risks are appropriately identified, assessed, and mitigated throughout the relationship lifecycle
Risk Business Partnering & Embedding
Enhance the risk business partner model, embedding risk management proactively within business functions from strategy through execution
Enable business leaders with tools, frameworks, and capabilities to independently assess, identify, report, and manage risks
Transform risk from a gatekeeping function to a strategic enabler, fostering a culture where risk considerations are integrated into business decision-making
Build risk awareness and capability across the organization through training, guidance, and consultative support