Vice President, Head of Payment Ecosystem & Enterprise Risk CEMEA

Visa; Dubai; On-site; AED 400,000 - 500,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services company is seeking a seasoned risk leader to manage the Payment Ecosystem and Enterprise Risk functions across the CEMEA region. This strategic role will oversee global risk programs and ensure regulatory excellence, fostering robust risk management while supporting business growth. The ideal candidate brings over 15 years of progressive risk management experience, excels in team leadership, and possesses a strong understanding of regulatory frameworks. An advanced degree is preferred.

Qualifications

• 15-18 years of risk management experience in financial institutions.
• Proven track record in leading risk functions.
• Deep expertise in various risk types like operational, credit, and fraud.

Responsibilities

• Lead operational excellence in driving global risk programs.
• Partner with banks and fintechs for risk management practices.
• Develop frameworks balancing innovation with risk controls.

Skills

Risk management experience

Team leadership

Regulatory knowledge

Communication skills

Strategic thinking

Education

Advanced degree (MBA or related field)

Job description

Company Description

Visa is a world leader in payments technology, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories, dedicated to uplifting everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid.

At Visa, you'll have the opportunity to create impact at scale — tackling meaningful challenges, growing your skills and seeing your contributions impact lives around the world. Join Visa and do work that matters — to you, to your community, and to the world.

Progress starts with you.

Job Description

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

Qualifications

Experience & Expertise

• 15-18+ years of progressive risk management experience in well-established financial institutions
• Proven track record of leading a risk function directly for a line of business and/or a geography
• Deep expertise and hands‑on experience in a variety of risk types covering credit, enterprise, operational, fraud, reputational, regulatory and data privacy risk
• Strong understanding of regulatory frameworks and experience working with supervisory authorities
• Demonstrated success in setting and successfully implementing a vision and strategy for a large organization

Leadership & Capabilities

• Exceptional team leadership with experience managing geographically dispersed, culturally diverse teams
• Self‑starter with strong entrepreneurial mindset and ability to drive initiatives independently
• Outstanding communication and influencing skills with ability to engage effectively across all organizational levels
• Highly task and outcome‑oriented with proven ability to deliver results in complex, matrixed environments
• Cultural sensitivity and adaptability to work effectively across different regions and business contexts
• Strategic thinker with strong business acumen and ability to balance risk management with business enablement

Education

• Advanced degree (MBA, Master's in Risk Management, or related field) preferred

Additional Information

Visa is an EEO Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status. Visa will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with EEOC guidelines and applicable local law.