Head of Credit Risk

Sanabil Studio; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 1,600,000 - 2,300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay

Equity opportunity

Premium gear

Job summary

Sanabil Studio is building TradePay's risk function in Saudi Arabia, seeking a Head of Risk to design and lead credit risk governance and portfolio controls. You will own policies across credit, collections, fraud, and operations, while aligning with regulatory expectations.

You will shape provisioning, delinquency management, and approval processes, collaborating with Data and Product teams, and preparing for licensing and regulatory engagement.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of Saudi experience in credit risk, portfolio risk, collections, or enterprise risk management.
• Experience in banking, SME lending, fintech lending, microfinance, or regulated financial institutions.
• Knowledge of Saudi market dynamics and SAMA expectations.
• Designed and implemented credit policies and governance frameworks from the ground up.
• Strong grasp of delinquency management, provisioning, and portfolio controls.
• Experience working with regulators or in regulated environments.
• Strong stakeholder management and decision-making in fast-moving startup environments.

Responsibilities

• Build and own TradePay's enterprise credit risk framework and governance model.
• Define and manage risk appetite, portfolio thresholds, and escalation frameworks.
• Develop and maintain credit, collections, fraud, and operational risk policies.
• Oversee repayment behavior monitoring, delinquency management, and collections governance.
• Establish provisioning, write-off, and portfolio monitoring frameworks.
• Review and approve credit override and exception management processes.
• Collaborate with Data and Product to align underwriting models with risk policies.
• Build governance around merchant onboarding, fraud escalation, dispute resolution, and collections.
• Develop reporting for management, investors, and regulatory readiness.
• Prepare the business for licensing and regulatory engagement in Saudi Arabia.
• Support legal and compliance teams to ensure contractual alignment.
• Lead future risk committee structures and mentor risk operations and collections teams.

Skills

Credit risk

Governance

Regulatory awareness

Stakeholder management

Risk policy design

Analytical thinking

Startup environment

Communication

Job description

Sanabil Studio is a venture builder that blends industry expertise, technology, and startup know-how to turn bold ideas into real businesses. We take concepts from zero to launch, and when a venture proves its potential, we back it with seed funding and hands‑on support to help it scale.

TradePay is one of those ventures building the trade finance infrastructure for FMCG in Saudi Arabia. Our mission is to replace informal supplier credit with structured, data‑driven working capital that helps small merchants grow, protects suppliers from credit risk, and strengthens the FMCG supply chain. We are building a new credit system for underbanked merchants where risk is assessed through real transaction behavior and operational data across suppliers, distributors, and digital marketplaces.

We are looking for a Head of Risk to build and lead TradePay's credit risk governance and portfolio risk management function reporting directly to the Founder.

THE ROLE What you'll own here.

• Build and own TradePay's enterprise credit risk framework and governance model
• Define and manage risk appetite, portfolio thresholds, and escalation frameworks
• Develop and maintain credit, collections, fraud, and operational risk policies
• Oversee repayment behavior monitoring, delinquency management, and collections governance
• Establish provisioning, write-off, and portfolio monitoring frameworks
• Review and approve credit override and exception management processes
• Work with Data and Product teams to ensure underwriting models align with risk policies and operational controls
• Build governance processes around merchant onboarding, fraud escalation, dispute resolution, and collections
• Develop reporting frameworks for management, investors, and future regulatory readiness
• Prepare the business for future licensing and regulatory engagement in Saudi Arabia
• Support legal and compliance teams in ensuring operational and contractual alignment
• Lead future risk committee structures and build and mentor risk operations and collections team members

How Success Will Be Measured Portfolio quality and delinquency rates, provisioning accuracy, governance and policy maturity, regulatory readiness, and the strength of risk frameworks as TradePay scales.

Where This Role Can Go

Head of Risk → Chief Risk Officer as TradePay scales and matures into a regulated entity.

THE PROFILE You're probably a fit if…

• You have 8+ years of Saudi experience in credit risk, portfolio risk, collections, or enterprise risk management
• You've worked in banking, SME lending, fintech lending, microfinance, or regulated financial institutions
• You understand Saudi market dynamics and SAMA expectations
• You've designed and implemented credit policies and governance frameworks from the ground up
• You have a strong grasp of delinquency management, collections, provisioning, and portfolio controls
• You've worked with regulators or operated within regulated environments
• You're strong on stakeholder management and decision‑making, and can operate in fast‑moving startup environments while maintaining governance discipline
• You communicate clearly in writing and in the room
• Bonus: experience in B2B BNPL, supply chain finance, embedded finance, SME or merchant lending, Islamic finance and Sharia‑compliant structures, or early‑stage fintech environments

THE ENVIRONMENT What working here actually looks like.

• Foundational Ownership You are building the risk foundations of a next‑generation fintech platform from scratch. The frameworks you design today will define how TradePay scales tomorrow.
• Direct Impact on the Business Portfolio quality, scalability, and regulatory readiness all sit with you. Your decisions directly shape the long‑term health of the business.
• A Role That Grows With You This position has a clear path into Chief Risk Officer as TradePay scales across Saudi Arabia and moves toward a regulated entity structure.

What You Get From Us

• Competitive pay: A package that reflects your experience and the market, not a lowball with "equity upside" as the excuse.
• Meaningful equity: Real upside aligned with long‑term value creation.
• Premium gear, day one: Everything you need to hit the ground running, set up and ready before your first morning.
• Mentorship that matters: Direct collaboration with the Founder and leadership team from people who've actually built and scaled ventures.
• An accelerated curve: You'll learn more here in 12 months than most roles offer in three years.

Hiring Process

• Introductory recruiter conversation
• Founder interview
• Case study and framework discussion
• Reference checks
• Offer