Director, Settlement Operations Risks & Controls

Mastercard Inc.; O’Fallon (MO); On-site; USD 142,000 - 234,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Insurance

401k with company match

Paid leaves

Job summary

Mastercard’s Treasury Global Settlement Operations team safeguards and optimizes funds across 80+ currencies, supporting ~$25B daily activity. The Director will shape a resilient settlement environment, drive improvements, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to mitigate operational and financial risk.

The role requires a Bachelor's degree (Master's preferred), global market experience, and strong leadership to manage a large, diverse team while aligning with corporate objectives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Master’s degree preferred.
• Global experience in multiple major markets is desirable.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills; ability to influence across a matrix organization.
• Hands-on experience identifying operational risks across payment operations and control testing.

Responsibilities

• Review internal Settlement processes to identify control gaps, inefficiencies and risks.
• Act as trusted operational risk advisor to First Line Process Owners and propose new controls.
• Define KRIs and thresholds for proactive risk reporting.
• Lead internal and external audits; ensure SOX and SOC1 compliance.
• Manage alternate settlement bank process globally and coordinate with teams; report results to senior management.
• Maintain and refresh settlement policies and procedures; ensure adherence to Treasury policies.
• Coordinate bank admin activities including KYC, signer maintenance and quarterly rationalization.
• Document risk events and drive process improvements to mitigate financial risk.
• Coordinate with Second Line Process Owners to strengthen internal controls.

Skills

Operational risk

Executive presence

Strategic mindset

Cross-functional collaboration

Process controls

KRIs

SOX compliance

SOC1 compliance

Leadership

Payment operations

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master’s degree

Job description

Our Purpose Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re helping build a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.

Title and Summary

Director, Settlement Operations Risks & Controls

Overview

Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart, and accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments, and businesses realize their greatest potential. Our decency quotient, or DQ, drives our culture and everything we do inside and outside of our company. With connections across more than 210 countries and territories, we are building a sustainable world that unlocks priceless possibilities for all.

The Treasury function at Mastercard is responsible for safeguarding and optimizing the company’s financial resources globally. Within Treasury, the Global Settlement Operations team manages the movement of funds related to Mastercard transactions and ensures operational excellence across all settlement activities. The team facilitates settlement of ~$25 billion daily activity in 80+ currencies via round the clock support in India, Poland, USA and Colombia. This Director, Settlement Operations Risks & Controls role will be responsible for shaping and maintaining a resilient global settlement environment, ensuring operational stability and driving continuous improvements across all MA settlement products, processes, and internal controls. This individual will collaborate with Operational teams and process owners responsible for Settlement to identify process gaps, inefficiencies and emerging risks.

Responsibilities

• Review internal Settlement processes in collaboration with process owners to identify control gaps, inefficiencies and emerging risks.
• Act as a trusted operational risk advisor to First Line Process Owners and recommend creation of new process controls to mitigate residual operational risks.
• Define Key Risk Indicators (KRIs) and thresholds for proactively identifying and reporting operational risks in processes owned by Global Settlement Operations.
• Lead and coordinate internal and external audit exercises across Settlement and ensure SOX and SOC1 compliance.
• Manage Mastercard’s alternate settlement bank process globally by ensuring proper planning and coordination with relevant teams and executing and reporting results to senior management.
• Establish and maintain policies and procedures supporting settlement, including the annual refresh of settlement procedures.
• Ensure compliance with internal Treasury Policies and document exceptions to provide leadership visibility.
• Coordinate and oversee bank administrative activities with support of internal teams, including KYC, signer maintenance and quarterly bank rationalization.
• Ensure risk events are documented and work with internal partners to propose and lead process improvements to mitigate financial risk.
• Establish cadence with Second Line Process Owners to enhance Mastercard Internal Control environment.
• Maintain and refresh business continuity plans for Settlement, including leading periodic contingency exercises with internal partners.
• Support the management of banking relationships, including periodic business reviews.
• Collaborate with Settlement & Currency Services Product and Technology teams to ensure proper implementation of new products and systems.

All About You

• Educational qualification: Bachelor's degree required. Master’s degree preferred.
• Global experience in multiple, major markets/countries, Mastercard experience a plus.
• Strong strategic mindset and problem-solving skills combined with the ability to initiate and implement the needed changes to achieve business unit /corporate objectives.
• Executive presence, strong communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to lead, work with and influence people across a matrix organization at all levels.
• Hands-on experience in identifying operational risks across payment operations, including process design, control testing effectiveness, issue management and system dependencies.
• Experience supporting risk forums through quality materials, action tracking, escalation and evidence-based review of payments and settlements-related risks, issues and events.
• Deep knowledge of global large value payment trends, practices, and systems.
• Knowledge of large value payment systems is critical and knowledge of domestic small value payment clearing systems is helpful.
• Demonstrated thought leadership.
• Demonstrated ability to manage a large and diverse team with varying skillsets, and to effectively delegate and hold accountable.
• Demonstrated ability to multi-task and prioritize multiple objectives.
• Solid bank / payment industry operational experience.
• Strong project management skills and high-level of customer focus.
• Management style that is proactive towards employee development and high-performance teams.

Mastercard is a merit-based, inclusive, equal opportunity employer that considers applicants without regard to gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disabled or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We hire the most qualified candidate for the role. In the US or Canada, if you require accommodations or assistance to complete the online application process or during the recruitment process, please contact [e-mail] and identify the type of accommodation or assistance you are requesting. Do not include any medical or health information in this email. The Reasonable Accommodations team will respond to your email promptly.

Corporate Security Responsibility

All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must:

• Abide by Mastercard’s security policies and practices;
• Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed;
• Report any suspected information security violation or breach, and Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard’s guidelines.

In line with Mastercard’s total compensation philosophy and assuming that the job will be performed in the US, the successful candidate will be offered a competitive base salary and may be eligible for an annual bonus or commissions depending on the role. The base salary offered may vary depending on multiple factors, including but not limited to location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

Mastercard benefits for full time (and certain part time) employees generally include:

• insurance (including medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, disability, life insurance);
• flexible spending account and health savings account;
• paid leaves (including 16 weeks of new parent leave and up to 20 days of bereavement leave);
• 80 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time, 25 days of vacation time and 5 personal days, pro-rated based on date of hire;
• 10 annual paid U.S. observed holidays;
• 401k with a best-in-class company match;
• deferred compensation for eligible roles;
• fitness reimbursement or on-site fitness facilities;
• eligibility for tuition reimbursement;
• and many more.

Mastercard benefits for interns generally include:

• 56 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time;
• jury duty leave;
• on-site fitness facilities in some locations.

Pay Ranges O'Fallon, Missouri

$142,000 - $234,000 USD

Everyone wants easier ways to pay; we invent them. Checkout lines are slow; we speed them along. Merchants want more sales; we give them data and insights. People need financial access; we connect them. Corporate purchasing is complicated; we make it simple. Commuters are busy; we speed them on their way. Governments need greater efficiencies; we help create them. Small businesses are virtual; we give them access to a world of buyers. Retailers want to fight fraud; we provide the tools.