VP Merchant Risk Operations

Paysafe; Jacksonville (FL); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Paysafe is seeking a VP, Merchant Risk Operations to lead the operational delivery of its Merchant Risk function globally. The role oversees underwriting, onboarding, and risk investigations while driving efficiency and portfolio protection.

The position supports a flexible working approach with remote work and an average of three days per week in the Jacksonville, FL office as part of a hybrid model. Strong leadership and data-driven transformation are key to success.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required with MBA or Master's degree preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in Payments, Banking, Risk, Fraud, Compliance or Transformation.
• Experience managing large Merchant Risk Operations across multiple regions.
• Experience owning operational KPIs, SLAs, quality and backlog management.
• Proven track record leading operational transformation through automation and AI.

Responsibilities

• Lead the global Merchant Risk Operations function across underwriting, onboarding, merchant review, portfolio monitoring and risk investigations.
• Deliver operational execution in line with risk policies, governance frameworks and risk appetite.
• Own operational performance across Merchant Risk Operations, including productivity, quality, SLAs, backlog management and service delivery.
• Build scalable operating procedures, QA frameworks and controls for consistent decisioning and portfolio protection.
• Lead workforce planning and capacity management across global teams.
• Drive continuous improvement via Lean, automation, workflow optimisation and AI-enabled decision support.
• Develop operational KPIs and management reporting to improve efficiency and customer outcomes.
• Act as senior escalation for complex merchant reviews and high-impact risk events.

Skills

Operations leadership

Risk management

Automation

AI-enabled decision support

Cross-functional partnership

Data-driven decision making

Process improvement

Stakeholder communication

Lean

Education

Bachelor's degree

MBA or Master's degree preferred

Job description

About Paysafe

Paysafe is a global payments platform powering the experience economy, with a strong focus on the iGaming, video gaming, e-commerce, retail, travel and hospitality sectors. With 30 years of expertise in payment technology, Paysafe helps businesses and consumers lift every experience through seamless, secure payment solutions, including card payments, digital wallets such as Skrill, eCash solutions like PaysafeCard, and a suite of local payment methods. With approximately 2,900 employees across 12 countries and an annualized transactional volume of $167 billion in 2025, Paysafe connects people and businesses worldwide through innovative digital payment experiences.

Role Summary

The VP, Merchant Risk Operations is responsible for leading the operational delivery of Paysafe’s Merchant Risk function across the merchant lifecycle. The role is accountable for operational performance, service quality, capacity planning, operational controls, workforce capability and continuous improvement across underwriting, onboarding, merchant due diligence, portfolio monitoring and risk investigations.

Working closely with Merchant Risk Strategy, Commercial, Product, Compliance, Fraud and Technology, the VP ensures operational execution aligns with risk appetite while delivering an efficient merchant experience.

We encourage our employees to embrace our flexible working approach. You will be expected to work from home and spend an average of three days a week at our Jacksonville, Florida office as part of our hybrid work model.

The Opportunity

Paysafe operates in a dynamic payments environment where Merchant Risk Operations must be disciplined, scalable and commercially enabling. This role offers the opportunity to lead a business-critical global operations function at scale, ensuring execution is consistent, controlled and efficient across the merchant lifecycle.

The successful candidate will bring a modern operations leadership perspective, with experience using data, workflow, automation, AI‑enabled decision support and cross‑functional partnership to improve speed, quality, productivity and merchant outcomes. They will be a credible and proven transformation leader who can balance operational delivery with strategic input, influence executive stakeholders and lead distributed teams through change with clarity and confidence.

Key Accountabilities

• Lead the global Merchant Risk Operations function, ensuring consistent operational delivery across underwriting, onboarding, merchant review, portfolio monitoring and risk investigations.
• Deliver operational execution in line with established risk policies, governance frameworks and risk appetite.
• Own operational performance across Merchant Risk Operations, including productivity, quality, SLAs, backlog management and service delivery.
• Build scalable operating procedures, quality assurance frameworks and operational controls that support consistent decisioning and strong portfolio protection.
• Lead workforce planning, organisational design and capacity management across global teams.
• Drive continuous improvement through Lean, automation, workflow optimisation and AI‑enabled decision support.
• Develop operational KPIs and management reporting to improve efficiency, consistency and customer outcomes.
• Act as senior operational escalation for complex merchant reviews and high‑impact risk events, balancing commercial judgement with strong portfolio protection.
• Partner with Technology to automate manual activities, improve straight‑through processing and strengthen operational scalability.
• Build and lead a high‑performing global Merchant Risk Operations organisation, creating a culture of accountability, operational excellence, continuous improvement and customer focus.

Experience And Background

• 10+ years of experience in Payments, Banking, Risk, Fraud, Compliance or Transformarion.
• At least 3 years of experience managing large Merchant Risk Operations, Payments Operations, Acquiring Operations or Risk Operations teams across multiple regions, including leaders of leaders and distributed organisations.
• Experience owning operational KPIs, SLAs, quality, productivity, service delivery and backlog management in a scaled environment.
• Experience improving operational efficiency through automation, workflow redesign, process optimisation and technology enablement.
• Experience scaling operational functions during periods of growth, complexity or increased transaction volume.
• Strong understanding of merchant underwriting, onboarding, KYC / KYB, due diligence, portfolio monitoring, merchant review, fraud escalation and operational controls.
• Experience partnering with Merchant Risk Strategy, Commercial, Product, Compliance, Fraud and Technology to support responsible growth while maintaining appropriate risk controls.
• Proven experience leading operational transformation through process optimisation, workflow redesign, automation, AI and technology to improve efficiency, quality and scalability.
• Experience communicating to ExCo, Board, Regulators and Banking Partners with the ability to translate complex operational and risk topics into clear, pragmatic business recommendations.
• Bachelor's degree required with MBA or Master's degree preferred.

Why Join

• Lead one of the most rapidly transforming Merchant Risk Operations teams in global payments powering the experience economy.
• Build the future operating model through automation, AI and operational excellence.
• Drive measurable improvements in quality, productivity and merchant experience.
• Influence how Merchant Risk Operations supports Paysafe’s continued growth globally.

Our values and culture are driven by Equality, Development, Social Responsibility and Wellbeing. If you want to find out more about life at Paysafe, check out our careers page here .

Equal Employment Opportunity

Paysafe provides equal employment opportunities to all employees, and applicants for employment, and prohibits discrimination of any type with regard to ethnicity, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other protected characteristics. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of recruitment and employment. If you need any reasonable adjustments please let us know. We will be happy to help and look forward to hearing from you.