Director Risk Management, West Africa at Visa Incorporated

Visa Incorporated operates the world's largest retail electronic payments network and is one of the most recognized global financial services brands. Visa facilitates global commerce through the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, merchants, consumers, businesses and government entities.

We offer a range of branded payment product platforms, which our financial institution clients use to develop and offer credit, charge, debit, prepaid and cash access programs to cardholders. Visa's card platforms provide consumers, businesses, merchants and government entities with a secure, convenient and reliable way to pay and be paid in over 200 countries and territories.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Director Risk Management, West Africa

Location: Lagos
Job type: Full Time
Job Family Group: Technology and Operations

Job Description

• Ecosystem Risk Management: Maintain a heightened awareness of the country/regional business environment, payment systems, and other risks to clients operating in each market.
• Stay informed about past and present tactics used to mitigate these risks. Serve as the main advisor to business and risk teams.
• Monitor local risk-related trends and developments, such as fraud schemes, regulatory changes, and key developments required to enhance the risk profile of partners and clients as well as Visa’s risk posture.
• Take the lead in protecting the payment ecosystem by proactively managing Visa’s Ecosystem Integrity programs with internal and external stakeholders.
• Business Alignment: Align Visa’s risk-related objectives and activities with Visa’s business goals in the region to optimize long-term growth. Ensure that risk management strategies support and enhance the overall business strategy.
• Risk Relationship Management: Engage key stakeholders, including clients, law enforcement, government, and other relevant entities, to secure support for Visa’s goals and address identified risks. Foster strong relationships to facilitate risk management efforts. Be the primary Visa risk expert advisor to key clients in the market. Drive risk engagement and provide focus to key clients, fintech, merchants, and emerging payment stakeholders. Develop and execute a client engagement plan and materials to help clients optimize fraud performance, and determine the type and frequency of engagements. Maintain a database of key internal and external client contacts and a client engagement calendar. Develop and execute a constructive engagement plan for external payment system stakeholders (law enforcement, government, etc.).
• Thought Leadership: Differentiate Visa by demonstrating thought leadership on risk issues to payment system stakeholders. Utilize insights from local, regional, and global sources to influence and guide risk management practices. Orchestrate client meetings (e.g., sub-regional Risk Executive Councils, meetings) and industry forums (Risk Summits) of payment system stakeholders (e.g., clients, law enforcement, regulators, and industry participants) to drive greater awareness and support for Visa’s payment system risk strategy. Be the point of reference in all risk-related engagement with regulatory and industry bodies. Positively influence regulations and risk/security-related practices to ensure a strong payment ecosystem and a growth environment for Visa, its clients, and the industry. Differentiate Visa as a digital payments leader by providing clients and other stakeholders with value-added insights, best practices, conducting onsite market fraud prevention seminars (or webinars), and educational materials.
• Communication: Ensure effective communication and provide marketplace feedback regarding Visa’s risk-related programs, policies, and other activities. Maintain transparency and keep all relevant parties informed about risk management initiatives and outcomes.
• This is a hybrid position. Hybrid employees can alternate time between both remote and office. Employees in hybrid roles are expected to work from the office 2-3 set days a week (determined by leadership/site), with a general guidepost of being in the office 50% or more of the time based on business needs.

Qualifications

• At least 10 years of risk management/payments experience gained through banking, technology, and/or operations.
• Degree qualified from a recognized university, post-graduate qualifications preferred.
• Experience in managing fraud risk, transaction monitoring operations, application fraud assessment, and suspicious transaction review.
• Good understanding of and or experience with money laundering typologies.
• Assessed impact of regulation on business or operations, responsible for responding to regulatory requirements, and participated or led responses to regulatory supervision or scrutiny.
• Good understanding of and/or experience with the credit risk landscape across the credit lifecycle.
• Experience with maximizing portfolio performance within the confines of local regulation.
• Led the underwriting of merchants for an acquirer or led the underwriting for small and medium businesses for commercial lending, managed client due diligence operations, and client onboarding process ownership.
• Good understanding of and experience with acquiring risk with hands-on application experience improving the acquiring risk posture of an entity.
• Hands-on experience with merchant or SME credit underwriting and lifecycle management from a risk perspective.
• Good understanding of illegitimate transaction flow typologies, root causes, and key signs.
• Managed third-party risk assessment, responsibility for evaluating risk controls, and reviewer of risk control reporting in the organization.
• Good understanding of the role of different players in the payment ecosystem.
• Good understanding and/or experience with managing third-party risk.
• Self-starter with excellent communication skills, both oral and written.
• Ability to drive results with multiple stakeholders and cultivate strong and trusted relationships with internal stakeholders, clients, partners, and regulators.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.