VP of Risk Management at Paysafe Group in Houston, TX

This includes enhancing standards (framework, methodologies, policies, guidelines and/or procedures) for Merchant Risk and acting as a strategic risk advisor to executive and senior management, and business partners on risk-related matters. Teams work in tandem with Regulatory Compliance, Data Strategy, Consumer Risk Management, Governance Compliance, Global Credit monitoring, and business development and relationship management to accomplish these goals. The Department serves as the first line of defense to detect and mitigate risks to the Company.

Responsibilities:

• Working with the SVP of Merchant Risk to develop, define, communicate and implement risk management strategies and vision in line with the businesses short and long-term strategic objectives with respect to loss ratios, SLA’s and portfolio performance
• Develop and implement leading merchant risk management strategies and build the framework for a robust merchant risk management program that will drive operational risk transformation towards an efficient, effective and coordinated model across all business units
• Leading and mentoring teams of Fraud and Risk Managers, Investigators and related team members within the function in performance management and professional development
• Manage the activities of Merchant Risk teams to assure timely and accurate completion of responsibilities and compliance with corporate objectives and standards
• Ensure Associations regulatory and compliance by reviewing Associations circulars and bulletin regulations
• Certify all bank and organizational risk policies and procedures are fully documented and approved in accordance with standards/guidelines
• Act as the liaison with Acquiring Banks, Regulators, Auditors, Major Customers and Sales relationships
• Provide guidance and training to risk management team on policy issues, exceptions, risk ratings, deal structuring, appropriate hold limits and identification of covenants and other key provisions
• Appraising performance, rewarding and developing employees as needed with a strong focus on continuous improvement to optimize the risk management function
• Assist in the day-to-day operation of the risk management team
• Manage, contribute and/or lead meetings with a goal of information sharing and team building as well as coaching to provide feedback for improvement of individual and team performance:
• Weekly one-on-one meetings
• Monthly Merchant Risk Operations team meeting
• Ad Hoc group meetings as dictated by business requirements
• Prepare and distribute daily, weekly, and monthly risk metrics
• Embrace and drive change within the department; identify gaps in processes, opportunities for improvement and assist in the development, training and implementation of these areasAssist with projects, delegated tasks and participate in committees as needed
• Ensure financial, compliance and fraud risk are mitigated through employee engagement, system enhancements, and industry analytics
• Sponsor changes to the current risk monitoring system and provide feedback in building an enterprise risk management monitoring platform
• Ensure that knowledge and best-practices are being shared and leveraged on a Global scale
• Coordinates and hosts departmental sponsored training events and meetings with our webcasting and virtual event tools
• Developing budgets, forecasts, metrics and measures as well as monitoring and evaluating the results
• Providing information to the management team by gathering and summarizing data; preparing reports; making presentations of findings, analyses, and recommendations
• Identifying and evaluating operational risks arising from significant projects, programs and products

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

• Bachelor’s degree in business, finance or risk management
• At least 10 years of related acquiring industry work experience with a focus on Risk Management Operations
• Experience leading and managing a team in a retail, moto, “high risk” and ecommerce fraud monitoring management environment for 5 plus years
• Skilled communicator and presenter with the ability to influence and motivate others
• Problem solving and decision-making skills with the ability to analyze complex information to identify the key issues/actions and drive to resolution
• Ability to stay informed of new and upcoming developments in acquiring risk, fraud schemes and the financial sector
• A skill for identifying the behaviors and signs of risky/fraudulent transactions or activities
• The capability to think through cases and apply sound and timely judgment and problem-solving skills
• Ability to make independent and sound decisions in an unstructured environment
• Ability to prioritize and execute on the highest areas of importance
• Ability to stay calm and positive when dealing with merchant inquiries
• Conscientious, thorough, and able to handle responsibility, stress and authority appropriately
• Proven ability to successfully manage change across an organization through clarity of message, command of subject matter and effective delivery
• Extensive investigative skills as well as industry and law enforcement contacts.
• Knowledge and experience with working with and maintaining risk monitoring systems such as Aperia, TSYS and Fiserv/First Data
• Knowledge of various card brands (VI, MC, AX, DI) rules and regulations
• Ability to partner and work seamlessly across the team to effectively document and share problems resolutions, opportunities, and solutions
• Knowledge and understanding of fraud, legal aspects and compliance requirements relating to merchant processing.