Senior Director Head of Corporate Risk CEMEA

Were seeking an exceptional Head of Corporate Risk to lead the implementation and embedding of Visas Enterprise Operational Supervisory and Third-Party Risk Management framework across Central and Eastern Europe Middle East and Africa (CEMEA). This is a pivotal role for a hands‑on risk leader who thrives on making risk management real and actionable for the business—not just theoretical frameworks but practical tools that drive better decision‑making, transparency and mitigation.You’ll be responsible for ensuring our payments business has robust embedded risk practices that provide management with clear visibility into our risk landscape and enable proactive mitigation. This role requires someone who can translate complex regulatory requirements and risk frameworks into practical business applications while building strong collaborative relationships across the organization.Key ResponsibilitiesEnterprise & Operational Risk ManagementImplement and embed the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework across the region ensuring it becomes an integral part of how the business operatesDrive the adoption and operationalization of the Operational Risk Framework making risk identification, assessment and mitigation a natural part of businessPartner with business teams across all functions to define in-scope processes for Risk and Control Self‑Assessments (RCSA) ensuring comprehensive coverage of key operational activitiesGuide and enable business teams to complete RCSAs effectively providing hands‑on support, training and quality assurance throughout the assessment processDrive consistent use of risk and issue logging system (GORO) across the region ensuring data quality and completenessEstablish processes that translate logged risks and issues into actionable management insights driving awareness and appropriate response at all levelsWork with business owners to develop and track risk mitigation plans ensuring accountability and progress monitoringDevelop comprehensive risk reporting that provides clear insights for senior management decision‑making highlighting trends, concentrations and areas requiring attentionFoster a culture where business teams view RCSA and risk assessment as valuable tools for their own operations not just compliance exercisesCollaborate with risk teams across other sub‑regions to identify emerging risks and share best practicesThird‑Party Risk ManagementOwn end‑to‑end third‑party lifecycle management including due diligence, onboarding approvals and ongoing monitoringEmbed robust vendor risk assessment processes that balance thoroughness with business agilityEnsure third‑party risks are properly identified, measured and mitigated throughout the vendor relationshipCollaborate with global third‑party risk teams on projects and initiatives ensuring regional alignment while addressing local requirementsEmbed and disseminate global best practices in third‑party risk management across the region adapting them appropriately for local contextProvide timely reporting and escalation of significant third‑party risks to management and risk committeesContribute regional insights and lessons learned to global third‑party risk frameworks and standardsSupervisory Risk ManagementPartner closely with Legal, Country Management, Government Engagement and Compliance teams to ensure all regulatory requirements and changes are thoroughly understood and implemented flawlessly and on timeTranslate regulatory requirements into practical business changes and control enhancementsMaintain deep understanding of the regional regulatory landscape affecting payments operationsWork closely with global regulatory and supervisory risk teams on cross‑border projects and initiatives to ensure consistent approachesAdopt and disseminate global regulatory best practices while ensuring they are appropriately tailored to regional supervisory expectationsEstablish robust processes for timely reporting and escalation of regulatory risks, breaches and supervisory matters to management and risk committeesEnsure proactive communication with global teams regarding emerging regulatory changes and their potential regional impactRisk Governance & Committee ManagementLead and facilitate the regional risk committee ensuring it serves as an effective forum for surfacing and discussing key risks with senior managementDrive consistent governance standards, frameworks and reporting templates across all sub‑regional risk committees to ensure quality and comparabilityEnsure local and sub‑regional risks are adequately identified, discussed and documented in sub‑regional risk committees with appropriate rigor and accountabilityEstablish clear escalation protocols and criteria to ensure material risks from sub‑regional committees are escalated to the regional risk committee on a timely basisDevelop high‑quality, insightful content and materials that drive meaningful management discussions and decision‑making at both regional and sub‑regional levelsCr