Director, Credit Risk for A2A Payments & Open Banking

About the position

As a Director of Credit Risk, you will report to the VP of US A2A Payments & Open Banking and partner with second-line risk, account management, sales, and support to mitigate credit risk in open banking payments. The right candidate will possess a strong background in corporate credit analysis with excellent verbal and written communication skills. The successful candidate will have experience in risk management for payments and a solid understanding of merchant counterparty credit risk. They will be able to partner with the account management and sales teams to guide merchants through the credit risk assessment process. They will independently develop a credit risk framework for the They will also proactively communicate portfolio risks to internal stakeholders, including executive leadership, with recommendations on strategies to support business growth while addressing risk concerns. This role represents an exciting opportunity to make key contributions to a strategic offering for Visa. The candidate will be a self-starter comfortable with ambiguity, with strong attention to detail, and excellent collaboration skills. This is an independent contributor position but may grow into a managerial role over time.

Responsibilities

• Provide thought leadership in corporate credit risk and independently create an underwriting framework to evaluate the financial condition of prospective merchants and holistically determine their counterparty credit risk.
• Autonomously formulate and implement recommendations on merchant financial risk after analyzing and interpreting business models, credit reports, merchant processing history, bank and trade references.
• Partner with Legal and Compliance teams to gain a comprehensive view of the overall risk profile presented by merchant, particularly in high-risk industry verticals.
• Work with Sales to guide merchants through the risk assessment process. Communicate directly with merchant representatives as needed to explain Visa’s financial risk policies.
• Develop and manage strategic plans, operational initiatives, special projects, and customer-driven continuous improvement efforts in credit risk.
• Create a robust framework and cross-functionally implement a process to monitor the ongoing credit risk of merchants and flag any deterioration in their financial condition.
• Clearly articulate the risk factors and mitigations for individual merchants and the overall portfolio to senior level executives in the risk, finance, and business functions.
• Build strong relationships with key stakeholders and creditability with senior level executives.

Requirements

• 10 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or at least 8 years of work experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters/ MBA/JD/MD) or at least 3 years of work experience with a PhD.

Nice-to-haves

• 12 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or 8-10 years of experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD) or 6+ years of work experience with a PhD.
• Strong understanding of credit risk evaluation, including risk evaluation methodologies including but not limited to industry verticals, business models, financial status, and portfolio risk performance across the spectrum of corporate entities (e.g. start-ups, closely held entities, and publicly traded companies).
• Experience in risk assessment for high-risk merchant verticals such as gambling and money transmission would be helpful.
• Experience creating and/or modifying a credit risk rating framework and/or credit policies is desired.
• Ability to communicate both verbally and in writing credit risk strategies, policy frameworks, and individual merchant recommendations to executive leadership.
• Exceptional data analytics and financial modeling skills. Experience with automated credit underwriting models for corporates preferred.
• Previous supervisory experience preferred, but not required.

Benefits

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• 401 (k)
• FSA/HSA
• Life Insurance
• Paid Time Off
• Wellness Program