Head of Global Merchant Risk

Adyen • Chicago, IL

3h • $210,000 - $280,000 • Onsite

About The Position

Adyen provides payments, data, and financial products in a single solution for customers like Meta, Uber, H&M, and Microsoft - making us the financial technology platform of choice. At Adyen, everything we do is engineered for ambition.
For our teams, we create an environment with opportunities for our people to succeed, backed by the culture and support to ensure they are enabled to truly own their careers. We are motivated individuals who tackle unique technical challenges at scale and solve them as a team. Together, we deliver innovative and ethical solutions that help businesses achieve their ambitions faster.

The Head of Merchant Risk is a pivotal global leadership position within Adyen’s Operations function. While our Second Line defines the boundaries and Product builds the tools, Merchant Risk owns the execution. You are responsible for the day-to-day management of Adyen’s counterparty exposure originating from credit risk and chargeback risk. As the chair of the Merchant Risk Committee (MRC) and a member of the Risk Committee (RC), you are the operational voice that bridges the gap between commercial ambition and financial prudence.

Requirements

• 8+ years in an operational risk or credit leadership role within Fintech or high-volume payments.
• Deep understanding of the merchant lifecycle, bankruptcy risk, and the mechanics of lending/charge cards.
• Excellent Communication: Ability to translate complex operational risks into clear, concise proposals for executive committees.
• You don't just follow the policy—you identify when the policy is outdated and have the data-backed confidence to propose a better way forward.

Nice To Haves

• Experience managing global, multi-region teams is preferred but not essential.

Responsibilities

• Global Leadership: Lead and scale a high-performing global team across Amsterdam, Singapore and Chicago. You will ensure consistency in decision-making while accounting for regional market differences.
• Operational Risk Ownership: Oversee the daily monitoring and manual review of high-exposure merchants within the MPL (Merchant Potential Liability) and Credit Risk (Adyen Capital/Charge Cards) frameworks.
• High-Stakes Decisioning: Act as the final operational escalation point for "edge case" approvals. You will ensure your teams are prepared and ready to present formal proposals for high-risk merchant decisions to the Merchant Risk Committee (MRC).
• Strategic Influence: While Product owns the models and Second Line owns the appetite, you are the primary feedback loop. You will use operational data to influence and propose changes to Credit Models, Risk Policies, and Risk Appetite.
• Collections Strategy: Direct the global Collections function, ensuring that when risks materialize, recovery efforts are swift, professional, and effective.
• Stakeholder Navigation: Maintain a tight partnership with Product to ensure risk tools are fit-for-purpose and with Second Line Risk to ensure operational alignment with corporate governance.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive
• Education Level: No Education Listed