Director, Commercial Risk Strategy

Responsibilities

• Build and lead the first-line commercial risk function, defining strategy and supportability frameworks to ensure sustainable revenue growth.
• Define and manage the 1st LoD commercial risk strategy and provide guidance for complex or high-risk merchant use cases.
• Translate 2nd line risk appetite and policies into actionable commercial playbooks for front-office teams.
• Design and execute continuous portfolio monitoring frameworks to track metrics like GP-to-risk ratios and fraud/loss rates.
• Lead structured post-mortems on commercial-induced incidents and drive root-cause analysis and remediation.
• Act as the strategic interface between GTM teams, the CRO, and 2nd/3rd line compliance functions.

Requirements

• 10–12 years of risk management experience within financial services, specifically in 1st line or business-aligned roles.
• Deep expertise in at least two areas: credit and portfolio risk, payments or merchant risk, operational/conduct risk, or enterprise risk.
• Proven track record of implementing risk frameworks within a Three Lines of Defense (3LoD) model.
• Strong analytical data literacy with the ability to define KPIs and interrogate complex dashboards.
• Exceptional communication skills with the ability to navigate "risk vs. revenue" discussions with senior stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in high-growth, product-led fintech environments (e.g., payments, issuing, FX, or modern banking).
• Familiarity with global regulatory frameworks including KYC/AML, sanctions, and card network rules.
• Experience designing portfolio early-warning indicators, concentration limits, and stress testing.

Benefits

• Competitive salary range of $200K – $300K.
• Equity and bonus opportunities.
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• 401(k) plan and well-being benefits.
• 20 paid vacation days and 12 paid company holidays.

About the Company

Airwallex is a unified payments and financial platform for global businesses. Powered by proprietary infrastructure and software, we empower over 200,000 businesses worldwide—including Brex, Rippling, and Qantas—with integrated solutions for business accounts, payments, spend management, and treasury. Based in Melbourne with a global presence, we are building the future of global banking.