Strategic Risk Management Director

Our Purpose

Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re helping build a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.

Title And Summary

Strategic Risk Management Director
The Strategic Risk team is looking for a Strategic Risk Management Director to further accelerate our engagement with the business across diverse initiatives. The Strategic Risk function plays a critical role in protecting Mastercard's enterprise value by identifying, assessing, and mitigating potential risks that could impact our operations, reputation, and strategic objectives. This function is building a proactive, enterprise-wide approach to risk identification, mitigation, and strategic decision-making that aligns with our broader financial and business goals.

The Ideal Candidate

We are seeking a seasoned risk management professional or consultant who combines deep analytical expertise with strategic vision and exceptional stakeholder management skills. The ideal candidate will be adept at translating complex risk landscapes into actionable insights, building governance frameworks from the ground up, and influencing senior leadership through data-driven recommendations. This individual will thrive in ambiguity, demonstrate intellectual curiosity, and possess the executive presence to engage effectively with C‑suite stakeholders while building a risk‑aware culture across the organization. In addition, the ideal candidate will have exposure to New Product Approval processes and conducting Risk Assessments prior to product launches.

Role Enabling The Business As a Strategic Advisor

• Lead end‑to‑end risk assessments for Mastercard's highest priority strategic initiatives, including M&A transactions, new market entry, new products, and significant partnerships.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to senior management and business leaders on risk implications of strategic initiatives, new product launches, market expansions, acquisitions, and partnership opportunities.
• Provide independent challenge to deal teams, product leads, and business stakeholders, ensuring decisions are taken within Mastercard's risk appetite and with full transparency on residual risk exposure.
• Prepare executive‑ready risk reports for the C‑suite, Board of Directors, and Risk Committee to support informed decision‑making.
• Serve as the connective tissue between business strategy teams and the risk organization, ensuring risk intelligence flows both ways.

Enhancing Strategic Risk Frameworks and Processes

• Own and evolve the Strategic Risk Frameworks, ensuring they are integrated with Mastercard's Enterprise Risk Management Framework.
• Define enhancements needed to the Company's Risk Taxonomy, incorporating outputs from previous assessments, regulatory guidance, or analysis performed to enter new industries.
• Partner with the other Risk colleagues (1LoD and 2LoD) to ensure frameworks are aligned across the different organizations.
• Design and implement processes and tools that enable scalable identification, measurement, monitoring, and control of strategic risks. This includes thinking about Risk as a Product.

Providing Visibility to Executives

• Establish dashboards, and reporting mechanisms that provide real‑time visibility into the Strategic Risk’s pipeline.
• Create and own delivery of materials leveraged for SteerCo meetings with a clear storyline and ask for Executives.

All About You

We are looking for an exceptional leader who brings both risk management expertise and the strategic acumen to shape how Mastercard approaches enterprise risk in a rapidly evolving global payments landscape.

Professional Skills

• Master’s degree in risk management, Business Administration, Finance, Economics, or related field;
  
  relevant professional certifications (FRM, PRM, CFA, or similar) highly valued.
• Extensive and progressive experience in enterprise risk management, strategic risk, management consulting or internal strategy roles within large, complex, multinational organizations.
• Demonstrated expertise in risk assessment methodologies, risk frameworks, and governance structures, with proven ability to design and implement risk management programs from inception.
• Deep understanding of the financial services industry, payments ecosystem, regulatory landscape, and emerging risks including cybersecurity, digital transformation, and geopolitical uncertainties.
• Exceptional analy