The posting
Job Summary: PayLink is seeking a Risk Manager to lead its Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) function as an independent control function. You will develop and maintain the risk management framework, assess risks across the business, and provide clear insights that support informed decisions, business resilience, and compliance with applicable Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) requirements.
The role works closely with senior management, relevant committees, and departmental risk owners while maintaining independent oversight and clear accountability.
Key Responsibilities:
1. Governance, Strategy and Risk Management Framework
- Develop and update the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework, policies, methodologies, tools and templates, and submit them for approval under the delegation of authority.
- Prepare an annual risk management strategy and work plan aligned with the Company’s strategy, license category and scale of operations.
- Define roles, responsibilities, escalation lines, risk owners and control owners in coordination with relevant departments, without imposing unapproved operational authority.
- Support the Risk Committee and relevant committees by preparing materials and reports and tracking decisions within each committee’s mandate.
- Review the framework periodically following product, business model or regulatory changes or material events.
2. Risk Identification, Assessment and Risk Register
- Lead enterprise assessments of inherent and residual risk in collaboration with departmental risk owners.
- Establish and maintain the enterprise risk register, documenting causes, impacts, controls, assessments, treatment owners and target dates.
- Coordinate Risk and Control Self-Assessments (RCSA) and challenge the reasonableness of assessments against available evidence.
- Assess enterprise risks arising from new products and services, material changes, projects, expansion and partnerships before recommendations are submitted.
- Conduct scenario analyses and stress testing in line with priorities, capabilities and available data, in coordination with Finance, Operations and Technology.
3. Risk Appetite, Indicators and Reporting
- Develop and review the risk appetite statement and tolerance limits in coordination with Finance, Compliance, Operations, Cybersecurity and other stakeholders, and submit them to the authorized approving body.
- Develop a proportionate set of Key Risk Indicators (KRIs), defining data sources, data owners, measurement frequency and alert thresholds.
- Monitor risk appetite breaches, analyze their causes, recommend mitigation and escalate under approved authorities.
- Produce concise periodic reports for senior management and relevant committees on material risks, trends, breaches, remediation plans and decisions required.
4. Control Assessment and Independent Challenge
- Assess control design adequacy and effectiveness from a risk management perspective, using supporting evidence, test results, reports, interviews and appropriate samples.
- Request information and evidence necessary for risk assessments within approved access rights, need-to-know principles, confidentiality and data protection requirements.
- Document professional disagreements with risk or control owners and escalate material matters through approved channels.
- Do not operate controls, make specialist operational decisions or substitute for Internal Audit’s independent assurance role.
5. Financial, Operational, Technology and Financial Crime Risks
- Monitor risks relating to liquidity, settlements, partner banks, fraud, operations, third parties, concentration, reputation and strategy in coordination with their respective owners.
- Assess cybersecurity and technology risks within the enterprise framework in coordination with Cybersecurity and Technology, without assuming their specialist or operational responsibilities.
- Include money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing risks in the enterprise risk register and independently challenge exposures, controls and residual risk in coordination with Compliance and the AML officer.
- Access appropriate transaction, alert and suspicion-related indicators for risk assessment, subject to confidentiality restrictions on reports and protected case files; this role does not include investigating individual cases or making regulatory reporting decisions.
- Ensure enterprise assessments align with specialist risk assessments without creating conflicting assessments or transferring ownership of specialist programs to Risk Management.
6. Business Continuity and Crisis Management
- Oversee the Business Continuity Management (BCM) framework and program through the Business Continuity Officer and relevant functions, monitoring plans, testing and remediation readiness.
- Review Business Impact Analysis (BIA) results, verify business owners’ validation of impacts and dependencies, and confirm that Technology and Operations have assessed recovery target feasibility.
- Monitor business continuity, disaster recovery and crisis management plans and tests, while operational response and recovery remain with designated teams.
- Report material readiness gaps to senior management and relevant committees, coordinating with Compliance on regulatory notifications.
7. Third Parties, Changes and Projects
- Assess risks relating to suppliers, outsourcing, third-party dependencies, concentration and single points of failure in collaboration with relationship owners.
- Review risks associated with projects, material changes and new services and provide recommendations before approval.
- Track risk mitigation plans, action owners and deadlines without executing other departments’ remedial actions.
8. Regulatory Requirements, Coordination and Awareness
- Monitor regulatory requirements applicable to the risk management function and compile supporting evidence with Compliance and relevant stakeholders.
- Participate in supervisory visits and respond on enterprise risk management topics using validated information, referring specialist technical topics to their owners.
- Track regulatory and Internal Audit findings relevant to Risk Management and verify remediation by responsible owners.
- Deliver practical risk awareness and training to risk owners and promote risk culture throughout the Company.
- Maintain orderly records of evidence, assessments, reports, decisions and relevant correspondence.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Risk Management, Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or a related discipline; a postgraduate qualification is preferred.
- Preferably at least seven years of relevant experience in risk management, governance, or financial services, including leadership experience, subject to applicable fit-and-proper requirements.
- Practical experience within financial institutions or payment service providers supervised by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA).
- Working knowledge of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), Risk and Control Self-Assessments (RCSA), risk appetite, Key Risk Indicators (KRIs), Business Continuity Management (BCM), internal controls, and regulatory reporting.
- Relevant professional credentials, such as FRM, CRMP, RIMS-CRMP, or an ISO 31000-related qualification, are preferred and complement practical experience.
- Strong analytical judgment and independent assessment skills, with the ability to connect risk exposures to business objectives and regulatory impact.
- Effective communication, cross-functional coordination, and professional conflict management skills.
- Ability to prepare clear executive reports and provide practical, actionable recommendations.
- Strong planning and prioritization skills, including tracking remediation activities within available resources.
- Ability to evaluate evidence and data while maintaining the confidentiality of sensitive information.
- Leadership and coaching skills, with the ability to strengthen risk culture and influence stakeholders without direct line authority.
