Head of Credit Risk

Head of Credit Risk – Building the Future of Structured Trade Finance in Saudi Arabia

At TradePay, a groundbreaking venture under Sanabil Studio, we are revolutionizing the trade finance landscape for the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector in Saudi Arabia. As the Head of Credit Risk, you will play a pivotal role in architecting a cutting-edge credit risk governance framework that transforms informal supplier credit into a data-driven, scalable, and secure working capital solution. This is more than a job—it’s an opportunity to shape the financial infrastructure of tomorrow, ensuring sustainable growth for small merchants while mitigating risk for suppliers and distributors.

TradePay is at the forefront of a financial revolution, leveraging real-time transaction behavior and operational data to assess creditworthiness for underbanked merchants. Your expertise will be instrumental in establishing a robust risk management system that aligns with Saudi Arabia’s regulatory landscape, including SAMA (Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority) expectations. You will lead the charge in defining risk appetite, portfolio thresholds, and escalation protocols, ensuring TradePay’s financial resilience as we scale.

What You Will Achieve

As the owner of TradePay’s credit risk function, your responsibilities will be both strategic and operational, ensuring the company’s long-term success while maintaining disciplined risk governance. Key priorities include:

• Designing and Implementing Enterprise-Wide Risk Frameworks: Build a comprehensive credit risk governance model from the ground up, encompassing credit, collections, fraud, and operational risk policies. Your frameworks will set the standard for how TradePay assesses, monitors, and manages risk across its portfolio.
• Driving Portfolio Quality and Compliance: Oversee repayment behavior monitoring, delinquency management, and collections governance to maintain a healthy loan portfolio. Develop provisioning and write-off frameworks that balance financial prudence with business growth.
• Ensuring Regulatory Readiness: Prepare TradePay for future licensing and regulatory engagement in Saudi Arabia, collaborating closely with legal and compliance teams to align operations with evolving financial regulations.
• Mentoring and Leading Risk Operations: Build and mentor a high-performing risk operations and collections team, fostering a culture of excellence and continuous improvement. Establish clear governance processes for merchant onboarding, fraud escalation, dispute resolution, and collections.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Work seamlessly with Data and Product teams to ensure underwriting models align with risk policies and operational controls. Develop advanced reporting frameworks for management, investors, and regulatory bodies, providing transparency and actionable insights.
• Stakeholder and Cross-Functional Leadership: Act as a strategic partner to the Founder and broader leadership team, ensuring risk management is integrated into TradePay’s growth strategy. Your ability to influence decisions while maintaining governance discipline will be critical as we scale.

Why Your Expertise Matters

TradePay is not just another fintech venture—it is a mission-driven platform with the potential to redefine trade finance in Saudi Arabia. We are seeking a Head of Credit Risk with:

• 8+ Years of Saudi Experience: Deep familiarity with the local market dynamics, regulatory environment, and the unique challenges of credit risk in Saudi Arabia.
• Proven Track Record in High-Impact Roles: Experience in banking, SME lending, fintech lending, microfinance, or regulated financial institutions, where you have successfully designed and implemented credit policies and governance frameworks.
• Expertise in Portfolio Risk Management: A strong grasp of delinquency management, collections, provisioning, and portfolio controls, with a focus on balancing growth with risk mitigation.
• Regulatory Acumen: Experience working with regulators or operating within regulated environments, ensuring compliance while driving innovation.
• Startup Agility with Governance Discipline: The ability to thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment while maintaining rigorous risk governance standards.
• Bonus Qualifications: Experience in B2B Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL), supply chain finance, embedded finance, SME or merchant lending, or Islamic finance and Sharia-compliant structures will be highly valued.

The Impact You Will Have

Your work will directly influence TradePay’s portfolio quality, scalability, and regulatory readiness, shaping the long-term health of the business. As we grow, this role offers a clear progression path to Chief Risk Officer (CRO), positioning you to lead TradePay’s risk function as it evolves into a fully regulated entity. You will not only build the risk foundations of a next-generation fintech platform but also leave a lasting legacy in the Saudi financial sector.

Join Us in Redefining Trade Finance

If you are a visionary risk professional passionate about leveraging technology to empower underbanked merchants while ensuring financial stability, we invite you to be part of TradePay’s journey. Together, we will create a credit system that is not just efficient but transformative—one that strengthens the FMCG supply chain and drives economic growth in Saudi Arabia.