Head of Payment Risk and Operations

Hi! I'm Zaky, Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at WeTravel Over the past 11 years, I’ve focused on building the leading vertical SaaS for the $300B multi-day travel segment, helping tour companies manage their operations from A to Z. At WeTravel, I lead compliance, payment partnerships, and people functions, working closely with talented teams to drive impact across the business. About WeTravelMulti-day travel businesses (think 7-day safari in the Serengeti or 5-day scuba diving in the Galapagos) use WeTravel as their all-in-one platform to manage sales processes, collect payments, and run the back office. We monetize as a vertical SaaS for these multi-day travel businesses through transaction volume. This is possible because our clients trust WeTravel as their agent of payees, accepting payments from travelers on behalf of the travel businesses. WeTravel also acts as the merchant of record, processing the payments and handling the chargebacks. Therefore, it is undeniably essential that we protect our user funds from any bad actors, while ensuring that the funds move smoothly from pay-in (travelers) to payout (travel businesses and their suppliers). What’s the roleYou will join the company at a pivotal moment. As the company scales and transacts billions of USD, we have transformed from a SaaS company to a payment/fintech company. These people below, including yourself, will work closely on any payment-related topic:Product Manager - Payments & Engineering Manager - Payments: product and technical matters of paymentsCOO: commercial and compliance matters of paymentsYou (alongside your KYC and Payment Operations teams): risk and operational matters of paymentsTherefore, you will shape our payment risk management strategy and roll up your sleeves to immediately implement the short-term actions with the CEO's and COO's full support, so we can safely and responsibly grow our transaction volume and revenue. Your mission and objectivesYour mission is to ensure our user funds flow securely and smoothly from pay-in to payout while considering our ambitious growth and revenue plans. To do that, you have to drive two things:Payment Risk & Fraud ManagementIdentifying all the risks and vulnerabilities from pay-in to payout, and ensuring we are protected against any potential bad actorsPerforming robust due diligence and risk assessment on new and existing clientsRunning a rapid escalation process for payment fraud incidentsPayment OperationsManage disputes/chargebacks and fund recovery from delinquent accountsResolve any operational issues on pay-in and payout process that still require coordination with PSPs/payment service providers, e.g., wire issues. We have built the foundation to ensure user funds can flow securely and smoothly from pay-in to payout. Until now, the COO and Chief of Staff have jointly managed the teams and tools for this. Moving forward, you will take over to manage and build:In-house KYC/KYB and Payment Operations teamsKYC/KYB: perform robust due diligence on travel businesses worldwide, joining as WeTravel clientsPayment Operations: monitor every transaction for any red flags or operational issues, then work with other departments and PSPs to escalate and resolve the issuesTools, e.g., Persona for KYC/KYB automation, Stripe’s Radar for fraud preventionAdditionally, the CEO and COO are very involved in monitoring the security of our user funds daily, and working closely with company leaders, including Product and Engineering, to take whatever action is needed to keep the funds safe and secure. Your Daily ActivitiesWe expect you to have the “owner” mentality to build and run the Payment Risks and Operations organization. Examples of daily activities include:Develop a payment risk management strategyManage the daily operations of the KYC/KYB and Payment Operations teams, and possibly a new Risk/Compliance team based on the strategy aboveMonitor any red flags of possible fraud/scam/account takeover, and escalate with any relevant stakeholdersCoordinate case management and communication of fraud incidentsHelp the Payment Operations team coordinate with PSPs to resolve any operational payment issues, e.g., the supplier hasn’t received the paid-out funds due to additional compliance documentation needed by the beneficiary bankReview accounts with negative balances due to chargebacks, and work with the Payment Operations team to recover the fundsBuild dashboards, with support from Business Intelligence/Product/Engineering teams, to evaluate the risk score of any client and transactionUpdate the list of Prohibited Businesses based on requirements from PSPs and directions from the CEO and COOReview the new KYC/KYB SOP on a new segment that the sales team is considering to approachWork with the COO to provide compliance documents to PSPsManage the filing process of 1099K forms for applicable clients annuallyWhy You Should or Shouldn’t ApplyYou should apply if youHave 10+ years of experience in payment risks/operations or fraud managementAre a payment nerd: you have experience working for PSPs or closely with them, and you enjoy learning about the payment industryHave experience with both the US and non-US markets; while we have tour operator clients worldwide, most of the payments still originate from the USHave an “owner” mentality: you care so much about your team and your customers, and you are obsessed with fighting any form of fraudstersAre an effective team leader and communicator: you will run a team of more than 10 people, including two direct reports who lead KYC and Payment Operations teams, and work regularly with all C-suite membersHaving knowledge of the travel industry is a plus, but not requiredYou might not be the right fit if you:Are not comfortable with creating structures and frameworks to resolve ambiguous situationsAre not ready to be available for your team whenever they need you the most (this is not typical, but there will be times when your team needs your direction urgently and you are the only person who can do it; usually related to a case escalation, e.g., the team identifies a scammer with extremely high value over the weekend, a major account experiences account takeover on holiday season)BenefitsCompetitive salaryGenerous 'Time to Recharge' policy - enjoy unlimited paid time off to rest, recharge, and show up as your best self. Work remotely for a maximum of 4 weeks per calendar year.2-week cross-functional onboarding program. Annual team off-site (often somewhere sunny ). Cycle-to-work scheme (Swapfiets subscription) or commuting reimbursement. Tuesday team lunches and after-work social events. Beautiful office in central Amsterdam - rooftop garden and right by Rokin metro. Extensive paid family leave. Three paid volunteer days per year - take time to give back to causes you care about, on us. Cutting-edge equipment and tools to set you up for success. Join an international, travel-loving team with a passion for adventure and innovation. Ready to build something meaningful? Apply now. Equal OpportunitiesWeTravel is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. If you're excited about this opportunity and believe you're a good fit, we encourage you to apply and join us in transforming the travel industry! Apply to this Job