Head of Fraud (Fintech)

Role Overview

Our client is committed to building a financial system that works for all, this includes consumers, merchants, banks, regulators and law enforcement. Fraud and identity are unfortunately still significant challenges for everyone involved in payments and commerce. Our client is committed to combatting this and is building both tools and capabilities to improve its abilities in this space. The Law Enforcement Community (LEC) does a great deal to support the victims of crime and seek out the perpetrators, so our client is looking to build a strong connection with LEC.

Head of Fraud

The Head of Fraud will lead our client’s fraud prevention and detection framework across all South African products. This senior role will work with Exco to define our client’s fraud risk appetite and policy, and will have full accountability for execution — building Risk Operations (Risk Ops), leading investigations, managing bank escalations and chargebacks, and ensuring partner bank fraud thresholds are met.

The Head of Fraud will work closely with the Shield Team, Legal, Compliance, and Partnerships teams, and act as the company’s operational point of contact on fraud for regulators, partner banks, and industry stakeholders.

Job Type

Full Time / Permanent

Work Place

Remote

Requirements

• 10+ years in fraud risk, financial crime, or investigations, with at least 3 years in leadership.
• Strong experience managing fraud escalations, chargebacks, and partner bank fraud thresholds in a payments or fintech context.
• Deep understanding of South African payment fraud typologies, fraud prevention tooling etc
• Proven track record of operational execution against risk policy defined at executive level.
• Strong relationship management skills with partner banks, regulators, and external stakeholders.
• Ability to work closely with technical teams like the Shield Team to deliver outcomes.
• Execution-focused leader who can translate policy into operational success.
• Excellent communicator across technical, operational, executive, and partner bank audiences.
• High integrity and judgment in high-pressure situations.
• Strong collaborator, particularly with Partnerships to maintain bank confidence.
• Comfortable with selective public engagement, representing our client with credibility.

Responsibilities

Fraud Policy & Risk Strategy

Collaboration & Technology Integration

Regulatory Compliance & Reporting

Public Representation

#J-18808-Ljbffr