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

Director, Risk Management

Overview:
The Core Payments Strategy & Execution team tackles critical strategic opportunities and challenges across Mastercard’s most foundational business. This role is suited for a senior risk leader with a passion for payments, innovation, and operating at enterprise scale.
Mastercard powers an inclusive, digital economy that makes transactions safe, simple, smart, and accessible for everyone, everywhere. Through secure data, trusted networks, and strong partnerships, we help individuals, businesses, financial institutions, and governments realize their greatest potential. Our Decency Quotient (DQ) shapes how we operate—guiding a culture of inclusion, collaboration, and integrity that enables better decisions, stronger innovation, and better outcomes.

Role Description:
The Director, Risk Management – Core Payments is a senior risk leader responsible for supporting the design, execution, and continuously strengthening the risk management framework supporting Mastercard’s Core Payments business. This role partners closely with business leadership and the second and third lines of defense to anticipate, mitigate, and remediate risk while enabling responsible growth.
This position requires deep expertise in enterprise risk management, regulatory environments, and operational resilience, combined with strong leadership, execution discipline, and stakeholder influence.

Key Responsibilities:
• Risk Strategy & Framework:
-Support the design, implementation, and ongoing enhancement of risk policies, standards, and procedures aligned with Core Payments objectives.
-Enable proactive and effective risk management across Core Payments to ensure business activities align with enterprise risk frameworks, regulatory expectations, and internal standards.
• Risk Identification & Monitoring:
-Enable Core Payments teams to identify, assess, and manage their risks through structured guidance, frameworks, and decision support.
-Translate enterprise risk expectations into practical, business relevant guardrails that support product delivery and operational execution.
-Conduct horizon scanning to proactively identify emerging, evolving, and systemic risks.
-Facilitate and/or lead scenario analysis and stress testing to assess potential business impact and inform decision-making.
• Control & Issue Management:
-Ensure appropriate controls are identified for material risks and that clear ownership is embedded with the right business teams.
-Establish and maintain a consistent controls and issues management approach that links control effectiveness, audit outcomes, and regulatory expectations.
-Drive sustainable remediation of control deficiencies, audit findings, and regulatory issues through robust, root cause focused action plans.
• Audit & Compliance Oversight:
-Act as a trusted key liaison for internal audits and regulatory interactions impacting Core Payments.
-Ensure timely, effective, and sustainable closure of audit and regulatory findings.
• Execution & Change Leadership:
-Drive cross-functional initiatives to identify risks, strengthen controls and remediate control gaps, and embedding compliance into operating processes.
-Participate in key governance forums to advise on risk implications of new products, changes, and strategic initiatives.
-Champion risk management best practices embedded into day-to-day operating models.
• Culture & Leadership:
-Promote a strong risk culture that balances innovation, growth, and control through influence, coaching, and thought leadership.
-Empower integration of risk considerations into product development, change management, and strategic initiatives.
-Act as a role model for collaboration, accountability, and Mastercard values.

All About You:

• Proven experience leading enterprise risk management for a complex, global organization.
• Strong understanding of regulatory requirements, compliance frameworks, and ongoing monitoring practices.
• Deep expertise in risk identification, assessment, mitigation, and operational resilience.
• Extensive knowledge of the payments industry and/or digital financial products.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior executives and translate complex risk concepts into clear, actionable insights.
• Highly collaborative, proactive, and effective in managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Trusted leader who fosters an inclusive, high-performance culture aligned with the Mastercard Way.

Mastercard is a merit-based, inclusive, equal opportunity employer that considers applicants without regard to gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disabled or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We hire the most qualified candidate for the role. In the US or Canada, if you require accommodations or assistance to complete the online application process or during the recruitment process, please contact reasonable_accommodation@mastercard.com and identify the type of accommodation or assistance you are requesting. Do not include any medical or health information in this email. The Reasonable Accommodations team will respond to your email promptly.

Corporate Security Responsibility

All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must:

• Abide by Mastercard’s security policies and practices;

• Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed;

• Report any suspected information security violation or breach, and

• Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard’s guidelines.

In line with Mastercard’s total compensation philosophy and assuming that the job will be performed in the US, the successful candidate will be offered a competitive base salary and may be eligible for an annual bonus or commissions depending on the role. The base salary offered may vary depending on multiple factors, including but not limited to location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Mastercard benefits for full time (and certain part time) employees generally include: insurance (including medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, disability, life insurance); flexible spending account and health savings account; paid leaves (including 16 weeks of new parent leave and up to 20 days of bereavement leave); 80 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time, 25 days of vacation time and 5 personal days, pro-rated based on date of hire; 10 annual paid U.S. observed holidays; 401k with a best-in-class company match; deferred compensation for eligible roles; fitness reimbursement or on-site fitness facilities; eligibility for tuition reimbursement; and many more. Mastercard benefits for interns generally include: 56 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time; jury duty leave; and on-site fitness facilities in some locations.

Pay Ranges

Purchase, New York: $163,000 - $269,000 USD