Head of Credit Risk

Overview

• Sanabil Studio is a venture builder that blends industry expertise, technology, and startup know-how to turn bold ideas into real businesses.
• We take concepts from zero to launch, and when a venture proves its potential, we back it with seed funding and hands-on support to help it scale.
• TradePay is one of those ventures building the trade finance infrastructure for FMCG in Saudi Arabia.
• Our mission is to replace informal supplier credit with structured, data-driven working capital that helps small merchants grow, protects suppliers from credit risk, and strengthens the FMCG supply chain.
• We are building a new credit system for underbanked merchants where risk is assessed through real transaction behavior and operational data across suppliers, distributors, and digital marketplaces.
• We are looking for a Head of Risk to build and lead TradePay's credit risk governance and portfolio risk management function reporting directly to the Founder.
• ****THE ROLE What you'll own here.****
• Build and own TradePay's enterprise credit risk framework and governance model
• Define and manage risk appetite, portfolio thresholds, and escalation frameworks
• Develop and maintain credit, collections, fraud, and operational risk policies
• Oversee repayment behavior monitoring, delinquency management, and collections governance
• Establish provisioning, write-off, and portfolio monitoring frameworks
• Review and approve credit override and exception management processes
• Work with Data and Product teams to ensure underwriting models align with risk policies and operational controls
• Build governance processes around merchant onboarding, fraud escalation, dispute resolution, and collections
• Develop reporting frameworks for management, investors, and future regulatory readiness
• Prepare the business for future licensing and regulatory engagement in Saudi Arabia
• Support legal and compliance teams in ensuring operational and contractual alignment
• Lead future risk committee structures and build and mentor risk operations and collections team members
• How Success Will Be Measured Portfolio quality and delinquency rates, provisioning accuracy, governance and policy maturity, regulatory readiness, and the strength of risk frameworks as TradePay scales.
• Where This Role Can Go Head of Risk → Chief Risk Officer as TradePay scales and matures into a regulated entity.
• ****THE PROFILE You're probably a fit if…****
• You have 8+ years of Saudi experience in credit risk, portfolio risk, collections, or enterprise risk management
• You've worked in banking, SME lending, fintech lending, microfinance, or regulated financial institutions
• You understand Saudi market dynamics and SAMA expectations
• You've designed and implemented credit policies and governance frameworks from the ground up
• You have a strong grasp of delinquency management, collections, provisioning, and portfolio controls
• You've worked with regulators or operated within regulated environments
• You're strong on stakeholder management and decision-making, and can operate in fast-moving startup environments while maintaining governance discipline
• You communicate clearly in writing and in the room
• Bonus: experience in B2B BNPL, supply chain finance, embedded finance, SME or merchant lending, Islamic finance and Sharia-compliant structures, or early-stage fintech environments
• THE ENVIRONMENT What working here actually looks like.
• Foundational Ownership You are building the risk foundations of a next-generation fintech platform from scratch. The frameworks you design today will define how TradePay scales tomorrow.
• Direct Impact on the Business Portfolio quality, scalability, and regulatory readiness all sit with you. Your decisions directly shape the long-term health of the business.
• A Role That Grows With You This position has a clear path into Chief Risk Officer as TradePay scales across Saudi Arabia and moves toward a regulated entity structure.

What You Get From Us