Director, Risk & Fraud

At Wave, we help small businesses to thrive so the heart of our communities beats stronger. We work in an environment buzzing with creative energy and inspiration. No matter where you are or how you get the job done, you have what you need to be successful and connected. The mark of true success at Wave is the ability to be bold, learn quickly and share your knowledge generously.

About the Role:

The Director, Fraud & Risk is a senior leader responsible for safeguarding Wave’s financial ecosystem across Canada and the US, spanning payments, payroll, invoicing and chargebacks. This role is pivotal in proactively identifying, mitigating, and managing financial and reputational risk. Reporting to the Chief Technology Officer, this leader will be responsible for developing and executing strategies to protect our platform, customers and business from financial crimes, operational risk, and regulatory threats, and drive responsible growth with close partnership with the compliance and legal function/organization.

Here's how you'll make an impact:

• Define and oversee the development and monitoring of key performance indicators for the risk and fraud teams and provide regular reporting/metrics to leadership including maintaining accurate loss forecasts.
• Oversee a team of risk analysts, team leads, and managers, and Lead and develop a high-performing, risk team by setting strategic direction, coaching leadership, and ensuring operational excellence.
• Own and evolve Wave’s enterprise fraud and risk management framework, including long-term strategy and annual roadmap.
• Oversee and manage the risk and fraud department’s budget, ensuring optimal allocation of resources and alignment with overall financial goals.
• Design, implement, and continuously refine risk and fraud policies, ensuring they effectively mitigate exposure across all business lines.
• Establish and maintain robust procedures and partner with product to proactively detect, prevent, and respond to fraudulent activities.
• Work with internal partners to develop and implement strategies, policies and processes to minimize fraud, shrink and chargebacks.
• Create and develop risk and underwriting performance reporting to drive awareness of decision accuracy and performance.
• Partner with CX teams to review escalations and manage recourse programs.
• Monitor industry and competitive trends to ensure Wave is aligned from a regulatory and market perspective.
• Provide oversight and guidance on complex or high-risk escalations, ensuring consistency with risk policies and business objectives.
• Act as a Subject Matter Expert on projects to improve and streamline Risk functions.
• Be a thought leader on technology and AI and how it can be used to improve employee and customer outcomes.
• Act as a key partner to Legal, Compliance, Finance, Product, and Engineering teams to embed risk mitigation across product design and customer experience.
• Own vendor relationships and roadmap for risk tooling (e.g., onboarding verification, transaction monitoring, chargeback mitigation).
• Lead incident response and root cause analysis for major fraud or risk events.
• Foster a risk-aware culture across the organization through education and influence.
• Ensure Wave’s fraud and risk programs align with regulatory requirements and industry best practices.

You'll thrive here by possessing the following:

• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Finance, Risk Management or related Field.
• 10 years of experience in fraud or risk roles in fintech, payments, or banking industry, including experience leading a high-performing team that includes managers or team leads.
• Experience using Alloy, Plaid, and credit bureau vendors.
• Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) Certification or similar designation.
• Extensive experience with fraud and risk management in both Canadian and U.S. financial ecosystems, including knowledge of regulatory requirements.
• Experience with chargeback operations.
• Understanding of AI/ML risk detection technologies.
• Previous experience scaling risk functions.
• Strong analytical and reporting skills, with experience developing KPIs and dashboards.
• Deep understanding of fraud prevention tools, onboarding risk, and transaction monitoring.

At Wave, we value diversity of perspective. Your unique experience enriches our organization. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds. Let’s talk about how you can thrive here!

Wave is committed to providing an inclusive and accessible candidate experience. If you require accommodations during the recruitment process, please let us know by emailing careers@waveapps.com. We will work with you to meet your needs.