Risk & Compliance Specialist - Paiement

Job description

**This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, which manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Risk & Compliance Specialist – Payment based in Spain.** In this role, you will take ownership of payment risk and compliance across a growing portfolio of subscription-based SaaS products and international markets. You will design and implement a consistent risk framework covering Europe, the United States, and future expansion markets. Working at the intersection of payments, data, legal, and product teams, you will help prevent fraud, manage disputes, and maintain compliance with card network and payment service provider requirements. Your decisions will directly influence transaction security, customer conversion, and business revenue. This is an opportunity to build a risk function from the ground up in a fast-growing, technology-driven environment. You will enjoy significant autonomy, an international scope, and the opportunity to use AI-powered tools to improve monitoring and operational efficiency. The position offers full-time permanent or freelance options, with fully remote work across Europe or a hybrid arrangement in Lausanne. ### Accountabilities - **Payment fraud prevention:** Own and optimize anti-fraud tools and rules across payment service providers (PSPs), adapting controls to different products, markets, and customer segments. Address free-trial and subscription fraud, including friendly fraud, and define market-specific 3D Secure (3DS) strategies while balancing risk reduction with conversion. - **Chargeback and dispute management:** Manage chargeback prevention and alert processes, monitor deflection rates by merchant ID (MID), and oversee PayPal disputes and country-specific thresholds. Investigate dispute drivers and coordinate improvements to billing descriptors, customer journeys, and communications. - **Card network and PSP compliance:** Keep merchant accounts within Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal monitoring thresholds. Ensure compliance with network rules covering payment retries, billing descriptors, and customer-initiated and merchant-initiated transactions (CIT/MIT). - **PSP relationship management:** Represent the business in risk reviews with payment providers, manage reserve-related discussions, and proactively prevent account freezes, processing caps, and other restrictions. - **Subscription and checkout compliance:** Work with legal teams to define compliant European and US checkout standards covering pricing transparency, consent, renewals, and cancellation. Validate subscription journeys before launch and monitor applicable legal and card network requirements. - **International expansion:** Establish risk standards for each new merchant account and market, assess readiness, and provide risk approval before new launches. Track regulatory and payment network developments across existing and target markets. - **Risk reporting and process improvement:** Maintain risk dashboards, establish alert-triggered playbooks, analyze payment performance data, and present evidence-based recommendations with clear trade-offs. Coordinate the implementation of approved improvements. - **AI-driven monitoring:** Build, deploy, and monitor AI agents to automate recurring tasks related to dispute monitoring, compliance checks, and regulatory or network-rule updates. - **Cross-functional collaboration:** Partner with payment operations, partnerships, data, legal, and product teams to ensure that risk controls support secure, compliant, and commercially effective payment experiences. ## Requirements - **Relevant experience:** Ideally five years of experience in payment risk, although strong junior candidates and more experienced professionals will also be considered. Experience in subscription SaaS, e-commerce, a PSP, fintech, a card network, or a payment scheme is relevant. - **US payment market expertise:** Practical knowledge of US card network rules, chargeback management, and state-level legislation governing automatic subscription renewals. - **Dispute management:** Hands-on experience handling payment disputes and PayPal risk processes. - **Fraud prevention expertise:** Experience configuring anti-fraud rules within PSP tools and understanding the differences between European and US fraud patterns. - **Card network compliance:** Strong knowledge of Visa and Mastercard monitoring programs, thresholds, and compliance requirements. - **Analytical skills:** Comfortable working with payment data, KPI dashboards, reporting tools, and native PSP reports to identify trends and make informed decisions. - **Ownership and autonomy:** Able to establish priorities, make independent decisions, defend recommendations, and take responsibility for outcomes in an environment with limited predefined processes. - **Organization and documentation:** Rigorous approach to procedures, change logs, compliance records, and PSP documentation. - **Pragmatic problem-solving:** Strong prioritization skills, sound judgment under tight deadlines, and a cost-conscious mindset focused on efficient solutions with measurable impact. - **AI capabilities:** Experience building or monitoring AI agents is an advantage, as is an interest in automating recurring risk and compliance activities. - **International exposure:** Experience in Latin American or Asian markets, or in a scale-up environment without a large dedicated risk team, is an additional advantage. - **Languages:** Fluent French is essential, as it is the primary business language. Strong English is also required, with at least B2 proficiency and the ability to communicate regularly with international PSPs and card networks. ## Benefits - **Flexible contract options:** Full-time permanent employment or freelance arrangements. - **Remote-first work:** Work remotely from anywhere in Europe, with the option of a hybrid arrangement in Lausanne. - **Coworking allowance:** Up to €200 per month to support coworking space costs. - **Flexible working hours:** Organize your schedule with autonomy and support for work-life balance. - **Flexible vacation:** Manage your time off according to your needs and responsibilities. - **International remote work:** Opportunity to work remotely from a different time zone for up to one month. - **Equipment budget:** Funding for essential work equipment, including a laptop, desk, chair, monitor, and headset. - **Team gatherings:** Two company-wide seminars each year, in spring and autumn. - **Lausanne office perks:** Modern offices, access to sports facilities, parking, and a contribution toward commuting costs for employees choosing the hybrid option. - **Professional development:** Opportunities to learn, grow, take ownership of new initiatives, and influence the development of the business. - **Innovation and autonomy:** Help establish risk standards and processes in a newly created role with meaningful responsibility and room to shape how the function evolves. - **AI-enabled environment:** Opportunities to apply AI and automation to everyday risk monitoring and compliance workflows. - **High-growth culture:** Join an ambitious, international team that values performance, accountability, integrity, continuous learning, and practical problem-solving.