Job Description

Affirm is reinventing credit to make it more honest and friendly, giving consumers the flexibility to buy now and pay later without any hidden fees or compounding interest. Enterprise Risk at Affirm looks different than it does at many financial institutions. The Enterprise Risk team helps the company understand and manage its most important risks. That includes core Enterprise Risk capabilities, as well as partnering with senior leaders to make thoughtful decisions about the risks we take in pursuit of our strategy. As our Senior Director, Enterprise Risk Strategy, you'll partner closely with leaders including across Product, Engineering, Finance, Legal, Compliance, Operations, and Credit Risk to help navigate complex strategic, operational, product, and regulatory decisions. You'll help leadership make explicit tradeoffs, build alignment across differing perspectives, and translate strategy into practical risk appetite and operating guardrails. Success in this role comes from exceptional judgment, intellectual curiosity, influence, and the ability to simplify complexity. We're looking for someone who enjoys building, thrives in ambiguous environments, and believes Enterprise Risk should create value for the business - not simply operate governance processes. What You’ll Do Lead Enterprise Risk Strategy - Lead the evolution of Enterprise Risk into a trusted business partner that enables better business decisions. - Design practical approaches that improve clarity and decision-making while minimizing unnecessary process and burden. - Translate enterprise strategy into clear risk appetite, practical operating guardrails, and decision-useful executive reporting. Partner with executive leadership - Partner with executive leaders to navigate complex strategic, operational, product, and regulatory decisions. - Help leadership evaluate tradeoffs and build alignment across differing perspectives on risk and business priorities. - Bring an enterprise-wide perspective that helps leaders make informed decisions while supporting Affirm's culture of innovation and growth. Drive Cross-Functional Influence - Build trusted relationships with leaders including across Product, Engineering, Finance, Legal, Compliance, Operations, and Credit Risk. - Influence through thoughtful challenge, sound judgment, and clear communication. - Serve as a trusted advisor who helps teams solve business problems. Lead Enterprise Initiatives - Lead cross-functional initiatives that improve how Affirm identifies, discusses, and manages emerging enterprise risks. - Partner with teams across the company to navigate new products, technologies, regulatory changes, and strategic initiatives. - Translate complex business challenges into actionable recommendations for executive leadership. Strengthen Enterprise Risk Capabilities - Continue evolving key Enterprise Risk capabilities, including operational risk, governance, issue management, third-party risk, and business continuity. - Improve executive reporting and risk insights that support better decision-making across the organization. Lead a High-Impact Enterprise Risk Team - - Lead and develop a lean, high-impact Enterprise Risk team that helps the business make better decisions while strengthening core risk capabilities. - Set the vision, priorities, and operating model for the Enterprise Risk function as it continues to evolve. - Foster a culture of sound judgment, curiosity, business partnership, and thoughtful execution. - Build a team that is known for pragmatic problem solving, trusted partnership, and effective challenge. What We Look For - 12+ years of experience in a regulated or risk-intensive environment such as fintech, financial services, or technology. - Experience leading business transformation, strategy, product risk, operations, governance, Chief of Staff, Enterprise Risk, or similar cross-functional initiatives - Exceptional business judgment with the ability to simplify complex problems and influence senior leaders. - Proven ability to build trust, challenge constructively, and drive alignment without formal authority or operating as a control function. - Comfortable navigating ambiguity, building new capabilities, and partnering closely with Product, Engineering, and other business-facing teams A Note to Candidates You don't need to have spent your entire career in Enterprise Risk to be successful in this role. If you've helped organizations navigate complex decisions, lead transformation, or influence executive teams in a regulated environment, we'd love to hear from you! Pay Grade - U Equity Grade - USA 15 Employees new to Affirm typically come in at the start of the pay range. Affirm focuses on providing a simple and transparent pay structure which is based on a variety of factors, including location, experience and job-related skills. Base pay is part of a total compensation package that may include equity rewards, monthly stipend

Requirements

What We Look For:

- 15+ years of experience in financial services, fintech, or technology environments, with deep expertise leading risk, audit, compliance, or related business or strategic operating functions

- Proven experience leading and maturing enterprise risk frameworks and programs in a dynamic, high-growth environment

- Strong strategic mindset and business judgment with the ability to connect risk management to business objectives and leadership decisions

- Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive alignment across functions without direct authority

- Strong analytical and communication skills with the ability to translate complex data into clear insights and actions

- Track record of leading and developing high-performing teams

- Experience working closely with Product, Engineering, and data-driven teams is strongly preferred

Responsibilities

What You’ll Do

- Lead the ongoing evolution of Affirm’s Enterprise Risk Management program to support the company’s scale, complexity, and strategic priorities

- Strengthen enterprise risk governance, including risk appetite, risk taxonomy, and governance structures across the enterprise

- Drive alignment of risk management practices across business units while preserving appropriate flexibility for different risk types and operating models

- Oversee and continue to mature key enterprise risk programs including Operational Risk, Third Party Risk Management, Business Continuity, Issues Management, and Risk Governance

- Ensure programs are integrated, data-driven, and aligned to Affirm’s broader enterprise risk framework

- Identify opportunities to improve effectiveness, scalability, and clarity through process enhancements, data, and tooling

- Develop and enhance risk analytics and reporting for executive leadership and governance forums

- Strengthen the use of risk metrics, trends, and analysis to identify emerging risks and support decision-making

- Partner with senior leaders to assess risks associated with new products, initiatives, and strategic changes

- Provide independent, objective challenge on key risk decisions and mitigation strategies

- Support the business in taking smart, informed risks while staying within risk tolerance levels

- Help embed a thoughtful, risk-aware approach to decision-making across the company through strong partnership, communication, and engagement

- Drive enterprise-wide risk initiatives that require coordination across multiple teams

- Lead high-impact initiatives that improve the effectiveness and scalability of enterprise risk management

- Develop and mentor a team of risk professionals

- Establish clear priorities, operating rhythms, and performance standards

- Scale the function’s impact in line with Affirm’s growth and evolving needs

Senior Director, Enterprise Risk Strategy

Job Description

Requirements

Responsibilities

Skills Required

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