Head of Risk & Fraud, UAE

Our MissionReduce inequity by helping immigrants move money home, and become the leading cross-border fintech for emerging markets.The Team> Founded by Harvard grads / 3rd-time founders --- also founded Segovia (successful exit) and GiveDirectly (>300M revenue, fastest-growing NGO).> Top performers from top and varied organizations (e.g., Bain, Bolt, Google, McKinsey, SafeBoda, Uber, Zipline) --- we like moving fast, and we hire people that do as well.> Driven by mission, guided by values (see below) – in deed, not just word.> Team as global as the mission, >30 languages from 25 countries (i.e., if you’re interested in learning to make Chicken Moambe, we’re the place).About UsTaptap Send is backed by top VCs (Spark, Canaan, Reid Hoffman, Breyer Capital, etc.), rapidly growing and a great place for those looking for both impact and a fast-paced tech startup environment. Read more about the journey in Reid Hoffman’s words or TechCrunch articleLaunched in 2019, Taptap is tapping into a transformative shift in global finance: from banks to phones. While this has affected wealthier countries as well, it has been nothing short of a revolution for the emerging markets where the overwhelming majority of population had been unable to access digital finance previously. Taptap Send allows immigrants to send money home instantly and with no fee*, saving money in the process. With a formal market size of >700B alone, we’ve got a lot more saving to do for our users. Our mission is to reduce inequity by helping immigrants move money home, and become the leading cross-border fintech for emerging markets. And that’s just the beginning...We charge fees for transfers on fixed exchange rate corridors (e.g., XOF, XAF).Our InvestorsSpark Capital, Canaan, Reid Hoffman, Breyer Capital (Jim Breyer), Unbound (Shravin Mittal), Wamda (Fadi Ghandour), Firstminute Capital, Slow Ventures (Sam Lessin), Helios Partners (Souleymane Ba), Crossbeam Ventures (Ali Hamed), Nikesh Arora, Samih Toukan, and many other context-specific angelsRoleYou'll join our GCC Risk & Compliance function as the designated Risk Officer for the UAE, a regulated role under the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE). This is a high-impact position responsible for building, maintaining, and executing Taptap Send’s risk management and fraud prevention framework in the UAE, ensuring that we meet the highest regulatory standards while supporting fast, mission-driven growth.You’ll work across all areas of the business: operations, product, engineering, compliance, finance, and partnerships, to identify risks, design strong controls, and ensure we remain safe, resilient, and compliant. You’ll lead our engagement with the Central Bank on risk and fraud related matters, provide regular risk reporting to senior management and the Board, and help shape how Taptap Send scales safely across the GCC.You will be hands-on, proactive, and solutions-oriented—comfortable working in a fast-paced environment, able to anticipate emerging risks and fraud patterns, and capable of balancing regulatory expectations with practical business realities.ResponsibilitiesDevelop, maintain, and execute the UAE risk management framework, including the Risk Register, Risk Appetite, and risk assessment processes.Serve as the primary point of contact with the Central Bank of the UAE for all risk-related matters and ensure full compliance with CBUAE regulations.Identify, assess, and monitor key risks across operations, technology, product, finance, and customer journeys.Oversee operational incident reporting and root-cause analysis, ensuring corrective actions are implemented.Lead regulatory risk reporting, prepare submissions, and coordinate responses to supervisory queries.Monitor technology, cybersecurity, and data protection risks in partnership with Engineering and Security teams.Assess settlement, liquidity, and financial risks related to funds flows, reconciliation, partners, and payout operations.Manage third-party and outsourcing risk, including due diligence, risk assessments, and ongoing monitoring of key vendors and partners.Provide regular risk updates and reports to senior management and the Board, highlighting trends and mitigation status.Build and own the UAE fraud risk management framework, ensuring alignment with CBUAE expectations.Oversee fraud detection, monitoring, and investigation processes, partnering with global fraud and compliance teams.Identify emerging fraud patterns (first-party, third-party, mule activity, identity fraud, social engineering) and implement preventive controls.Lead fraud-related incident reviews, from detection to remediation, and ensure timely regulatory notifications where required.Work with Product, Data, and Engineering to enhance fraud rules, models, and automated controls.Develop fraud KPIs, thresholds, and dashboards; report fraud trends to senior management and the Board.Drive customer education initiatives around fraud prevention and safe usage.Promote a strong risk and fraud-aware culture internally through training, guidance, and cross-functional collaboration.Requirements6+ years’ experience in risk and/or fraud management within fintech, payments, or financial servicesStrong knowledge of CBUAE regulations and practical experience managing regulatory interactions.Proven ability to build and maintain risk and fraud frameworks, controls, and incident management processes.Clear communicator with strong analytical skills and ability to work cross-functionally in fast-paced environments.A good fit for this role isProactive and structured, able to manage multiple risks, fraud alerts, and workstreams independently.Calm and clear thinker who makes sound decisions under pressure.Solutions-oriented, balancing regulatory expectations with practical business needs.Strong communicator who collaborates well across teams and levels.Taptap Values Impact firstTeam nextAccept realityPropose solutionsWin with gritBe proactively candid, with yourself and othersLove the particularOwn itCreate positive energyMaybe, even have funTaptap Send is an equal opportunity employer dedicated to building an inclusive and diverse workforce. All employment decisions are decided on the basis of qualifications, experience and business need. We strongly encourage applications who are members of underrepresented communities to apply.If you require reasonable adjustments to be made during the recruitment process, please do not hesitate to let us know. Any information you provide us in this respect will only be used to accommodate your requirements.Note: we recognize imposter syndrome is real - any candidate that does not perfectly fit every characteristic of this role is still strongly encouraged to apply.