Director - Credit Product Lead, CEMEA

About the Role
The Director, Credit Product Lead for CEMEA will define and lead the company's regional credit product agenda across Central Europe, Middle East and Africa. This role involves close collaboration with Regional and market leadership, Product, Advisory, Analytics, Risk, and other cross-functional partners to promote sustainable credit growth across a diverse range of markets. Credit growth is crucial to the company's 2030 strategy, and CEMEA represents a high-potential area for this growth. The role will identify priority markets, customer segments, and product propositions for the next three to five years, enabling the company to capture a significant share of the expanding global credit card issuance market.

This position will translate strategic ambitions into a practical regional strategy and market-level execution plans by leveraging the company's network, data, products, advisory capabilities, and partnerships to expand responsible access to credit and enhance client economics.

Directors in Product Development/Management at the company are responsible for leading the development, commercialization, and optimization of technology products within the payments ecosystem. Candidates should possess deep expertise in product strategy, design, and execution, focusing on delivering innovative solutions that meet customer needs and promote business growth. Operating in complex, matrixed environments, Directors will collaborate across functions to define product goals, manage lifecycles, and ensure successful launches and ongoing enhancements.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own and drive the CEMEA credit product strategy, including market prioritization, segment choices, product roadmap, and commercial model with a three-to-five-year growth agenda.
• Drive multiple levers of credit growth across diverse CEMEA markets, which span established credit businesses and emerging markets with high potential.
• Accelerate credit adoption in emerging markets by enabling new-to-credit consumers and issuers through innovative and non-traditional credit products and propositions. This may include instalment-led, secured, ecosystem-based, and alternative underwriting models that broaden access to responsible credit.
• Support clients with the necessary capabilities to build, launch, and scale sustainable credit businesses, covering areas such as proposition design, acquisition, underwriting, and portfolio strategy, with a focus on driving usage and risk-adjusted profitability.
• Develop structured client upskilling programs using the company's expertise, data, advisory support, playbooks, and best market practices, tailored to the maturity and regulatory context of individual CEMEA markets.
• Build market-level opportunity assessments and business cases using consumer research, the company's data, competitive intelligence, portfolio economics, and regulatory insights; convert these into clear investment and execution priorities.
• Collaborate with Country Management, Sales, Product, Consulting and Analytics, Risk, Marketing, Finance, Legal, Government Engagement, and regional product teams to secure alignment and deliver coordinated execution.
• Engage senior client stakeholders at financial institutions/fintechs, regulators, and ecosystem partners to identify barriers to credit expansion and develop scalable solutions.
• Establish performance metrics and governance for the regional credit agenda, track pipeline and portfolio outcomes, and provide regular updates and recommendations to CEMEA leadership.
• Act as a trusted advisor and subject-matter expert on card and payments-linked credit, sharing global and regional best practices and representing CEMEA in global credit product forums.

Qualifications

• 12 or more years of experience, including 5+ years in building and managing cards and payments-linked credit businesses, with accountability for strategy, product development, portfolio performance, and commercial outcomes.
• Deep understanding of the credit value chain, encompassing customer segmentation, proposition design, acquisition, underwriting, portfolio and line management, pricing, activation, engagement, collections, risk, and profitability.
• Strong knowledge of payments economics and lending business P&L; experience across multiple CEMEA markets or comparable emerging and developed markets is highly desirable.
• Proven ability to translate strategy into market-level execution, including prioritization, business-case development, product launch, client commercialization, and performance management.
• Strong client leadership and executive communication skills, able to influence senior internal and external stakeholders across different cultures and market contexts.
• Strategic thinking, strong analytical capability, and financial acumen, confident using data to frame opportunities, make trade-offs, and measure outcomes.
• Track record of leading complex, cross-functional initiatives in a matrixed organization and delivering against demanding timelines.
• Self-directed, collaborative, and comfortable operating in a fast-paced, evolving environment with a broad regional remit.
• Bachelor’s degree required; an MBA or other relevant postgraduate qualification is preferred.

Additional Information
The company is an EEO Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or protected veteran status. The company will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with EEOC guidelines and applicable local law.