Senior Advisor to Head of Assets & Cards – Cards & Payments

Job Title: Senior Advisor to Head of Assets & Cards – Cards & Payments Employment type: Contract (On-site) Contract length: 6 - 12 months Location: Riyadh, KSA PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT We are seeking a seasoned banking professional to serve as a trusted advisor to the Head of Assets & Cards, supporting the development and execution of the business strategy across lending, cards, and payments. This role requires a unique blend of strategic thinking, commercial acumen, and hands-on execution to drive growth, profitability, and market leadership. Core Responsibilities and Accountabilities: Partner with the Head of Assets & Cards to shape and execute the strategic roadmap for the business. Lead and oversee the implementation of key initiatives across retail assets, cards, payments, and digital propositions. Identify market opportunities, customer needs, and emerging trends to drive portfolio growth and enhance customer value propositions. Monitor business performance, portfolio health, profitability, and key KPIs, providing actionable recommendations to achieve targets. Drive cross-functional collaboration across Product, Risk, Finance, Operations, Technology, and Marketing teams to ensure successful delivery of strategic programs. Prepare executive-level business cases, strategic reviews, and management presentations for senior leadership. Build and maintain strong relationships with external partners, payment schemes, fintechs, and other strategic stakeholders. Knowledge and Experience: Deep knowledge of the Saudi banking and payments market. A strong track record across retail assets, cards, payments, digital propositions, portfolio performance, and transformation in the Saudi market. A highly strategic yet execution-oriented leader who can seamlessly translate vision into results. You will possess strong KSA market expertise, executive presence, and a proven ability to deliver growth and transformation across Assets & Cards businesses. Demonstrated success in both strategy development and execution of large-scale business initiatives. Strong understanding of retail lending products, cards, payments, and digital banking ecosystems. Excellent analytical, communication, stakeholder management, and leadership skills. Mandatory Skills: Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Business Administration, Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field (Master's preferred). Previous experience within Banking, Digital Payment & Card solutions or the FinTech industry. Regional experience, including working in a faced-paced matrix organisation. Excellent communication skills in English (written, verbal, and presentation); Arabic preferred. Preferred Skills: The ability to analyse data, troubleshoot payment issues, optimize processes, and make data-driven decisions. Good understanding of payment systems, digital platforms, system workflows, security basics, and industry technologies. An understanding of regional regulations across financial services or payment networks. Show more Show less