Head of Fraud Prevention

**Why should you join dLocal?**

dLocal enables the biggest companies in the world to collect payments in 40 countries in emerging markets. Global brands rely on us to increase conversion rates and simplify payment expansion effortlessly. As both a payments processor and a merchant of record where we operate, we make it possible for our merchants to make inroads into the world’s fastest-growing, emerging markets.

By joining us you will be a part of an amazing global team that makes it all happen, in a flexible, remote-first dynamic culture with travel, health and learning benefits, among others. Being a part of dLocal means working with 1000+ teammates from 30+ different nationalities and developing an international career that impacts millions of people’s daily lives. We are builders, we never run from a challenge, we are customer-centric, and if this sounds like you, we know you will thrive in our team.

**What's the opportunity?**

As our Head of Fraud Operations, you will lead and consolidate our global Fraud Ops team, owning real-time fraud operations, alert handling, and the evolution of our fraud stack. This role blends hands-on operational excellence with strong people leadership and a product mindset to modernize how we detect, review, and respond to fraud, moving from manual workflows to AI/ML-driven, scalable processes.

You will own the Alert Management Platform, drive automation of alert handling, and position Fraud Ops as the central hub for operational fraud requirements from Product, Data, IT, CS, Commercial, Compliance, and others. A core part of the mandate is to stabilize, rebuild, and elevate the team’s professionalism, accountability, ownership, and collaboration after a period of turnover and change.

**What will I be doing?**:

- **Strategic Transformation**

Define and deliver the vision and roadmap for the next generation of our alert platform (coverage, routing, prioritization, UI/UX, integrations, observability).

Drive automation of alert handling (AI/ML, rules, workflows) to reduce manual review and focus analysts on edge cases and high-impact decisions.

Measure and improve automation coverage, precision/recall, fraud losses, conversion, and operating cost.

Structure Fraud Ops as the **single intake and coordination point** for operational fraud-related requests, with standardized intake, prioritization, SLAs, and follow-up.
- **Operational Excellence & Risk Management**

Own core Fraud Ops KPIs (SLAs, queue health, quality scores, false positives, incident response times) and drive continuous improvement.

Ensure robust incident management: defined severities, on-call model, incident communication, and action-oriented post-mortems.

Link operational decisions to **risk appetite and P&L impact**, balancing fraud losses, conversion, and cost.

Ensure processes are **auditable and compliant** with regulatory, scheme, and internal requirements.
- **People Leadership & Team Consolidation**

Design and implement the **Fraud Ops organization model** (roles, structure, shifts, locations) to ensure clear ownership and 24/7 coverage.

Stabilize and **rebuild the team**: close key hiring gaps, develop team leads, and set clear expectations and KPIs for analysts and managers.

Raise the bar on **professionalism, accountability, and ownership** through operating principles, performance management, and strong operational routines (stand-ups, reviews, post-mortems).

Rebuild **trust, communication, and collaboration** within Fraud Ops and with partner teams through clear interfaces, transparent communication, and consistent follow-through.

**What skills do I need?**:

- Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Engineering, Statistics, or a related field; a Master’s degree is a strong plus.
- Extensive experience in Fraud Prevention within fintech, payments, banking, or digital financial services, with ownership of end-to-end fraud strategy across products and markets.
- Proven track record leading and scaling global teams across multiple regions and time zones.
- Deep understanding of fintech fraud typologies and experience designing preventive and detective controls.
- Demonstrated success in defining, monitoring, and optimizing Fraud KPIs and SLAs, balancing fraud loss, customer experience, and regulatory expectations.
- Highly analytical, data-driven leader with a strong passion for pattern detection, automation, and continuous improvement.
- Intermediate level of SQL with hands-on experience.
- Strategic yet hands-on leadership style, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders and partner closely with Product, Engineering, Risk, and Compliance teams.
- Highly motivated, proactive, and collaborative leader who fosters a strong ownership culture in fast-paced, high-growth environments.
- Fluency in English (spoken and written); Spanish is a plus but not required.
- This role requires availability within EMEA time zones.

**What do we offer?**

Besides the tailored benefits we have for eac