Principal Risk Manager

ID
2026-26467
Category
Product Management
Position Type
Full Time
Location : Location
US-Remote

About Blackhawk Network:

Today, through BHN’s single global platform, businesses of all kinds can tap into the world’s largest network of branded payment solutions. BHN helps businesses grow revenue, increase loyalty, motivate and reward their teams, disburse funds and engage consumers. Branded payment solutions include the issuance and distribution of gift cards, egifts, corporate payouts and rewards, along with the technology to deliver these products in seamless, integrated ways. BHN’s network spans the globe with more than 400,000 consumer touchpoints. Learn more at BHN.com.

Overview:

BHN Risk Management is seeking a Manager of Risk to lead multiple high-priority initiatives within the fraud prevention and risk advisory function. This is a builder role: the successful candidate will not inherit a steady-state operation but will instead design, stand up, and operate capabilities that are new or nascent, while delivering against active service commitments to retail partners.

 

The work spans proactive fraud investigation, partner-facing risk advisory, and the operational buildout of capabilities that do not yet exist in their final form. Day to day, this means investigating organized fraud threats and managing cases through full resolution, detecting emerging fraud patterns and translating them into actionable intelligence for retail partners, and supporting the delivery of BHN's commercial risk advisory program across an expanding partner portfolio.

 

The common thread across all of it is a commitment to being ahead of the problem rather than behind it: identifying risk early, acting on it decisively, and equipping partners to do the same. The right candidate brings investigative depth, operational discipline, and the cross-functional credibility to drive outcomes across Legal, Data Engineering, Account Management, Compliance, and external retail partners. Prior experience building investigative or risk programs at scale is essential.

Responsibilities:

Fraud Investigation & Case Management

  • Lead complex fraud investigations from intake through resolution: including evidence gathering, pattern analysis, threat actor attribution, and formal case documentation with defined lifecycle stages and closure standards
  • Identify and connect fraud activity across multiple vectors, data sources, and external infrastructure to surface patterns that are not apparent in any single dataset
  • Manage a structured case tracking system that supports both operational resolution and downstream law enforcement referral
  • Coordinate takedown and remediation actions with domain registrars, hosting providers, platform trust and safety teams, payment processors, and search engines
  • Build and maintain a law enforcement referral pipeline for cases meeting criminal thresholds, including working relationships with HSI, USPS Inspection Service, and other relevant agencies
  • Continuously refine investigative methodology as the threat landscape evolves, ensuring detection and response capabilities keep pace with threat actor adaptation

 

Proactive Detection & Intelligence

  • Build and maintain surveillance workflows across transaction data, dispute feeds, activation decline signals, and external threat intelligence sources to detect emerging fraud patterns before they reach standard reporting thresholds
  • Conduct investigative triage on detected signals: confirming fraud patterns, assessing scope and exposure, and determining urgency and appropriate response before action is taken
  • Develop and deliver structured, partner-facing fraud intelligence outputs: including alerts, briefings, and risk assessments: that are actionable, precisely scoped, and timely
  • Produce recurring intelligence reports synthesizing threat trends across the partner portfolio, including forward-looking risk assessments for leadership and enrolled partners
  • Establish feedback loops from detection and alert outcomes back into surveillance logic, scoring parameters, and response protocols: ensuring the function improves measurably over time
  • Collaborate with Data Engineering to develop and refine detection logic, and with Account Management on partner communication standards and engagement protocols

 

Partner Risk Advisory & Program Delivery

  • Manage ongoing risk advisory relationships with retail partners: monitoring their fraud posture, delivering proactive recommendations, and ensuring service commitments are met consistently
  • Support the design and delivery of structured risk management services across a tiered partner engagement model, including onboarding, scoping, and ongoing service execution
  • Develop operational infrastructure for risk advisory engagements where BHN carries elevated accountability, including risk controls, escalation pathways, and performance reporting
  • Coordinate partner onboarding workflows and intake processes as the enrolled partner base grows
  • Deliver retailer-specific risk reporting with recommended partner-side actions and clear, professional communication throughout the engagement lifecycle

 

Program Building & Cross-Functional Execution

  • Design and operationalize new risk management capabilities from concept to execution: including defining workflows, documentation standards, reporting cadences, and performance metrics
  • Drive cross-functional alignment across Legal, Finance, Compliance, Data Engineering, and Account Management to advance program objectives without direct authority over those functions
  • Produce service design documentation, internal reporting, and partner-facing materials that accurately represent program scope, performance, and value
  • Track and report program metrics to leadership on a recurring basis, with clear attribution to outcomes and honest assessment of gaps
  • Contribute to commercial program alignment: including service design, pricing support, and stakeholder coordination: as new risk advisory offerings are developed and launched

Qualifications:

Required

  • 15+ years of experience in fraud investigation, risk management, financial crimes, or a related discipline, with demonstrated leadership over investigative programs, risk functions, or cross-functional initiatives
  • Proven track record building and scaling structured programs or operational capabilities from concept to execution, with ownership of outcomes at the program or function level
  • Experience conducting or managing complex investigations with external coordination components (law enforcement, platform partners, registrars, or similar)
  • Strong analytical skills with the ability to detect meaningful patterns across large transaction, dispute, or behavioral datasets
  • Demonstrated cross-functional effectiveness: ability to drive outcomes across Legal, Compliance, Technology, and business stakeholders without direct authority
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to produce partner-facing alerts, executive summaries, and investigative reports that are clear, precise, and actionable
  • Experience managing external partner or customer relationships in a risk, compliance, or advisory capacity

 

Preferred

  • Direct experience with gift card fraud, prepaid card fraud, or payment fraud in a retail or fintech environment
  • Familiarity with brand abuse investigations: including domain analysis, takedown workflows, and threat actor attribution techniques
  • Experience designing or operating fraud intelligence or alert programs that produce partner or customer-facing outputs
  • Prior work within a multi-tier service or managed services model (e.g., tiered advisory, risk-as-a-service, or MOR engagements)
  • Established relationships with law enforcement agencies involved in financial crimes investigation (HSI, USPS Inspection Service, FBI, Secret Service, or state-level equivalents)
  • Experience working within or alongside commercial program launches, including service design, partner onboarding, and contract or SLA alignment
  • Background in program building at a large-scale retailer, payment network, or fraud prevention technology company

Benefits:

Salary Range for California Residents Only: $180,7300.00 to $244,000.00

Salary Range for Illinois Residents Only: $144,770.00 to $195,450.00

 

Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to education, work experience, certifications, etc. In addition to your salary, Blackhawk Network offers benefits including 401k with employer match, medical, dental, vision, 12 paid holidays in the year 2026, 1 hour of sick pay accrual for every 30 hours worked, parental leave, life insurance, disability insurance, accident and illness insurance, health and dependent care flexible spending accounts, wellness benefits, and flexible time off for all full-time employees. 

EEO Statement:

Blackhawk Network provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.  Blackhawk Network believes that diversity leads to strength. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

 

Blackhawk Network encourages applicants with previous criminal records to apply to all positions and, pursuant to the San Francisco and Los Angeles Fair Chance Acts (and other “Fair Chance” laws), Blackhawk Network will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.  For Philadelphia applicants or jobs, please see a copy of Philadelphia’s ordinance on this topic by clicking this link: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/philadelphia/latest/philadelphia_pa/0-0-0-280104

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