JOB DESCRIPTION FOR:
Senior Director Risk
When Values are made explicit, they provide clarity on what “good” looks like. And when they are shared, they build unity in a group. They build culture.
Think customer first. We obsess about adding value for our customers - guests, partners, colleagues - to make it easier for everyone to experience the world.
Own it. We deliver on our promises, make informed decisions and prioritize to get the important things done today.
Learn forever. We are resilient, take time to reflect, and seek to learn – from colleagues, from the outside world and from our failures.
Succeed together. We celebrate team success, through making connections, building trust and valuing the diverse perspectives of others.
Do the right thing. We get the right results the right way. For each other, our communities and the world around us.
Senior Director Risk
Responsibilities:
We are looking to hire this role ins Amsterdam, and are looking for someone who will develop a team of ~50FTE.
Lead & encourage: Lead and develop a high-performing central risk team while encouraging risk capabilities across the broader organization.
Thought Leadership: You will act as an inspiring leader, driving the development and evolution of risk management practices at Booking.com, setting the strategic direction for risk management across the business.
Strategic advisory: Advise senior leaders and first-line management on risk-based decision-making, ensuring risk is effectively coordinated into our annual planning, key company priorities, and daily operations.
Risk Oversight & Governance: Lead all aspects of the company’s risk portfolio and risk profile, supporting the CEO and CFO. Guide on risk appetite, governance, ensuring a unified and strategic approach to risks across all areas of the business. As the Secretary to the Booking.com Risk Committee, you will play a vital role in facilitating robust and clear discussions on risk appetite and risk related decisions, as well as governance.
Build and mature Risk Capabilities: Improve frameworks, processes, policies, and tools to support scalable and tech-enabled practices. Drive adoption of best practices across the business.
Promoting Risk Culture & Risk Ownership: You will lead and accelerate initiatives that cultivate a strong risk culture within the company, championing a strong risk approach, making risk a core element of company culture and decision making. Promote risk accountability within business teams and ensure risk is considered in commercial, product, and strategic decisions.
Support Strategic Priorities: You and your team will advise on the application of risk frameworks to critical initiatives, challenge assessments, and accelerate robust control design for effective risk mitigation.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with stakeholders across product, tech, legal, compliance, security, finance and Booking Holdings to align on risk strategies and approach.
Ideal Experience & Skills:
Substantial and shown experience in enterprise and operational risk management. Preferred experience outside traditional finance/SOX-heavy roles, with a combination of risk management, business/commercial management and compliance. Strong background in tech or platform-based organizations (e.g., e-commerce, FinTech, digital products). Ability to align risk practices with speed, agility and digital innovation.
Experience in developing an organisational culture where risk management and risk-based decision making is integral to running the business.
Experience leading risk transformation, with a focus on culture, structure, and business ownership.
Deep familiarity with risk integration frameworks, enabling unified, enterprise-wide views of risk through systems thinking and structured governance.
Consistent track record to work cross-functionally with product, tech, commercial, compliance, and security teams to integrate risk into fast-paced product delivery environments.
Executive-level stakeholder management experience with C-suite and senior leaders (e.g. CFO, Risk Committee, VPs), with a strong ability to influence and gain consensus building strong business relations.
Skilled communicator with business storytelling abilities, inspiring; convincing risk leader capable of translating sophisticated risk topics into compelling narratives that drive decision-making.
JOBS TO BE DONE / OBJECTIVES:
Lead the risk management transformation to match Booking.com’s global scale (fit for size), fast digital innovation pace and growing regulations
Empower and support teams across functions to own and embed risk, making it a core part of e.g. strategic, product, and operational business decisions.
Integrate risk activities into one well-rounded unified enterprise risk view, forward-looking risk framework that supports leadership decision-making.
Shift the perception of risk to a value-driving strategic enabling function that accelerates agility, growth and resilience.
OTHER PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS
Strategic and systems thinker with strong business and technology savvy; able to bring clarity to complexity and connect the dots across the enterprise.
Collaborative and inclusive leader who empowers others, promotes shared accountability, and builds alignment across complementary teams.
Pragmatic, with the adaptability to lead through change and transformation whilst sustaining performance in a dynamic environment.
Role models values and drives high performance through cultural and structural change. Adaptable to a changing environment.
Persuasive communicator and storyteller who can influence senior stakeholders and reposition risk as a strategic enabler.
- Purposeful and impact-focused, with strong self-awareness, resilience, and the ability to encourage and influence at all levels.
Key Skills
Change Management, Culture, Ethics & People Leadership
Pre-Employment Screening
If your application is successful, your personal data may be used for a pre-employment screening check by a third party as permitted by applicable law. Depending on the vacancy and applicable law, a pre-employment screening may include employment history, education and other information (such as media information) that may be necessary for determining your qualifications and suitability for the position.
