Head of Fraud in London

About Cleo

At Cleo, we’re not just building another fintech app. We’re embarking on a mission to fundamentally change humanity’s relationship with money. Imagine a world where everyone, regardless of background or income, has access to a hyper‑intelligent financial advisor in their pocket. That’s the future we’re creating. Cleo is a rare success story: a profitable, fast‑growing unicorn with over $300 million in ARR and growing over 2x year‑over‑year. This isn’t just a job; it’s a chance to join a team of brilliant, driven individuals who are passionate about making a real difference.

The Role

As Head of Fraud, you’ll lead Cleo’s fraud strategy across our business, with a primary focus on the US that will increase in scope as we launch in new geographies. You’ll be the senior voice on fraud across the company: setting direction, owning execution, and serving as the figurehead for everything fraud‑related across debit, credit, identity, and operational risk. This is a hands‑on, first‑line‑of‑defense role. You’ll bring the experience and judgement to make confident decisions on US card regulations, KYC requirements, and the regulatory nuances that matter at scale — and you’ll be deep in the detail, working closely with Credit, Product, Engineering, and Operations to shape how fraud risk is measured, managed, and reduced day to day.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead Cleo’s fraud strategy across all three vectors: transaction fraud (debit and credit), identity fraud (ATO, synthetic identities, KYC), and operational fraud (chargeback management, dispute investigation).
• Set the long‑term direction for fraud at Cleo, shaping how we detect, prevent, and respond to risk as we scale across markets.
• Define and own the shared frameworks that sit between fraud and credit — clear definitions, boundary conditions, and a single source of truth for how we measure fraud and dispute outcomes.
• Own the analytical case behind fraud guardrails and thresholds — quantifying loss exposure, justifying targets in basis points, and articulating the trade‑offs between fraud loss, decline rates, and customer experience.
• Lead investigations and post‑incident analysis — pulling apart what worked, what didn’t, and what we change as a result.
• Lead vendor evaluation and selection for fraud detection and KYC tools — you’ll know the market and have strong views on what works.
• Own chargeback processes and fraud investigation workflows, ensuring our operational fraud function is tight, scalable, and fit for the next phase of growth.
• Quantify the impact of fraud controls across the full cost stack: fraud loss, decline rate, customer service load, and customer friction — and use that to make informed buy‑vs‑build and policy decisions.
• Ensure compliance with US card regulations, BSA/AML requirements, and FCA expectations as the UK market comes into scope.
• Report fraud performance and risk posture to senior leadership; contribute to board‑level risk conversations.

Must Haves / What We’re Looking For

• First‑line‑of‑defense fraud experience — you’ve done the thing, not just overseen it.
• Experience across both debit and credit transaction fraud.
• Identity fraud expertise: ATO, synthetic identities, KYC platform management.
• Operational fraud experience: chargeback investigation and management.
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills — comfortable defending a guardrail or threshold with data, not just intuition.
• Track record of working closely with credit risk teams and aligning on shared metrics, definitions, and trade‑offs.
• US market fraud experience — familiar with US card regulations, CFPB, and the regulatory differences vs. UK.
• Background in fintech with lending or credit products (not just pure payments).
• Vendor evaluation experience — you know the fraud tooling landscape and can make strong buy vs. build decisions.
• Track record of shaping fraud strategy and frameworks at scale.
• Senior gravitas and consensus‑building ability — you can align product, ops, credit, and compliance teams.
• 10+ years in fraud or financial crime.

Nice to Have

• UK fraud and FCA regulatory knowledge.
• Disputes and chargeback management experience in a card‑oriented business.
• Relevant certifications (CFE, CAMS, CFCS).

What You Get

• A competitive compensation package (base + equity) with 3‑yearly reviews, aligned to our termly OKR planning cycles.
• Work at one of the fastest‑growing tech startups, backed by top VC firms, Balderton & EQT Ventures.
• A clear progression plan. We want you to keep growing. That means trying new things, leading others, challenging the status‑quo and owning your impact.
• Flexibility. We work with everyone to make sure they have the balance they need to do their best work.
• Work where you work best. We’re a globally distributed team.
• Company‑wide performance reviews every 4 months.
• Generous pay increases for high‑performing team members.
• 25 days annual leave a year + public holidays (+ an additional day for every year you spend at Cleo, up to 30 days).
• 6% employer‑matched pension in the UK.
• Private Medical Insurance via Vitality, dental cover, and life assurance.
• Enhanced parental leave.
• 1 month paid sabbatical after 4 years at Cleo.
• Regular socials and activities, online and in‑person.
• Online mental health support via Spill.