Associate Director, External Fraud Prevention
Optus is an Australian telecommunications company, delivering more than 11 million services to our customers daily across mobile, broadband and digital solutions. Lead the strategic direction of external fraud prevention at Optus, overseeing identity fraud, scams, payments, and application fraud across customer-facing channels.
As a senior leader in the Fraud & Identity function, you'll define fraud risk policy, control frameworks and detection strategies to protect customers and minimise financial loss. This role combines deep fraud expertise with strategic leadership, driving model‑based detection, rules‑driven controls and data‑led insights. You'll collaborate across Technology, Product, Operations and Regulatory teams to embed fraud controls, balancing risk, compliance, efficiency and customer experience.
What you'll do
* Define and execute fraud strategy aligned with enterprise risk appetite, including policy, controls and roadmap.
* Lead fraud model and rule performance, overseeing real‑time detection, scoring and proactive typology analysis.
* Drive governance and audit readiness, managing documentation, change control and committee engagement.
* Collaborate cross‑functionally with product, technology and operations to embed fraud controls and guide delivery.
* Manage fraud portfolio performance, prioritising model and rule requirements and coordinating response strategies.
* Represent fraud risk in senior forums, shaping updates, influencing customer experience and escalating material events.
What makes you perfect for the role
* Degree in Business, IT, Risk, Data Science, Analytics or a related field.
* Fraud risk leadership: 8+ years' experience in fraud risk roles, with a proven track record of leading enterprise‑wide initiatives and engaging with regulators and executives.
* Model & rule implementation: Demonstrated success working with data science teams to deploy fraud models and rules into production.
* Fraud detection expertise: Strong understanding of fraud detection methods, rule engines, real‑time decisioning and customer fraud types including identity, application and payment fraud.
* Systems & data proficiency: Skilled in fraud case management, intelligence systems and behavioural, device and transaction data; familiar with identity verification, payment systems and cloud platforms like Databricks.
* Leadership & strategic thinking: Strong leadership, crisis management, stakeholder influence, strategic and commercial acumen and deep knowledge of risk governance and compliance.
What's in it for you
* Competitive remuneration and employee discounts – $80 monthly credit, 25% off Optus products and unique shopping discounts with retail partners.
* Flexible working arrangements – opportunities to work three days in the office, two days remote or home.
* Vibrant and collaborative office campus with cafes, convenience store, chill‑out zones, GP, post office, gym and on‑site childcare centre.
* Competitive leave policies, including additional 'Connected' days to focus on culture, family, health, community or whatever's important to you.
* Inclusive, carer‑neutral paid parental leave of up to 16 weeks.
* Direct your own development and build future‑ready skills with Optus U's industry‑focused micro‑credentials, developed with La Trobe and Macquarie Universities.
* Build meaningful connections through employee‑led networks and diversity initiatives – Culture Connect, Elevate Women, Disability Network and Express Yourself (LGBTQIA+).
* Put your wellbeing first – free access to counselling and support services, 24/7 in‑person, by phone, SMS or video.
* Free Optus bus from Macquarie University Metro Station (every 6‑8 minutes); morning and afternoon (Sydney Office only).
At Optus, we are strengthened by others and that means valuing diversity and saying 'yes' to embracing individual differences. We are committed to ensuring that our application process provides an equal employment opportunity to all job seekers, including individuals from diverse gender, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, individuals with a disability, individuals identifying as being part of the LGBTQIA+ community, individuals who may have served in the armed forces or who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. We also want to do our best to make our recruitment process inclusive. If you require any adjustments or accessibility support to participate fairly and equitably in the recruitment process, please email or call. We're here to help. When you contact us, please advise your preferred method of contact and we will be in touch within 48 hours.
For more information on Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging at Optus, please visit
Seniority level
* Director
Employment type
* Full-time
Job function
* Finance and Sales
Industries
* Telecommunications
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