Director, Governance and Regulatory Management

At American Express, our culture is built on a 175-year history of innovation, shared values and Leadership Behaviors, and an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities, and colleagues. As part of Team Amex, you'll experience this powerful backing with comprehensive support for your holistic well-being and many opportunities to learn new skills, develop as a leader, and grow your career.

Here, your voice and ideas matter, your work makes an impact, and together, you will help us define the future of American Express.

Global Merchant & Network Services (GMNS) brings together American Express' merchant-and network related businesses to enable a sharp focus on using the power of our network to provide unique value to all our mutual customers. The organization manages the relationships with the millions of merchants around the world that accepts American Express and runs the company’s payment network and manages bank partnerships globally.

The objective of the GMNS Control Management Governance team is to establish the Operational Risk and Controls strategy for GMNS, set up a foundational governance structure that ensures operational risks are identified, assessed, and managed in compliance with enterprise Operational Risk Management programs and reporting.

GMNS is looking for a Director of Governance to lead a diverse team of high-performing professionals focused on ensuring control management is embedded in the day-to-day operations of our organization. It will involve extensive collaboration with multiple partners across numerous business units, functional areas, and geographies.

The Director, Governance and Regulatory Management will:

• Develop execution plans for operational risk management within the business unit (BU), including BU specific guidelines, project plans, etc.
• Track and identify issues with KRI limits and risk appetite for GMNS to ensure operational risks are managed within agreed thresholds, and leverage these metrics to detect significant or concerning rises in emerging problems, e.g., upticks in reload complaints, then escalate and flag concerns accordingly
• Implement the operational risk framework to enable effective risk management and decision making in the BU
• Lead risk and controls governance forums for GMNS, interfacing with org-wide governance processes and committees (e.g., Operational Risk Management Committee) and share insights and lessons learned across forums (e.g., Community of Practice)
• Create BU-specific procedures and additional standards (i.e., escalation protocols), related to the execution of the Operational Risk Management programs
• Facilitate the understanding and use of the risk governance framework across BUs through regular communication (e.g., Communities of Practice)
• Support the day-to-day internal and external exam management process, working with the Enterprise functions (e.g., data request compilation, action implementation, and regulatory adherence)
• Aggregate reporting, approvals/exceptions and support "change-the-function" activities for the BU
• Develop and administer implementation of comprehensive training initiatives and clear career progression plans that align with Operational Risk Management
• Establish processes to ensure and monitor the integration of regulatory changes & updates into the Operational Risk framework and training materials
• Be a key leader for sharing insights, better practices, themes, etc. across the enterprise

Required Qualifications:

• 6+ Years experience in operational risk management (e.g., within Risk and/or Internal Audit function) Understanding of critical operational risk management lifecycle activities
• Excellent project management, communication, and interpersonal skills, with an ability to interact and obtain buy-in from senior BU/tech counterparts
• Expertise in process governance, with a track record of establishing and overseeing robust decision-making processes that align with policies, regulatory frameworks, and/or operational standards
• Experience within financial services industry
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with an ability to analyze data, identify trends, and evaluate risk scenarios effectively
• Demonstrated history and ability to manage large teams, spread over geographies and with varying backgrounds

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in finance, Business, Risk Mgmt., or related field; advanced degrees (e.g., MBA, MSc) or certifications are advantageous
• Experience in at least one of the following:
• Translating operational risk strategy and appetite into execution guidelines
• Tracking and identifying issues with Key Risk Indicator (KRI) limits and risk appetite to ensure operational risks are managed within agreed thresholds
• Implementing the operational risk governance frameworks
• Creating, communicating and ensuring understanding and adherence to operational risk procedures and standards
• Supporting the operational risk exam management processes
• ORMCM

Annual Range: $130,000.00 to $225,000.00 annually + bonus + equity (if applicable) + benefits

Employment eligibility to work with American Express in the U.S. is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for this position

The above represents the expected salary range for this job requisition. Ultimately, in determining your pay, we’ll consider your location, experience, and other job-related factors.

We back you with benefits that support your holistic well-being so you can be and deliver your best. This means caring for you and your loved ones' physical, financial, and mental health, as well as providing the flexibility you need to thrive personally and professionally:

• Competitive base salaries
• Bonus incentives
• 6% Company Match on retirement savings plan
• Free financial coaching and financial well-being support
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits
• Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need
• 20+ weeks paid parental leave for all parents, regardless of gender, offered for pregnancy, adoption or surrogacy
• Free access to global on-site wellness centers staffed with nurses and doctors (depending on location)
• Free and confidential counseling support through our Healthy Minds program
• Career development and training opportunities

For a full list of Team Amex benefits, visit our Colleague Benefits Site.

American Express is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability status, age, or any other status protected by law. American Express will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with arrest or conviction records, in accordance with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including, but not limited to, the California Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. For positions covered by federal and/or state banking regulations, American Express will comply with such regulations as it relates to the consideration of applicants with criminal convictions.

We back our colleagues with the support they need to thrive, professionally and personally. That's why we have Amex Flex, our enterprise working model that provides greater flexibility to colleagues while ensuring we preserve the important aspects of our unique in-person culture. Depending on role and business needs, colleagues will either work onsite, in a hybrid model (combination of in-office and virtual days) or fully virtually.

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Employment eligibility to work with American Express in the United States is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for these positions.