AVP Vendor Oversight

Merrick Bank•South Jordan, UT

13h•Hybrid

About The Position

Join our team and build your career with momentum as we champion your growth, elevate your ideas and engage you in purpose-driven work that makes a real difference every day. Who we are Founded in 1997, Merrick Bank is an FDIC®-insured financial institution headquartered in South Jordan, Utah, with over $10 billion in assets. A wholly owned subsidiary of CardWorks Financial Group, Merrick Bank serves roughly five million cardmembers and more than 100,000 merchant customers nationwide. What we do We provide credit cards, recreational loans, deposit accounts, merchant services and bank sponsorships to consumers and businesses. As a leader in non-prime lending and merchant acquiring, we combine innovative technology with data-driven insights to help underserved consumers build and strengthen credit while delivering integrated, scalable payment solutions for businesses. Merrick Bank ranks among the top 20 FDIC®-insured credit card issuers in the U.S. and among the top 15 merchant acquirers by transaction volume.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required (four (4) years of relevant experience may be considered in lieu of degree).
Five (10+) years of experience in vendor oversight, third-party risk management, operational risk, or banking operations.
Three (3+) years of experience managing managers or leading complex, multi-layered teams.
Strong knowledge of regulatory expectations related to third-party risk management in a regulated financial services environment.
Deep understanding of third-party risk management and First Line Risk principles.
Executive-level leadership presence with the ability to influence across functions.
Strong change leadership and continuous improvement mindset.
Ability to balance risk discipline with business enablement.
Comfort leveraging technology, automation, and AI-enabled solutions.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience designing, building, or transforming First Line Risk or vendor oversight programs.
Credit card servicing or operations experience.
Experience supporting audits, regulatory exams, or supervisory inquiries.

Responsibilities

Serve as the Cards First Line Risk Card owner for the Vendor Oversight Program.
Lead the transition of the Cards vendor oversight program from design and build into full execution and ongoing maturity.
Define and maintain First Line Risk standards, frameworks, and expectations for vendor oversight activities across the Cards business.
Ensure vendor oversight practices align with the Bank’s Third-Party Risk Management Policy and regulatory expectations while preserving clear business ownership.
Lead, mentor, and develop vendor managers and assist the Vendor Engagement Leads, Vendor Relationship Owners responsible for executing vendor oversight activities.
Set strategic direction, priorities, and performance expectations through subordinate leaders.
Establish a strong culture of risk ownership, accountability, transparency, and constructive challenge.
Oversee workforce planning, capacity management, prioritization, and leadership readiness to support program execution.
Enable Cards Business Relationship Owners to successfully source, onboard, manage, and exit third-party vendors.
Define and collaborate on roles, responsibilities, and handoffs between the business, First Line Risk, Second Line Risk, and Vendor Management.
Provide effective First Line Risk challenge on vendor risk assessments, onboarding readiness, performance monitoring, and issue management.
Serve as a trusted partner to business leaders while maintaining appropriate independence and risk discipline.
Collaborate with other First Line Risk teams (Non-Card and Operations) to align vendor oversight processes, standards, and governance.
Promote consistency in risk identification, issue management, reporting, and documentation across First Line Risk.
Share best practices and lessons learned to strengthen the overall First Line Risk operating model.
Establish scalable processes, tracking mechanisms, reporting, and oversight routines for Cards vendor oversight.
Own First Line Risk requirements for tools and systems used to manage vendor oversight activities, including Archer and related reporting solutions.
Partner with technology teams to enhance workflow automation, reporting efficiency, and data quality.
Champion the responsible adoption of emerging technologies, including automation and AI, to improve insight, efficiency, and scalability.
Assist Vendor Engagement Leads and Vendor Relationship Owners with the identification, assessment, escalation, and remediation of vendor-related risks and issues within Cards.
Ensure issues are appropriately risk-rated, documented, tracked, and resolved in a timely manner.
Support audits, regulatory exams, and internal reviews in partnership with the VP of Automated Operations.
Maintain strong governance, documentation, and audit trails supporting First Line Risk oversight activities.
Champion continuous improvement across Cards vendor oversight processes and practices.
Challenge legacy approaches and drive changes aligned with evolving regulatory expectations, industry standards, and business needs.
Lead change management efforts to ensure adoption, understanding, and sustainability of new oversight practices.
Foster an environment that embraces innovation, learning, and adaptability.