Business Governance Manager

Bank of America • Pennington, AL

1d

About The Position

Merrill Wealth Management is a leading provider of comprehensive wealth management and investment products and services for individuals, companies, and institutions. Merrill Wealth Management is one of the largest businesses of its kind in the world specializing in goals-based wealth management, including planning for retirement, education, legacy, and other life goals through investment advice and guidance. Merrill’s Financial Advisors and Wealth Management Client Associates help clients pursue the life they envision through a personal relationship with their advisory team committed to their needs. We believe trust comes from transparency. Our trusted advisory teams are equipped with access to the investment insights of Merrill coupled with the banking convenience of Bank of America. Merrill is committed to an in-office culture with specific requirements for office-based attendance and which allows for an appropriate level of flexibility for our teammates and businesses based on role-specific considerations. At Merrill, we empower you to bring your whole self to work. We value diversity in our thoughts, business, and within our employees and clients. Our Wealth Management team represents an array of different backgrounds and bring their unique perspectives, ideas and experiences, helping to create a work community that is culture driven, resilient, results focused and effective. Internal employees who are currently working from home are still eligible to apply. However, if selected for the role, you may be required to work onsite in accordance with the workplace excellence policy. Job Description: This job is responsible for implementing and monitoring operational risk management policies, procedures, standards and programs with enterprise-wide impact mindset and or focused for specific departments within a business group. Key responsibilities include in depth knowledge and expertise of risk to be able to strategically support business managers and peers to follow enforced risk/regulatory practices. Job expectations include balancing business strategy with appropriate risk management controls and strong communication skills with teammates and impacted parties. The Business Governance Manager is an individual contributor within the Merrill Private Wealth, International & Institutional organization, responsible for first-line governance and business controls oversight that enables safe, scalable growth. The role partners closely with business leadership, GWIM Governance, and Enterprise control functions to maintain a strong governance framework, ensure regulatory readiness, and support disciplined execution across the organization. The role has dual scope. First, it provides targeted governance and business controls oversight for newer and evolving Private Wealth businesses, supporting the establishment and maturation of foundational governance capabilities. This includes policy and procedure development, Single Process Inventory (SPI) build-out, and implementation of appropriate oversight and control routines. The groups supported include the Private Sales Referral Network (PSRN), Direct Markets Coverage Desk (DMC), Lending Solutions Group (LSG), and the Brokerage and Advisory Solutions Group. Second, the role holds enterprise-wide governance responsibility across Private Wealth, International & Institutional for Privacy, Global Records Management (GRM), third-party/vendor governance, and product governance. Across both dimensions, the role balances strong risk management with operational efficiency—designing governance routines that mitigate risk while creating scale, capacity, and flexibility to support business growth and increased revenue. The Business Governance Manager operates through influence, subject-matter expertise, and execution discipline in a highly matrixed environment, without direct people management responsibility.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in business governance, controls, operational risk, or a related discipline
• Demonstrated experience providing governance and business controls oversight, including building or maturing policies, procedures, and process inventories
• Proven experience leading audits, regulatory exams, and issue remediation efforts
• Strong understanding of governance frameworks, risk management, and control environments within a large, complex organization
• Proven ability to lead complex, cross-functional initiatives as a senior individual contributor through influence and partnership
• Excellent written, verbal, and executive-level communication skills, with the ability to translate complex risk concepts into clear, actionable insights
• Strong organizational and execution skills; ability to bring structure and clarity to ambiguous or evolving work
• Bachelor’s degree preferred; MBA or advanced degree preferred

Nice To Haves

• Experience within Wealth Management, Private Wealth, or a related financial services business
• Familiarity with Privacy, Records Management, third-party/vendor risk, and product governance standards
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, particularly PowerPoint and Excel
• Skills: Governance & Business Controls Risk Management Policy and Procedure Development Privacy, Records, Vendor, and Product Governance Stakeholder & Executive Engagement Process Design & Improvement Project & Program Execution Business Analysis Clear, Influential Communication Attention to Detail Controls Management Innovative Thinking Policies, Procedures, and Guidelines Management Risk Management Business Process Analysis Decision Making Issue Management Problem Solving Written Communications

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary governance and business controls oversight partner for newer and evolving Private Wealth groups, including PSRN, DMC, LSG, and the Brokerage and Advisory Solutions Group
• Build and maintain foundational governance artifacts for covered businesses, including policies, procedures, Single Process Inventories (SPIs), and oversight and control routines
• Provide enterprise-wide first-line governance oversight for Privacy, Global Records Management (GRM), third-party/vendor governance, and product governance
• Establish and execute product governance routines, including product inventory oversight, periodic assessments, and adherence to product governance standards
• Serve as the primary point of contact for Privacy and Regulatory Change Management initiatives
• Lead coordination of audits, targeted risk assessments, and regulatory exams, including end-to-end ownership of issue identification, remediation, and closure
• Partner closely with GWIM and Enterprise control functions (Risk, Compliance, Legal, Audit) to ensure regulatory, policy, and governance adherence
• Develop and deliver executive-level materials that articulate governance strategy, risk posture, key issues, and execution status
• Drive execution of governance programs and initiatives, ensuring milestones, deliverables, and outcomes are achieved
• Manages the amount of risk that a business is operating with while ensuring no rules or regulations are ignored
• Requires in-depth knowledge of rules and regulations for business that is supported
• Utilizes the ability to identify, communicate, escalate and resolve potential issues or concerns that arise
• Plans and manages project work acting as key point of contact to all business partners involved
• Strategizes with partners to determine best solution and runs checks process to ensure all options have been thoroughly evaluated

Benefits

• This role is eligible to participate in the annual discretionary plan. Employees are eligible for an annual discretionary award based on their overall individual performance results and behaviors, the performance and contributions of their line of business and/or group; and the overall success of the Company.
• This role is currently benefits eligible.
• We provide industry-leading benefits, access to paid time off, resources and support to our employees so they can make a genuine impact and contribute to the sustainable growth of our business and the communities we serve.
• Bank of America is committed to help employees through the transition period when they’re displaced as a result of a workforce reduction, realignment or similar measure.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: High school or GED