Compliance Program Manager

Exciting • Phoenix, AZ

14h

About The Position

The Compliance Program Manager plays a critical role in advancing Desert Financial’s enterprise risk strategy and enabling responsible organizational growth. This position develops, maintains, and strategically enhances the core components of the credit union’s compliance management system to ensure strong, scalable regulatory execution. The role leads Regulatory Change Management, oversees third ‑ party compliance risk, and conducts HMDA and fair lending reviews that inform enterprise ‑ level risk decisions. Through proactive consultation and regulatory insight, the Compliance Program Manager advises business leaders, shapes policy and control design, and supports the development of new products, services, and channels. This position is instrumental in growth readiness efforts—ensuring emerging initiatives, operational changes, and strategic priorities align with regulatory expectations, enterprise risk appetite, and industry best practices.

Requirements

• Combination of education with 10+ years of consumer/mortgage lending responsibilities.
• 8+ years of compliance experience at a financial institution
• Microsoft Office (specifically Microsoft Word, Outlook and Excel)
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Detail oriented and possess strong organizational skills
• Credit Union Compliance Expert (CUCE) or NAFCU Certified Compliance Officer (NCCO) designation
• Certified Mortgage Compliance Professional (CMCP)

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor's degree in business, finance, legal studies, or a related field.
• Ability to speak and write in Spanish

Responsibilities

• Regulatory Change Management. Monitor, analyze, and interpret regulatory developments impacting credit union operations. Assess operational and compliance impacts of regulatory changes and coordinate with business units to ensure timely implementation. Maintain regulatory change documentation, including applicability assessments, action plans, and testing results. Communicate regulatory updates in a clear, actionable manner to stakeholders and leadership.
• Consultative Guidance & Strategic Growth Readiness: Partners with business units to provide proactive compliance advice, regulatory interpretation, and support in developing policies and procedures aligned with regulatory expectations. Conducts compliance training and awareness sessions, prepares materials for audits and examinations, and routinely interacts with senior leadership, auditors, and examiners. Contributes to enterprise planning and growth initiatives by identifying compliance risks and control needs associated with new products, channels, and increased operational complexity. Provides risk ‑ based insights and recommendations to leadership to support scalable, sustainable growth and informed strategic decision ‑ making.
• Fair Lending Analysis & HMDA Review. Conducts fair lending statistical analysis across mortgage and consumer lending products, including model development, comparative file reviews, and portfolio ‑ level trend evaluation. Assesses data integrity and oversees second ‑ line HMDA pre ‑ submission reviews. Identifies disparities or emerging risks, provides expert analysis of findings, and delivers recommendations to strengthen controls and ensure compliance with fair lending requirements.
• Risk Assessments. Conducts compliance risk assessments and targeted monitoring and testing activities across business lines. Evaluates the effectiveness of existing controls, identifies gaps, and recommends enhancements. Partners with business units to develop and implement corrective actions and ensure timely remediation of identified issues.
• Strategic Projects & New Product/Service Development. Serve as a compliance subject matter expert for cross ‑ functional projects, system implementations, and operational enhancements. Evaluate compliance requirements for new products and services, ensuring proper controls, disclosures, and processes are designed and implemented. Assist in developing risk assessments, testing plans, and post ‑ implementation reviews.
• Third-Party Compliance Oversight. Support the credit union’s third ‑ party risk management program by evaluating vendor compliance controls and regulatory requirements. Conduct ongoing monitoring of high ‑ risk and critical vendors, including compliance reviews, due diligence assessments, and contract compliance evaluation. Collaborate with Vendor Management and business owners to identify and mitigate compliance risks associated with external relationships.
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned.

Benefits

• InvestED tuition program, fully funded education for team members and their families, plus medical, dental, and vision coverage, 401(k) matching, paid volunteer time, and more than 70 total benefits designed to help you thrive inside and outside of work.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees