Director, Business Unit Risk Oversight - Certos

Early Warning® • Scottsdale, AZ

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

This job description outlines a senior leadership position focused on operational risk management (ORM). The primary responsibility is to lead a team in assessing and ensuring the effectiveness of the company's risk and control environment, to ensure operational risks are understood, owned, and managed to risk appetite. The Director of Business Unit Risk Oversight is responsible for leading a high-performing team in providing risk management and technical expertise in assessing the overall effectiveness of the company’s risk and control environment and ensuring adherence to Operational Risk Management (ORM) Program requirements. ORM provides independent oversight of operational risks in support of our vision of a strong risk management culture and that we are proactively identifying and managing risks that may impact our ability to achieve our strategic objectives as a company. We are part of the company’s second line of defense, and work with our business partners to develop sound risk management programs and processes that are integrated into our business model and that enable business success. This role provides independent oversight and challenge over operational risks arising from Early Warning’s CertosSM Identity & Payment Risk business line, including identity verification, payment risk decisioning, fraud detection, and data-sharing activities supported by the National Shared DatabaseSM (NSD).

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in risk management, Computer Science, Information Systems, Business Administration, Finance, Accounting or related field.
• Minimum of 12+ years of operational risk management experience, preferably in financial services or other highly regulated industries.
• Strong understanding of operational risk programs (i.e., RCSA, Risk Events, Issue Management, Key Indicators) and risk domains (e.g., product and service delivery, process management, business disruption, third-party, fraud, and data).
• Possesses sound judgment, curiosity, and strong attention to detail and efficiency.
• Team-oriented with strong interpersonal skills.
• Proven leader with at least 5 years in a leadership role with direct people responsibility or equivalent project leadership experience.
• Excellent presentation and communication skills to synthesize and present risk issues clearly and persuasively and respond effectively to senior stakeholders.
• Ability to drive sustainable change, influence and uphold standards.
• Background and drug screen.
• Candidates responding to this posting must independently possess the eligibility to work in the United States, for any employer, at the date of hire. This position is ineligible for employment Visa sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree in a relevant field.
• Prior financial institution experience.
• Prior experience in independent risk management conducting risk oversight.
• Risk management, internal control, or internal audit certification(s).
• Experience with data-driven products, fraud risk, or identity/payment risk solutions preferred.
• Strong understanding of operational risk domains as applied to identity verification, payment processing, fraud detection, and data-sharing ecosystems.
• Experience with data-driven products, scoring models, and decisioning systems (e.g., fraud scores, account risk scores).

Responsibilities

• Serve as the operational risk lead for the Certos Identity & Payment Risk portfolio, including identity verification, account validation, fraud scoring, and payment screening capabilities.
• Oversee and challenge risks across key activities, including: Identity verification and synthetic identity detection, New account and first-party fraud risk scoring, Payment screening and funds availability decisioning, Account validation and identity theft monitoring.
• Provide independent oversight of risks related to the National Shared DatabaseSM, including data usage, participant access, and adherence to permitted use cases.
• Lead second-line oversight activities, including: Risk and control assessments (RCSAs), Product and use case risk reviews, Issue management and validation.
• Monitor and assess key risk themes, including: Fraud (e.g., account abuse, payment fraud, synthetic identity), Data and privacy risk, Model risk, Third-party and participant risk, Operational resiliency.
• Use data and reporting to identify trends, emerging risks, and control gaps to inform data-drive and fact-based risk analysis.
• Provide guidance and training to business partners on operational risk expectations and frameworks.
• Build and maintain relationships with business partners while adhering to the highest ethical standards required for independent risk oversight.
• Challenge and guide senior business management and functional leaders in compliance, technology risk, and legal on operational risk matters.

Benefits

• Healthcare Coverage – Competitive medical (PPO/HDHP), dental, and vision plans as well as company contributions to your Health Savings Account (HSA) or pre-tax savings through flexible spending accounts (FSA) for commuting, health & dependent care expenses.
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Featuring a 100% Company Safe Harbor Match on your first 6% deferral immediately upon eligibility.
• Paid Time Off – Flexible Time Off for Exempt (salaried) employees, as well as generous PTO for Non-Exempt (hourly) employees, plus 11 paid company holidays and a paid volunteer day.
• 12 weeks of Paid Parental Leave.
• Maven Family Planning – provides support through your Parenting journey including egg freezing, fertility, adoption, surrogacy, pregnancy, postpartum, early pediatrics, and returning to work.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior