Director, Issue Validation Quality Control (QC)

American Express•New York, NY

About The Position

The Director, Issue Validation Quality Control (QC), leads a team of audit professionals responsible for risk-based quality control reviews and independent challenge of IAG’s issue validation activities. The role assesses validation procedures, supporting evidence, and testing effectiveness to confirm that issue closure conclusions are well supported and consistent with IAG’s Charter, Policies & Procedures (P&P), Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Standards, and applicable regulatory expectations. Through targeted reviews, trend identification, and continuous improvement, the Director strengthens IAG validation practices and supports the organization’s aspiration to be a world-class audit function. The role works across Issue Management, audit teams, Audit Methodology, and Professional Development, and reports QC outcomes and areas requiring management attention to senior management and relevant governance committees.

Requirements

At least 7 years of experience in internal audit, issue management, issue validation, risk management, assurance advisory, or public accounting.
Bachelor’s degree or advanced degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
Internal Audit, Assurance, Risk, or Accounting professional certification, such as CIA, CPA, CISA, CRCM, or equivalent.
Direct experience evaluating and validating corrective action implementation, issue remediation evidence, validation testing, and the quality of issue closure conclusions.
Strong knowledge of IIA standards and regulatory and financial industry guidance relevant to Internal Audit, issue management, and remediation validation.
Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to articulate constructive challenge and present findings compellingly to senior stakeholders.
Strong project management skills.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including assessing evidence sufficiency, identifying root causes and trends, and translating QC results into practical improvement recommendations.
Demonstrated people leadership experience and ability to coach, develop, and lead teams while maintaining independent, risk-based judgment.
Eligibility to work in the United States; the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for these positions.

Nice To Haves

Financial services, banking, or capital markets experience.

Responsibilities

Lead development, execution, and continuous improvement of IAG’s Issue Validation QC program using a risk-based approach to assess the rigor, consistency, and completeness of issue validation activities.
Design, oversee, and perform independent quality control reviews of validation plans, testing procedures, supporting evidence, documented conclusions, closure recommendations, and operational execution.
Assess whether validation procedures address underlying risks and root causes, corrective action commitments, remediation sustainability, and the effectiveness of controls implemented to mitigate issue-related risks.
Challenge insufficient evidence, unsupported conclusions, weak or inadequate testing, and inappropriate issue closure conclusions; oversee timely resolution and escalation of QC observations.
Establish and maintain QC methodology, review criteria, sampling approaches, documentation expectations, and performance measures aligned with IAG standards and applicable regulatory expectations.
Analyze QC results to identify recurring deficiencies, root causes, and opportunities to improve validation execution and the reliability of issue closure conclusions.
Partner with Issue Management, audit teams, Audit Methodology, and Professional Development to clarify validation requirements, provide feedback, and develop guidance and training based on QC results.
Provide clear, actionable reporting to senior management and relevant governance committees on QC coverage, outcomes, trends, exceptions, remediation progress, and matters requiring management attention.
Support internal and external assessments and regulatory examinations involving issue validation, including evidence preparation, readiness activities, and presentations about QC processes and results as needed.
Monitor industry practices, IIA standards, and relevant regulatory guidance to identify enhancements to the Issue Validation QC framework.
Support and participate in cross-functional initiatives within Professional Practices and IAG to strengthen issue governance, validation discipline, and sustainable remediation.
Lead, coach, and develop QC colleagues, promoting sound judgment, effective challenge, consistent execution, and accountability.