Director, US Technology Risk Officer (TRO), First Line of Defense (1B)

Scotiabank•Dallas, TX

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Director, U.S. Technology Risk Officer (CIO Risk Advisor) is a leadership role within the Technology First Line of Defense (1B) accountable for owning and strengthening technology risk management across the U.S. portfolio. The role provides embedded, credible risk leadership within technology to ensure material risks are identified early, assessed consistently, and managed within the Bank’s risk appetite, with clear governance, evidence, and accountability. The Director serves as the primary technology risk advisor to the CIO, U.S. Global Banking & Markets Engineering (GBME) Technology, enabling decision making through transparent articulation of risk exposure, trade offs, control effectiveness, and residual risk. The role partners with technology executives, business leaders, and control functions to enable delivery of strategic outcomes while improving resiliency, reducing control weaknesses, and strengthening regulatory confidence. The U.S. Technology Risk Office provides First Line ownership and accountability for technology risk management across key domains, including cybersecurity, data protection, software lifecycle management, platform resilience, incident and crisis management, disaster recovery, third party risk, technology change, and audit/regulatory remediation. As a leader within the Technology First Line, the Director is responsible for establishing sound risk governance, scalable controls, and disciplined issue management routines aligned with regulatory expectations, enterprise risk appetite, and evolving business and technology strategies. The role also leads the first line US Technology Internal Control and Regulatory Management function for the engineering portfolio, ensuring timely risk identification, escalation, and remediation, and sustained compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and internal policies.

Requirements

Minimum 10+ years of technology and non-financial risk management experience (governance, operations, audit, cyber, control functions, compliance, risk management).
Demonstrated breadth across multiple technology domains, such as software development, API management, system design, information security, technology resilience, third party management, cloud computing, project management, incident/problem/change management, networks, and disaster recovery.
Experience in managing remediation programs and other risk management roles (across any line of defense) is desirable.
Strong leadership and executive communication skills, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders through clear messaging, presentation, and stakeholder management
Advanced negotiation, project management, governance, and stakeholder management skills.
Candidates should have comprehensive knowledge or experience in one or more of the following areas: Regulatory (e.g., FFIEC Guidelines, NYS DFS, FRB NY, FINRA) Technology (e.g., IT Asset Management, Software Currency, Cybersecurity) Issue Management (e.g., execution tracking, risk evaluation, escalation, reporting) Audit or Regulatory Exam Management (e.g., governance, audit, control functions, compliance, risk management)

Nice To Haves

Data analytics and visual dashboarding skills (Power BI/Tableau) are desirable.
Knowledge or understanding of risk/control frameworks (ITIL, ISO, COBIT, NIST, FFIEC) is desirable.
Relevant certifications are an asset (CISA, CISM, CRISC, CISSP, ITIL V3 Foundation, COBIT).

Responsibilities

Advise the CIO and senior technology leaders on material technology risks, control effectiveness, and risk based decision options that influence strategy, investment prioritization, and delivery outcomes.
Identify, assess, and prioritize technology risks across cybersecurity, data protection, software delivery, platform resilience, incident and crisis management, disaster recovery, third party risk, and technology change.
Own first line Technology governance, issue management, and remediation, driving timely and sustainable resolution of audit and regulatory findings and reducing repeat and thematic issues.
Exercise escalation authority by raising material risks, control failures, and remediation slippage to appropriate senior leaders and governance forums, with clear recommendations and documented outcomes.
Influence technology roadmaps and operating practices to remediate systemic control gaps and embed sustainable controls into engineering and operational processes (including SDLC and change management).
Deliver executive level reporting (KPIs/KRIs) that provides transparency into risk posture, control health, and emerging risks for senior management and risk committees.
Partner with Internal Audit and regulators to support audits and examinations, ensuring accurate, timely, and defensible responses to requests for information.
Strengthen first line risk culture by building risk owner capability, reinforcing accountability, and enabling consistent risk decisioning across the portfolio.
Improve the technology risk posture by driving and governing remediation to get to green, eliminating systemic control gaps, embedding sustainable controls, and delivering clear CIO level insight to support risk based decisions
Lead GBME technology risk assessments, including control self assessments and thematic reviews, in partnership with Business Internal Control teams.
Evaluate technology governance effectiveness and support business integration initiatives to identify, escalate, and remediate risk and control gaps, ensuring appropriate controls are implemented
Oversee SOX control execution, including test coordination, evidence readiness, and quarterly attestations.
Champion a customer-focused culture and deepen relationships with senior leadership, peers, and functional groups.
Ensure compliance with information security regulations, user education, and cybersecurity.
Lead the design and operation of compliance monitoring and improvement activities to ensure compliance with internal security policies and applicable laws and regulations.
Actively pursue effective and efficient operations, ensuring adherence to operational risk, regulatory compliance risk, AML/ATF risk, and conduct risk frameworks.
Understand and apply the organization’s risk appetite and risk culture in day-to-day activities and decisions.
Build a high-performance environment and implement a people strategy that attracts, retains, develops, and motivates the team.