Lead Program Manager, Enterprise Risk

American Water • Camden, NJ

19h • Hybrid

About The Position

As the Lead Program Manager, you will be instrumental in managing the day-to-day / routine components of our Enterprise Risk program. You will act as a primary and key advisor and facilitator responsible for the execution, development, and ongoing enhancement of American Water’s comprehensive Enterprise Risk Management framework and program. You will lead efforts to drive a risk-aware culture, ensuring that risks & opportunities are identified, assessed, prioritized, collated, and reported in alignment with American Water’s strategic goals, objectives, and values. These can be risks that are tactical and shorter-term, or strategic and longer-term. You will oversee coordination and management of all Enterprise Risk program deliverables in alignment with the Enterprise Risk program’s three long-term objectives: (1) Gain strategic foresight; (2) Operationalize risk culture deeper into the organization; and (3) Enhance risk reporting & processes. The ideal candidate will act as a risk champion and an in-house risk expert with deep understanding of American Water’s operations. This role offers an exciting opportunity for a detail-oriented, energetic, and solutions-focused individual who will be instrumental in positioning the Enterprise Risk team at American Water as a trusted internal partner and help evolve the department towards creating enterprise value (as well as protecting it).

Requirements

• Excellent written & verbal communication skills.
• Excellent written & verbal negotiation skills.
• Excellent presentation skills with the ability to provide monthly summarized updates to key stakeholders & executives.
• Structured problem-solving approach with demonstrated aptitude for analytical and conceptual problem-solving.
• Ability to work collaboratively with people at all levels in an organization.
• Excellent verbal and non-verbal communication with insight, candor, respect, & honesty
• High degree of intellectual curioisity, willing & curious to learn and understand; Able to propose ideas or novel solutions without prompts, direction, and little guidance
• Organizational adaptability, navigation and agility (able to self-troubleshoot issues, questions, & concerns independently).
• Deep understanding of the fundamentals of Enterprise Risk, Governance, and frameworks (such as COSO, ISO, etc.)
• Demonstrated prior ability to articulate complex and complicated risk outputs simply, effectively, and directly.
• Knowledge of Enterprise Risk, Governance, and Risk-based modeling and industry trends.
• Familiarity with internal regulatory compliance (e.g., Sarbanes-Oxley, Internal Audit).
• Proficiency with statistical tools is advantageous.
• Bachelor’s degree in Decision Science, Math, Statistics, Finance, Analytics, Game Theory, Philosophy, or similar areas.
• 5-8 or more years of relevant work experience in an Enterprise Risk (or an adjacent function such as Strategy, Consulting, Assurance, Governance or similar) function.
• Prior experience leading and managing an Enterprise Risk programs in a publicly-traded, regulated industry is preferred.
• Experience managing an Enterprise Risk (or similar function) within (a) complex and highly-matrixed organization(s).
• Prior experience influencing and managing individuals and teams across multiple levels of the organization (from senior leaders to front-line managers).

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree in a relevant field, such as Statistics (or an MBA) is preferred / advantageous.
• Experience as a corporate Enterprise Risk manager within a large, complex firm is highly desirable.
• Experience as an Enterprise Risk consultant serving large, complex organizations.
• Prior experience as a management consultant is preferred.
• Broad understanding of Enterprise Risk programmatic maturity across diverse set of industries is preferred.
• Knowledge of and experience with water utility and related services business risks is preferred but not required.
• Knowledge of federal, state and local laws, regulations and tariffs applicable to utilities is preferred but not required.
• While no certifications or licenses are required for this role, actuarial, statistical modeling, and financial certifications can be helpful.

Responsibilities

• ERM Program Management: Own, implement, and sustain the day-to-day operations of American Water’s Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework, policies, processes, and standards across the organization. Drive progress towards American Water’s evolving enterprise risk framework that integrates risk management into all aspects of the operations and decision-making processes. Work with third-parties as engaged to perform independent assessment of the methodology, implementation, and maturity of American Water’s Enterprise Risk program.
• Risk Assessments & Workshops: Lead and manage enterprise-wide risk assessment processes, including leading risk workshops, risk analyses, risk surveys, stakeholder interviews, and conducting detailed analyses to identify emerging, operational, systemic, and strategic risks. Prepare and summarize audience-specific workshop materials and devise post-workshop reportable outputs designed to drive actionable mitigation plans.
• Risk Analytics, Reporting & Communication: Provide analytical support to develop and implement formal Enterprise Risk methodologies including the identification, assessment, prioritization, tracking, mitigation, and reporting of risks. Develop, refine & deliver accurate, executive-level reporting on the ERM program status, risk profile, and trends, translating complex risk data into actionable insights for members of the senior leadership team (including the Enterprise Risk Management Committee) and the appropriate oversight committee of American Water Board of Directors. Develop, enhance, or manage (as applicable) the enterprise-wide risk communication plan as well as the annual risk assessment process and risk surveys to drive greater process efficiencies and deeper risk awareness across the organization. Design, develop, and enhance ERM processes including risk assessments, surveys, dashboards, scorecards and reports using appropriate metrics (leading indicators, lagging indicators, market data, macroeconomic indicators, etc.) to support the executive team in its evaluation and reporting of enterprise risks / opportunities. Develop in-house trained AI risk models, for risk identification, quantitative risk analysis, scenario analysis and risk reporting.
• Risk Consulting: Risk Response: Collaborate with departmental, functional, and operational leads to identify and address specific risks within their areas while providing guidance and support in developing risk / opportunity response plans (accept, mitigate, leverage, etc.). Bottom-up Risk Reporting: Lead monthly operations- and function-focused Enterprise Risk meetings to refine the Executives’ & Leaders’ view of the top company risks.
• Training: Lead & develop ERM training programs and self-service tools to support American Water’s Enterprise Risk program objectives.
• Process Improvement: Identify opportunities to simplify, streamline, and improve ERM programs, potentially using technology and automation (including the use of AI).
• Expert Guidance: Serve as the primary and key point of contact for Risk Owners providing expert guidance and training further defining organizational risk appetite, risk tolerance, and risk impact statements.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Partner with cross-functional departments (Operations, Tech Innovation, Internal Audit, Compliance & Ethics, Rates & Regulatory, etc.) to socialize the ERM methodology, provide expert guidance, and influence key stakeholders to execute risk-related tasks and drive risk awareness.
• Decision Support Embedded Risk-Based Decision-Making: Lead efforts to embed risk-based decision-making across all areas of the organization, ensuring continuous risk-informed decision-making moving away from static “report-outs” to the Executive Risk Committee and other stakeholders and towards dynamic “in-the-moment” risk-based decisions. Dynamic Probabilistic Decision-Support: Lead efforts to drive a probabilistic view of uncertainty with tools such as scenario-planning with defined outputs within certainty bands, sensitivity analysis to inputs, and simulations (e.g., Monte Carlo simulations) to drive impact (both positive & negative) to enterprise value. Decision-Quality: Help shift the view of Enterprise Risk from a static risk-reporting program towards a decision-quality focused function designed to help teams & functional leads drive high-quality, highly-disciplined decisions following a repeatable & scalable decision-making process.
• Other: Periodically, under the direction of the Vice President, Enterprise Risk undertake special projects as directed.

Benefits

• health benefits package
• opportunities to develop, grow, and evolve your career
• benefits packages focus on key areas such as health & wellness, emotional & well-being, and savings for current & future goals
• comprehensive benefits package including 401(k), Defined Contribution Plan, Employee Stock Purchase Plan, medical, prescription, dental and vision coverage, plus disability, paid time off, life insurance, voluntary benefits, health and wellness programs and much more!
• learning opportunities and work experiences to grow professionally!

What This Job Offers

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